Back to work or stay on benefits?
These individuals are quite accepting that even with their level of impairment, they could work - but choose not too.
I have seen four distinct groups emerging over the last year.
1) The “I can’t and never will be able to work” group.
Those that believe that they could never work because they adopt the sick role or believe ‘disabled people don’t get jobs because of discrimination so why bother’. They see work as out of the question and often refuse to engage with anything that might indicate otherwise.
2) The “I could but don’t see the need to” group.
Those who are comfortable with free housing, free support and free social activities paid for by the council. Many have had well paid jobs before they became disabled, are not contributing towards the cost of their support, have maximised their benefits and feel that their ‘income’ provides a desirable quality of life - so why change? Many have high academic qualifications and many sought after skills and experience.
3) The “I will try work if I have the right support” group.
Those that want to work, but find it difficult to get the right amount of support and a job that pays well enough to come of benefits. They accept the responsibility of citizens to seek employment - and see themselves as no different in that sense.
4) Those who truly can’t work at all because they have a very severe level of impairment.
Often individuals who have high disability related and housing costs that go far beyond what benefits will cover. Individuals for whom the benefit system is really supposed to help - and which doesn’t go far enough in it current format.
Equality - we must ensure responsible citizenship.
I have worked with many social workers and care managers who quite readily offer 2 or 3 days at a resource centre or Direct Payments to enjoy leisure activities, without exploring whether that person should be engaging with work (and may thus rule out the need for so much leisure support to make a person’s days ‘fulfilled’).
I am not saying that disabled people don’t deserve funds to enable them to access leisure - far from it.
However, as a disabled person, it grates to know that I might be slogging away for 5 days a week at work, whereas someone else with the same level of impairment can be having 5 great days worth of fun activities.
Where is the equality in that?
