More answers about work

Chris Kalman

In Scotland at least, there is a fledgling National Occupational health and safety Service called Healthy Working Lives which can be accessed by individuals. It does not yet have an equivalent in England and Wales. To be honest, though, the service is pretty basic and may not be particularly useful in cases where someone has significant disability.

The Access to Work scheme provides advice, information and grants to disabled people and employers.

John McGregor

In theory, all employers should make reasonable adjustments for the needs of people with arthritis. Sadly, in practice many don’t and Arthritis Care see this as a major activity for us in the next few months. We run Arthritis Awareness courses for employers and their staff to help them understand the needs of people with arthritis. There are special organisations across the country which help find jobs for people with arthritis. The place to start is at your local Jobcentre/Jobcentre Plus office (JobCentre/Jobs and Benefits Offices in Northern Ireland) with the disability employment adviser (you will need to make an appointment), and they will tell you who the local specialist organisations are for the type of career you are looking for. You can read about specialist services for disabled people on the Jobcentre Plus website.

John McGregor

This is a specialist enquiry, and it is probably best for you to discuss this with your local welfare rights office or Citizens Advice Bureau. I should imagine you can make a claim for Incapacity Benefit now because your condition still prevents you from working, but you may not be able to have the claim regarded as being retrospective.

I would suggest you talk to one of the above organisations before talking to Jobcentre Plus (Jobs and Benefits Offices in Northern Ireland) about a claim, and it will almost certainly be worthwhile talking with your GP and/or rheumatologist too as they will be able to support you in any claims you make.

John McGregor

If you are currently in a job and having difficulty, it is worth talking to your employer about having an occupational health assessment. Some problems with computer work can be resolved very cheaply and easily (by asking for a wrist rest, ergonomic keyboard, and a trackball mouse etc). Check to see if you have a local ICT Hub as they can help you try out various pieces of equipment to see how they suit you. Make sure you try them out for a reasonable period, not just five minutes in a showroom.

If you need more help, it is worth looking at voice-activated computer software with a good quality microphone and headset. For example, Dragon Dictate Professional is a digital directional recorder thatcan be used to record meeting notes, which can then be transcribed by the voice activation system and edited with voice commands only. This may sound expensive to an existing or potential employer, but full support is usually available through the Access to Work scheme administered by Jobcentre Plus (Jobs and Benefits Offices in Northern Ireland).

John McGregor

Clearly the first step is to talk with your GP and/or rheumatologist about how you can minimise the effect of your osteoarthritis on your working life. If you have already done that, then I would recommend you talk with your local welfare rights office or Citizens Advice Bureau. They will need to know what type of National Insurance contributions you have been making whilst self-employed. An appointment with the disability employment adviser in your local Jobcentre Plus office (Jobs and Benefits Office in Northern Ireland) will also be worthwhile as they will be able to detail the financial support available.

Chris Kalman

I would advise self-referral to an occupational health function. This is also a key element of the justification for the Access to Work scheme run by Jobcentre Plus (Jobs and Benefits Offices in Northern Ireland), who must be contacted by the employee and an assessment will follow.

John McGregor

As a computer professional, you will be aware of the advances in technology to help disabled people . You don’t say what type of computer work you do, but it may be worth asking for an occupational health assessment as a first step. Look at things like hardware aids (ergonomic keyboard, wrist rest, special chair, trackball etc), then things like voice-activated software. Your employer has a legal duty to help you in your work by making reasonable adjustments, and most of these cost nothing or very little. Examples may include things like adjusting your start and finish time so you aren’t travelling at peak times and so help you avoid stress and exhaustion, and working from home, etc. If there is a cost for equipment, this can usually be funded by the Access to Work scheme.

Chris Kalman

I would advise self-referral to an occupational health function. This is also a key element of the justification for the Access to Work scheme run by Jobcentre Plus (Jobs and Benefits Offices in Northern Ireland), who must be contacted by the employee and an assessment will follow.

John McGregor

Under the Disability Discrimination Act, your employer has a duty to make all reasonable adjustments to help you do your job. If, despite making the adjustments you mention, you are still having difficulty, talk to your employer again, and ask for an occupational health assessment. The occupational health adviser may recommend a partial or complete change of duties, and your employer needs to comply with that advice. That could include, for example, having the more strenuous parts of your job done by a colleague while you do the lighter parts of theirs. If a change of role is required, your employer should try to identify an equivalent or better position for you.

The other thing to do is keep your GP and rheumatologist informed as you will need their support, and they may be able to review your medication to make life more comfortable. Also talk to your employer about starting and finishing work outside traditional rush hour, as the stress travelling can worsen your arthritis and leave you feeling exhausted even at the start of the day.

John McGregor

If your doctor is telling you to rest your knee, then ask them to sign you off work. Sadly not all employers are sympathetic, and it sounds like you have one who would benefit from an Arthritis Awareness course to help them understand arthritis.

You may want to consider an occupational health assessment, which will help identify the parts of the job that you should be avoiding, and your employer then needs to make any recommended adjustments. Child care is a ‘heavy duty’ career which is both physically and mentally challenging. It may be that with more breaks and opportunities to sit down and rest, you find you can cope OK.