ADD ADVICE TO FAVEpilepsy
Epilepsy is a neurological condition that can affect anyone, at any age. One in every 131 people in the UK has epilepsy and many of those people have successful careers. With patience, perseverance and a positive outlook, you’ll find work that you enjoy and that uses your skills and qualifications.
Under the Disability Discrimination Act (DDA), epilepsy is considered to be a disability, even if the person’s seizures are fully controlled by medication. The DDA makes it unlawful for any employer to discriminate against anyone with a disability, if reasonable adjustments could enable them to do the job.
Discussing your epilepsy
If you decide to disclose your epilepsy to a potential employer, you could send a covering letter with your application or you might prefer to discuss it face to face at interview. It might be a good idea to provide employers with a letter from your neurologist or GP giving up-to-date information about your epilepsy.
Alternatively, you may decide not to talk to potential employers about it until after a job offer has been made. Or if your seizures are fully controlled (52% of people with epilepsy in the UK are seizure-free) or do not cause any impairment of consciousness, you may decide that your epilepsy is part of your personal life and something your employer does not need to know about.
Under the DDA, a person does not have to disclose their disability to a potential employer. However, under the Health and Safety Act you have a duty to ensure that you and others are as safe as possible in your work. Therefore you need to tell your employer:
- if you would be a danger to yourself or others if you had a seizure at work
- so your employer can allocate work accordingly to ensure you are covered by their insurance.
You may also decide to tell them about your epilepsy for the following reasons:
- so that your colleagues are aware of how they can help if you have a seizure
- by being positive and factual, you may help to challenge inaccurate ideas some people have about epilepsy.
Employers’ concerns about epilepsy
Many employers have enlightened and positive attitudes towards employing people with epilepsy. Others may have misconceptions. A potential employer might worry about how other employees will react, whether or not you’ll have a lot of time off, and how it will affect their insurance policy and health and safety regulations.
Talking through any concerns can help reassure your employer that their worries are unfounded. Explain about the type of epilepsy you have and how it affects you; for example, you could explain how often and when you are most likely to have seizures.
You might want to tell your employer whether or not you have any warnings before a seizure, and it is important to explain what should be done and what shouldn’t be done if you do have one. If you don’t have seizures, make this clear. When you start work, you could share the same information with your new colleagues. An open attitude will ensure that those around you have a positive attitude towards your condition.
The Health and Safety Executive can give your employer more information about health and safety. UK insurance companies include disabled people in employers’ liability insurance policies on the same terms as the non-disabled. Special insurance cover is, therefore, not required, although this is on the understanding that the employer, when allocating work, takes account of the nature of the medical condition.
Your rights
It will also make things easier if you have a clear idea of what, if any, adjustments you will need. The DDA obliges employers to make reasonable adjustments where a person with a disability is put at considerable disadvantage compared with a person with no disability.
The adjustments an employer might consider would depend on the type and frequency of your seizures, if you have them. They could allow you to alter your working hours if you need to use public transport, for example. Whatever adjustments you require, it is vital you are clear about your rights and needs to ensure you are treated fairly.
