Type 1 Insulin Dependent Diabetes and JSA

[spaceman]

Is anyone on here who is Type 1 Insulin Dependent Diabetic on Job Seeker's Allowance?

How are the JobCentre with you? Do they make reasonable adjustments and take into account that you could have a hypo at any moment?

well the jobcentre in carlisle doesnt even let claiments use there toilet. so i would say yes thell be problems with hypos

 

[Sarah69]

I don't see why you would need a toilet when your signing on? What problems would there be with hypos?

 

[TonyTruthful]

What a depressing thread.

I hope you amputation wasn't D related mate.

 

[ShelleyHarris1981]

ive got to say I found some of these comments a little mean and condescending. This person is clearly newly diagnosed and perhaps a little scared of work and being type 1. Some of the answers seemed to make out the person didn't want to work when in fact I didn't get that from his post.

when I was diagnosed I was 19 weeks pregnant in a demanding job in law. I found it really hard to adjust.



i thought we were meant to help each other on this site not attack from a simple question from someone not in the know yet.

 

[ShelleyHarris1981]

I really don't think this person has said they don't want to work i think as newly diagnosed they just want guidance

Not being fun but I be diabetic 28 years and work since I left school diabetic do not stop you from working if you want to work


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[elaine77]

Yep Sam, I'm from the north east and the only jobs seem to be in engineering and nothing else :-( I have a family though and so relocating isn't really an option as it's not just me who will have to uproot....


Diagnosed with GD in 2010, Completely disappeared postpartum. Re-diagnosed December 2012 with type 1.5 diabetes, age 26, BMI 22 currently controlled by only Metformin, 500mg twice a day.

 

[sam381]

Yep Sam, I'm from the north east and the only jobs seem to be in engineering and nothing else :-( I have a family though and so relocating isn't really an option as it's not just me who will have to uproot....


Diagnosed with GD in 2010, Completely disappeared postpartum. Re-diagnosed December 2012 with type 1.5 diabetes, age 26, BMI 22 currently controlled by only Metformin, 500mg twice a day.

Nightmare! Good luck anyways!

 

[lorrainem]

It's not the disability act any longer it is the Equality Act 2010 and it does qualify and recognise diabetes as a disability under the law. The reason diabetics don't get DLA etc is because the government do not award disability benefit to people who are disabled, they base the eligibility on how the disability effects your day to day life and diabetics, most of them, are deemed perfectly capable of living a normal day-to-day life unless, like you said, they have complications, but it doesn't change the law and it is a disability under the law. I don't know the rules around disclosing it but I know it is a disability under the law as I represented at an employment tribunal for it, it is a disability.


Diagnosed with GD in 2010, Completely disappeared postpartum. Re-diagnosed December 2012 with type 1.5 diabetes, age 26, BMI 22 currently controlled by only Metformin, 500mg twice a day.

Thank you-I always put that I am type 1 when applying for work as I believed it was the law.However I have great sympathy for anyone trying to work f/t with diabetes. The exhaustion I feel after working only 3 days a week must be due to something and i'm guessing its my diabetes and the poor way I control it at work! I am a teacher and trying to find the privacy to test and inject usually means I spend evenings rebalancing my BS-how do you explain that at an interview!

 

[ShelleyHarris1981]

What reasonable adjustments are you expecting them to make? If your well controlled your not likely to hypo any minute!!

they are clearly newly diagnosed, for some people being well controlled doesn't happen moment they leave with the diagnosis, it takes time and understanding of what you are dealing with surely? I think as a community we need to be a little more understanding toward each other when someone asks for advice and not just jump to a conclusion about what they are asking

 

[copepod]

OK, a couple of questions for OP - What sort of qualifications do you have? What sort of work experience do you have? Whether paid or voluntary.

The key to not being scared of hypos is to lessen the chance of having them, by testing regularly, especially before a situation eg before going into Job Centre to sign on / check vacancy lists, before interview etc, and to make sure you can deal with hypos as quickly and fusslessly as possible - a packet of sweets in your pocket is usually the best approach so you can eat a few discretely if you feel your blood sugar is low or dropping.

Good luck in your job search.

 

[lilmizkez]

I have type 1 and haven't been very successful in the job hunting, I am quite experienced in the jobs I apply for but I reckon I just get seen as a liability eg sick days, doctors appointments. I recently got sacked from a job I was good at and loved I worked through hypos and high sugar levels but one day I was really sick ad couldn't go in to work as I was throwing up couldn't keep water down was really poorly but managed to go in the next day, only to be sacked even though I still wasn't in the best state!!! totally knocked my confidence especially with how long it took me to actually find a job

 

[yvonne1310]

Well I'm type 1 diabetic and I'm prone to hypos !!but I still work u inject at work and always carry a mars bar in my bag just incase I need it !!!


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[Scardoc]

For the OP: I have no experience of JSA but have looked for and found a new job since being diagnosed T1 with no difficulty. I informed my new employer at the interview stage and they had no issues at all. It is important to tell a prospective employer (IMO) and I'd say do it at the interview stage - if you get that far they're interested. Yes, there are jobs you can't do, I once fancied air traffic control but nnoooooo chance! Like everything else in the great circle of diabetic life it's trial and error as to how you manage your bloods when working. However, you'll get the hang of it when you're in a routine.

Other comments: Anyone not declaring it to a new/prospective employer is just wrong. Why would you? You will expect honesty and respect from your employer so why start off by treating them with no respect on the assumption that they will discriminate?

There are jobs out there but I certainly had to accept I wasn't going to work local and now spend the week away from home. Don't ever be put off applying for anything that asks for specific skills, experience or qualifications. Ok, a Doctor may be a stretch if you've not been to medical school but there are so many jobs out there that companies struggle to fill. Often, they will go for someone without the "ideal" qualifications based on other things they like about them. Transferable skills. Often they won't. You have to accept the knock backs will come more frequent.

 

[onchy]

I completely agree with your view regarding being seen as a bit of a liability by employers, you can always show them how normal you are in the interview though I suppose!

Off topic but I guess you are from the north east also? All of the graduate jobs in my field are all down south unfortunately - would much prefer to stay up here personally.

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Im Newcastle, T1 and run a consultancy business What and where are you graduating in/from?

 

[elaine77]

Scardoc, I am not on insulin and so I have checked and I am well within my rights to not declare it at this stage as they are still unsure of my condition. Same as I do not have to declare it to the DVLA either because I do not take sulfonylureas and so have no hypo risk.

I graduate in 4months and am predicted a First in BSc hons Crime Science. It's difficult enough to find positions that are even relevant to my degree let alone worrying about unknown diabetes diagnosis and the consultants are clueless.


Diagnosed with GD in 2010, Completely disappeared postpartum. Re-diagnosed December 2012 with type 1.5 diabetes, age 26, BMI 22 currently controlled by only Metformin, 500mg twice a day.

 

[Scardoc]

Scardoc, I am not on insulin and so I have checked and I am well within my rights to not declare it at this stage as they are still unsure of my condition. Same as I do not have to declare it to the DVLA either because I do not take sulfonylureas and so have no hypo risk.

I graduate in 4months and am predicted a First in BSc hons Crime Science. It's difficult enough to find positions that are even relevant to my degree let alone worrying about unknown diabetes diagnosis and the consultants are clueless.

That's fair enough but you did say in your original post that if you were insulin dependant you would declare it. Which I think is correct.

When I applied for my current job I declared my diabetes at the interview and was successful. I know now that the other candidate had more relevant qualifications than me but I was chosen on relevant experience and for interviewing better.

 

[Scardoc]

Just throwing something else into this.

Do some companies have to employ a certain percentage of disabled people, and if this is so, can Type 1 (or even Type 2) diabetics enter employment as part of that group ?

I wouldn't consider myself as disabled. A disability, mental or physical, limits you in some way. I don't feel limited with T1.

 

[elaine77]

Hi Brian, diabetes is categorised as a disability under The Equality Act 2010 and so it requires employers to make reasonable adjustments by law to help you to work with your condition. Although most diabetics don't see themselves as 'disabled' and although there are usually no benefits to be received by diabetics, it is a condition that impacts upon your day to day life and so therefore is classed as a disability so far as employment goes.

Diabetes is Lifelong and Incurable and, for example, you couldn't go a whole day without checking your blood or without injecting insulin, whereas an employee who doesn't have your condition could...hence why it's given protection under the Equality Act 2010...


Diagnosed with GD in 2010, Completely disappeared postpartum. Re-diagnosed December 2012 with type 1.5 diabetes, age 26, BMI 22 currently controlled by only Metformin, 500mg twice a day.

 

[kerrygrant26]

well the jobcentre in carlisle doesnt even let claiments use there toilet. so i would say yes thell be problems with hypos

lol the jobcentre in Carlisle doesn't let it's clients do anything, can't even use the telephone without asking permission haha I bet it's still the same

 

[Scardoc]

After receiving the job offer, but before signing a contract, I was asked to fill in a medical questionnaire. Not sure if this is common practise or not. Had the offer been withdrawn at that stage and I claimed discrimination, I doubt very much the prospective employer would have said "it's cause you're diabetic" (unless there was a serious implication on a diabetic's ability to perform the job) so actually proving discrimination would be tough.

Here's another question: if someone has a dispute at work concerning diabetes, and it effecting their ability to do the job, and their employer requests medical records, how would the diabetic stand if their records showed poor control?