Case Studies

From a candidate's perspective:

I have always tried to work since I left school at 16 but have never been able to hold down a job for very long due to health issues.  Then in 2007 I became wheelchair bound and so had to leave the job I had in hospitality as I was no longer able to perform the duties involved.

I started to apply for jobs in offices and found that after 20 applications I had not been called for a single interview so I removed the fact that I was in a wheelchair from my CV and tried again. I received three interview offers but on ringing to arrange the interview two declined as they said they were not wheelchair accessible and the third carried through with the interview but had to do it in a local coffee shop so again I didn’t get the position.

Disillusioned and feeling unemployable I returned to education and studied for my A-levels which I achieved and then started to study for a Degree, unfortunately my health intervened again and I had to leave my course. I was distraught and hit rock bottom; I was unemployable and now too ill for education. All I could see in front of me were endless days of daytime TV and my brain turning into mush.

Then I heard about Evenbreak, a site specifically for disabled job seekers.  I didn’t think it would come to anything but went to the website and had a look anyway.

To my surprise a position at the Democratic Reform Party leapt out at me and seemed perfect, saying you could work from home and do the hours that suited you as long as you could guarantee a minimum of 10 hours per week.  I applied for the position and was accepted straight away.  Since then I have been promoted to the Management Committee of the Party and hold the positions of Treasurer and Membership Manager.  This predominantly involves administration and phone calls so I can work from home, even from bed when particularly ill.

My mental health and feelings of self-worth have improved dramatically; having something to do, feeling like I am making a difference and contributing to something bigger, and being trusted with a position of responsibility are all things that I had thought were lost to me because of my disability.

Registering on Evenbreak literally changed my life - I would recommend any disabled person looking for work does the same.

Jean Eveleigh, Treasurer and Membership Manager, DRP

From an employer's perspective:

Interactive Ideas Ltd is a fast-growing and successful distributor of enterprise software based in Enfield, North London. We employ 54 people and have sales in excess of £31 million and have grown at approx 40%pa for the last four years.

As an organisation we pride ourselves in choosing the best people for the job and have an extremely diverse workforce. However, we realised that we were not attracting disabled candidates through conventional recruitment means and so we have gone out of our way to pro-actively attract candidates with disabilities.

We have recently recruited our first deaf employee - Emlyn, a young dynamic recent graduate who had been unable to find paid employment despite an impressive CV. Since joining us he has had a very positive impact on our workforce, not just because of his excellent ability in the job but also because it has highlighted to other staff the importance of inclusion in the broadest sense within the company. It also sends a very positive message that we recruit and promote on the basis of merit alone.

We now advertise all our vacancies on Evenbreak, and would encourage other employers to do the same.

Mike Trup, Managing Director, Interactive Ideas Ltd.

I am grateful to Interactive Ideas for taking a chance on employing a deaf person, which some employers might see as too much hassle. So far I have been able to execute the tasks that were given to me, and am still hungry for new learning. And it’s also great for my employers and colleagues to learn more about Deafness – how to behave around me – and it is brilliant here – everyone’s cool and laidback and have taken me in quickly and warmly.

Emlyn Barton, Interactive Ideas Ltd.

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