Careers support for disabled students
Source: https://student.sussex.ac.uk/careers/disability-and-equality-careers-support Parent: https://student.sussex.ac.uk/careers/
How to find and apply for jobs, including your legal rights, requesting adjustments and starting work. Also, find out what support you can receive at Sussex.
Find out about:
- your legal rights
- finding jobs
- applying for jobs
- requesting adjustments
- starting a job
- how we can support you
- our equality and diversity statement.
Finding jobs and careers is not easy. From deciding what you want to do, to finding vacancies, making applications and attending interviews, it can be a long process. If you're disabled, you may feel like there are more barriers to getting the job or career that you want.
However, there are ways for you to navigate this. There is advice and support at Sussex to help you find, apply for, and start a job successfully.
Your legal rights
The Equality Act 2010 protects disabled people when applying for jobs and in the workplace. It's a legal requirement for employers to make ‘reasonable adjustments’ to remove (or reduce) obstacles you may face both in the recruitment process and when you start work.
Disability is defined as something that has more than a small effect on your life and makes daily activities harder for you. It should also have lasted at least 12 months, is likely to last 12 months or is likely to recur. It covers both physical and mental health conditions.
Find out more about if your condition can be considered a disability.
EmployAbility
We have partnered with EmployAbility to provide individual advice and support to disabled Sussex students. This includes:
- first year, internship and graduate opportunities with inclusive employer partners
- individualised adjustments advice for the application process and starting work
- advocating with employers to ensure you get the adjustments you need
- skills workshops
- advice on applications
- recorded webinars on issues such as neurodivergence, mental health and adjustments.
Finding jobs
All employers recruit disabled candidates. You can use CareerHub and many other jobs sites available to look for student jobs, internships and work experience, placements and graduate work.
You can also:
- use a job board aimed at disabled candidates, such as Evenbreak
- look for job ads from Disability Confident organisations that are committed to offering interviews to disabled applicants who meet the minimum criteria for a job
- see if employers are members of the Business Disability Forum or support the Mindful Employer Charter for Employers Positive About Mental Health
- look for specific schemes to apply for, or specialist recruitment agencies to use. Our sector guides will list relevant schemes
- review employer websites for policy statements about equal opportunities, profiles of disabled employees or application forms in alternative formats.
Don’t limit yourself. Other employers can also be inclusive. Apply for any vacancy that matches your skills and interests.
Change 100
Change 100 is a programme for disabled students and recent graduates, or those with long-term conditions. It offers:
- paid internships
- guidance on workplace adjustments
- access to professional development and mentoring.
You should be in your penultimate or final year of study, or have graduated within the last five years, and have the right to work in the UK during the period of the internship.
Applying for jobs
A key factor when applying for jobs, internships or placements will be when, or if, you choose to tell an employer about your disability or long-term health condition. This is a personal decision, and there are advantages and disadvantages to both.
Advantages to informing an employer are that:
- you are immediately covered by the Equality Act 2010, and they are obliged to provide adjustments to the recruitment process
- if an employer is Disability Confident, it means that you could be guaranteed an interview if you meet their minimum requirements
- you could use positive examples of how you have overcome different challenges as part of your application.
On the other hand, you may feel that:
- an employer will reject you out-of-hand if they have pre-conceived ideas about your disability
- they will not treat your application objectively based on your abilities
- there is no reason to tell them if your disability will not affect your ability to do the job.
Disability Rights UK has a useful guide for students to telling people you’re disabled.
If you're unsure, or want to talk about your options, use Ask a Question or make an appointment with a Careers Consultant.
Requesting adjustments
You may choose to ask for adjustments as part of your application, when you are offered an interview/selection test/assessment centre or when you start your job. Requesting an adjustment means that you have disclosed your disability and your protection under the Equality Act will start. However, you don’t need to provide any more detail if you prefer not to.
Example adjustments include extra time for selection tests, accessible interview venues or having rest breaks in assessment centres. However, any adjustment is specific to you and your circumstances, so ask for what you need.
The Graduate Futures Institute has a guide on psychometric tests for disabled and neurodivergent applicants [CareerHub login required], which gives advice on adjustments and tips for completing them.
You can get personalised adjustment advice and advocacy support throughout the recruitment process right through to starting work, by registering with EmployAbility.
Starting a job
When you start a job or placement, employers will often ask you to complete a health questionnaire. In most cases, they cannot withdraw or change the job offer based on this information. It's normally used to make sure that you get the support you need in the workplace.
Examples might include:
- physical adaptations, such as to equipment (chair, keyboard, voice recognition software) or to your work environment (a quiet working space, using noise-cancelling headphones, changeable desk lighting)
- flexible working hours
- an office mentor to help with social interaction and communication
- regular rest breaks, outside if possible
- written copy of tasks and instructions
- written meeting agendas and minutes
- fortnightly check-ins with the line manager.
If you haven’t told your employer that you're disabled before starting work, this is another chance to do that. Again, the choice is yours. Any information you share will not be shared with others unless you want it to be, but you will now be covered by the Equality Act 2010.
ACAS has useful information on:
- what reasonable adjustments are, including examples from finding different ways to do something, to providing equipment/support or making changes to the workplace, and changing working arrangements
- adjustments for neurodiversity, including examples to help with concentration, written communication, organisation/time management, sensory overload, and poor balance or co-ordination.
How we can support you
We can offer:
- one-to-one appointments for students and graduates who are care leavers or who have long-term conditions and/or disabilities
- information and guidance on your rights in the workplace
- resource listings for diversity schemes, events and groups for underrepresented groups.
Appointments
We offer extended one-to-one appointments for care leavers and those with long-term conditions and disabilities. Appointments can be used for anything careers-related, including informing an employer about a disability. These appointments can be booked by students and recent graduates.
Book an initial appointment with a Careers Consultant to discuss your needs.
Additional support
If you're a second, third or final year undergraduate student, you're eligible to apply for a Career Lab UK summer internship or the Online Global Summer Internship Programme which are paid internships exclusive to Sussex students.
We also run workshops where you can find additional support in your career planning, as part of Career Lab and the Students' Union's Career Equity Project.
Register with EmployAbility for individual advice and support, including advice on applications, personalised adjustment advice and advocating with employers on your behalf.
External support
Various organisations exist to promote diversity in the workplace for under-represented groups, including disabled people and those with long term health conditions. They can often offer tailored support and resources.
Find out more about diversity associations and groups.
Our equality and diversity statement
We recognise the diversity of Sussex students and graduates and are committed to addressing their individual needs regardless of race, religion, gender, disability, marital status, social class, age or sexual preference.