careers service discriminating against visually impaired people?

[Wayne Nigel Senior]

Hello. Today, my wife went to careers, expecting that she’d be helped to find a job, as she would have been if she didn’t have a disability. Anyway rather than help her, without asking for her consent, a careers person whose first name is Michelle handed Tmara over to Worklink, and said that she couldn’t help her. If Tmara didn’t have a disability, she wouldn’t have been handed over to Worklink. Michelle didn’t even try to help her. This has apparently happened to other visually impaired people.

 

This isn’t about Worklink, even though like the RNIB, it’s on the list of places I wouldn’t go to if I wanted a job, it is about the careers service that does drop-ins in the library every Wednesday morning.

 

Tmara should have been given the same amount of assistance from the careers service as any sighted person would have received if they went there for the same reason Tmara went there. She shouldn’t have been handed over to Worklink, just because she’s disabled. If the careers person wanted to inform Tmara about Worklink, and give her the option of asking them for help instead, that would have been okay because she could have agreed to their help or rejected their help. However, Tmara didn’t have a say. She was denied help by the careers service because she is visually impaired.

 

This is completely unacceptable. As vice chair of KVIN, I call on the organisation to demand a meeting with the careers service to discuss how they handle visually impaired job hunters. At the meeting, we must demand that next time a visually impaired person comes to them for help, the visually impaired person will receive the same amount of help as somebody without a disability. If the careers service refuses to agree to that, or refuse to implement that policy within two weeks of the meeting, or if they refuse to have a meeting, KVIN needs to consider taking further action against the careers service.

 

When our members are discriminated against, they should expect the full support of the KVIN committee, which must on every occasion be prepared to do a lot more than organise attend meetings if necessary. So I’m interested to know what the committee is going to do, especially as our AGM is a week on Friday. There must be developments before then. This is an urgent matter. I would have addressed this a lot sooner if I knew this was how visually impaired people are treated when they look for jobs.

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[David Quarmby]

Hi Wayne,

I think the first line of action is to follow the Career's Department's complaint's procedure as this appears to be an incident of unequal treatment  whether intentionally or not  of providing their services for visually impaired job seekers. 

Careers, like any other public sector organisation have a legal duty to promote disability equality which means meeting the needs of disabled people, even if that means more favourable treatment to achieve equality

 

I personally have no experience of Work Link but would consider this to be only one of the options to be considered and not the only one and that Career's staff should provide the same level of service and advice for disabled people as they do for non disabled.

 

This certainly does not appear to have taken place for Tamara  and I would expect that all members' of KVIN would be appalled over what as happened and be very supportive towards getting a speedy and successful resolution  to her grievance.

However, in my view, the first step is to use the formal procedures that exist for dealing with individual complaints and only if these are unsuccessful, to take the matter further as an incident of discrimination.  I would be interested in other members views on this as what is the best way we can provide support that is effective in getting this issue addressed.

 

regards
David Quarmby
qua...@ntlworld.com
07736 087019
Inclusive Design means that all products, services, environments etc., should be accessible and usable by the majority of people to the greatest extent without the need for any adaptation or specialist design.

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[Wayne Nigel Senior]

I don’t know the formal complaints procedure, but if Tmara is able to access it, I’m sure she will make a complaint. However, I think KVIN should contact the careers service and ask for a meeting. We can discuss the way they treat visually impaired people at the meeting, and use the meeting to put forward reasonable proposals, to ensure that visually impaired people who go to the careers service for help get the help they would if they’re sighted. If wee meet with them, there will at least be a dialogue, and if they were co-operative, this matter could be resolved satisfactorily by the end of the month.

So I’m saying that Tmara should complain, and KVIN should have a meeting with the careers service.

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• KVIN IT Training Project Co-ordinator
• The Site chat moderator
• BSHDG trustee

Please help end the branding of children as witches by donating to Stepping Stones.

[David Quarmby]

I'm okay about this if that's what the committee wants me to do.  Do you have a contact for me to communicate with?

[Wayne Nigel Senior]

Hi. Here are the details. I’d be willing to attend any meeting that doesn’t take place on a Friday.

Dewsbury Connexions Centre Dewsbury Library , Railway Street , Dewsbury , WF12 8EQ

Tel: 01924 324200

Email and web addresses are not localised.

I believe this can be sorted out in one or two meetings if they co-operate.

[KAUKUB ASIA]

Hi david
I am more than happy for you to meet with the careers service. I hope that this issue can be resolved sooner rather than later. I am disgusted with the way they have treated Mara.   

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From: qua...@ntlworld.com

To: kvine...@googlegroups.com
Subject: Re: KVIN DF careers service discriminating against visually impaired people?

Date: Wed, 6 Jan 2010 19:43:42 +0000

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[David Quarmby]

Wayne,

in addition, can you send me a copy of Tmara's complaint when she has  finalised it?

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