Community reporter Fatima interviews Centre 404 manager Rory about the work he and his organisation do to support disabled people into employment. In the interview, Rory says the barriers disabled people face when trying to get a job are that they don’t know if jobs are suitable for them or what support will be available for them in the job and employers don’t do enough to show they are willing to employ disabled people.
Rory says he’s never known any disabled people who have faced discrimination at work, although he’s aware that disabled people face discrimination in general.
He adds that Camden Council employs about the same number of disabled people as other London boroughs, but less than the national average.
In terms of what needs to be done to help more disabled people get work, Rory says different services need to work together more. He says that would help make sure more disabled people apply for work and get support while they’re in work. Rory added that people also need to realise that being employed doesn’t always mean working all day, every day. He says it’s about finding the right kind of work for each person.
Rory says that Centre 404 doesn’t directly support people in work but it will help people find work and sign post them on to other services that will help them.
Additional information
There are 9,300 sickness/disability benefits claimants in Camden, 5,700 of whom have mental health problems. These figures mean Camden has the third highest proportion of people living on sickness/disability benefits in the capital and one of the 10 highest numbers of benefits claimants with mental health problems (Shaukat and Karnad, 2019).
