Contents:
Otherwise, the only time you would need to tell them is if: You may decide that you don't want to tell a potential employer that you have Parkinson's. This may be because: On the other hand, you may decide you'd rather tell a potential employer about your condition.
Take some time to decide what you think is best for you. You could think about your symptoms, the type of job you are applying for and your personal preferences. You may wish to discuss it with someone you trust or others with similar experiences. Positive discrimination is when one person is treated more favourably than another because of a 'protected characteristic'.
Protected characteristics are age, disability, gender reassignment, marriage and civil partnership, pregnancy and maternity, race, sex or sexual orientation. Generally, positive discrimination is unlawful — except in the case of disability.
Both the Equality Act and the Disability Discrimination Act allow employers to actively seek people with a disability for a role and treat them more favourably than a non-disabled person in certain circumstances. The most common form of positive discrimination is when a job advert says that the employer wants someone with a particular type of disability.
This is usually because the role is working with people with that disability and their personal experience is necessary. For example, the Royal National Institute for the Blind might want to employ someone who has a visual impairment for a specific role. This is up to you, but there are a few things to think about first.
You don't have to tell your manager or anyone else at work about your Parkinson's unless: If you do not tell your employer about your symptoms, they will not be under a duty to offer you reasonable adjustments. Unless you work in a small organisation without a human resources department, your manager doesn't normally need to know that you have Parkinson's specifically, if you do not feel comfortable telling them.
You can just say that you have a health condition and you need to change the way you work if this is the case.
Your manager or someone in the human resources department should arrange for you to have an appointment with an occupational health specialist or other medical adviser. Occupational health specialists can work with you to find out what the impact of your work is on your health, and make sure you are fit for the work you do.
The New Parkinson's Disease Handbook. Harvey Sagar. The New Parkinson's Disease Handbook. The essential guide for sufferers and carers. The Parkinson's Disease Handbook: The Essential Guide for Sufferers and Carers The New Parkinson's Disease Handbook and millions of other books are.
They will put a report together on how your condition affects your ability to do your job and what changes could be made to make sure you can keep working. If you work for a large organisation, they may have their own occupational health specialists. Smaller businesses may send you to a GP. The occupational health specialist or GP will need to know your diagnosis and you should be asked to sign a consent form that lets them ask for reports from your own GP or specialist.
If you decide that you want to tell your manager about your condition you may find it helpful to give them some information about Parkinson's. We have specific information for employers about Parkinson's , that you may like to direct them to. Remember that if you tell your manager about your condition, they must not tell anyone else without your consent, except in very limited circumstances.
For example, they may have to tell the human resources department or other managers to meet the terms of their legal obligations to you, such as their duty to look after your health and safety and to make reasonable adjustments under the Equality Act or Disability Discrimination Act. If they do tell anyone else about your condition outside of these circumstances, they may be breaking the law.
This is because the Data Protection Act says that information about health is sensitive, personal data, and may only be shared if you say so. If you do let your manager or the human resources department know about your condition, you may find it helpful to ask for more information about their policies related to employees with a long-term condition.
It's entirely up to you whether you tell your colleagues about your Parkinson's. But the important thing to know is that you don't have to tell your colleagues if you don't want to. You can take time to decide what you think is best for you in terms of what, if anything, you tell them. You may want to think about things like how your condition may affect you and your colleagues in the workplace, how noticeable your symptoms are and what your relationship is like with the people you work with.
You may wish to discuss your decision with someone you trust outside of work, or speak to others, with similar experiences. If you do decide to tell your colleagues about your condition, you may like to spend some time thinking about what you want to tell them and how you want to do this. You may want to tell them about Parkinson's in detail or you may prefer to be less specific and just let them know you have a health condition.
You may find it helpful to talk to your manager about how to tell your workmates. For example, you can tell them yourself or ask your manager to do it for you. Some employers run education sessions, where an expert will come in and talk about a particular health issue to educate and inform employees.
Protected characteristics are age, disability, gender reassignment, marriage and civil partnership, pregnancy and maternity, race, sex or sexual orientation. If you decide to tell your employer about your condition, it may help to make sure they understand that this is a big part of life with Parkinson's. You may want to set up a business as a trader, in a partnership or as a company. Fox, or much later. You can also ask your employer to allow a family member or trusted friend to be there with you for moral support.
You could discuss running a session on Parkinson's and decide whether or not you would want to take part in this. Parkinson's UK offers free awareness sessions for workplaces who employ someone with the condition. The aim is to give staff a better understanding of Parkinson's and the ways they can support colleagues or customers with the condition. Find out more about Parkinson's in your workplace. An Access to Work grant provides money for practical support to people with a disability, such as a long-term health condition.
It is there to provide help towards covering the costs of adjustments which would be unreasonable to expect an employer to make, because they are too expensive or impractical. Your employer still has a duty to make reasonable adjustments under the Equality Act and the Disability Discrimination Act. Applications for Access to Work grants must be made by the person with the disability. If you're in England, Scotland or Wales, visit www. You can find out where this is by calling the freephone number You can also visit www. You can ask to take time off work for your medical appointments or treatment as part of your reasonable adjustment agreement.
Whether your employer agrees will depend upon whether the time off is reasonable in the circumstances. Talk to your manager about how much time you think you need. If you know when your appointment is in advance, your employer should be able to allow you to take this time off. If you are not well enough to work you may need to take time off sick. You should follow your employer's usual procedure for letting them know. This will include telling your employer immediately that you're not able to work.
If you're off sick for more than seven days, you will need to arrange getting a doctor's 'fit note' to give to your employer for statutory sick pay purposes. If you are off sick due to your Parkinson's symptoms and haven't told your employer about your condition yet, you may feel it's best to do so before they get a fit note or letter from your doctor.
Each place of work will have a different policy on sick pay. But if you are sick for more than four days in a row including non-working days you may qualify for Statutory Sick Pay. This will be paid by your employer for up to 28 weeks. You may qualify for more if your company has a sick pay scheme or occupational scheme. Check your employment contract for details. There may also be other benefits you can claim whether you qualify for Statutory Sick Pay or not, such as Housing Benefit.
To find out more, call our confidential helpline on and speak to our benefits and employment adviser. Being off work sick for more than four weeks may mean that you are considered to be long-term sick. As a last resort, employers can dismiss you if you are long-term sick, but before they can do this they must: If you feel you are being treated unfairly in the workplace, the first thing to do is talk to your line manager. Ask for a meeting and talk to them about what has been happening. For example, you may feel you are being discriminated against because the reasonable adjustments you asked for haven't been made, or you feel a colleague is treating you unfairly.
If your line manager is the problem, talk to their manager or the human resources manager. It's best to start with an informal discussion. Your employer may simply not realise what difficulties you are having or be aware of what they should legally be doing. If you explain what you need they may be willing to make the necessary changes. If you are uncomfortable talking to your employer alone there are things you can do.
If you are a member of a union, you can ask a trade union representative to go with you or, if not, you can ask if you can bring a colleague of your choice with you. You can also ask your employer to allow a family member or trusted friend to be there with you for moral support. If, after the informal meeting, you are still unhappy, you should make a formal complaint or grievance. Your staff handbook should tell you the process for doing this, or you should ask for guidance from the human resources department on your employer's policies.
You will also need to find out more about your legal rights. If you are dismissed because of your disability or because your employer doesn't want to make reasonable adjustments, you may be able to make a claim for disability discrimination or unfair dismissal. You must find out what rights you have to bring a claim and what you should do next as soon as possible because strict time limits apply to making claims to the employment tribunal. If you have been given a warning about your performance or conduct at work, you may be at risk of dismissal and should seek advice immediately.
You may start thinking about giving up work completely earlier than you would have done if you had not been diagnosed with Parkinson's. This may be because working with Parkinson's is becoming too difficult or you would prefer to concentrate on other aspects of your life. If you're thinking about retiring it may help to consider the following: If you do decide to retire, it may take time to adjust to life without work.
Talking to someone about the decision may help. This may be a family member, trusted friend, others who have gone through retirement, or a trained counsellor. If there are no reasonable adjustments that would mean you could do your current job, your employers must look for suitable alternative jobs that you can be transferred to. This is known as redeployment. Remember that the job might be suitable if other reasonable adjustments are made, such as changing hours or location, or with the help of special equipment.
If your health deteriorates and you want to retire early, your pension may be able to offer you some financial support to help you cope. This is generally known as ill-health retirement. Whether or not this is possible will depend on the terms of your pension scheme.
If you retire early but are still medically fit for work, the amount you get may be lower. Because ill-health retirement is complicated and dependent on your own circumstances, it's usually best to talk to an independent financial adviser to make sure you are aware of all the options before making a decision. You may be working as well as caring for someone with Parkinson's.
Paid work can provide financial independence and money to help with caring, as well as a break from caring, new social networks and friendships, better self-esteem and a better pension. However, combining your responsibilities has its own challenges. If you are in paid work and care for someone with the condition, you may find that, as time goes on, combining your responsibilities can be challenging.
You may also need to make changes to maintain your own general health and wellbeing. If you care for someone with a long-term condition like Parkinson's you are protected from being discriminated against or harassed at work. This means that as a carer you should not be treated less favourably than another employee who isn't a carer, and should still get the flexibility you are legally entitled to. Any offensive language about your association with a person with Parkinson's should also not be tolerated.
You do not have to tell your employer you are a carer.
But it may help if you need to take time off to look after the person you care for. You might make this decision depending on whether your employer has a policy to support carers, or whether they'd be open to exploring ways to support you. Find out what's available before you approach your manager. This is up to you, so take some time to consider what you think is best. Colleagues can be very supportive, and it may help to talk with someone you can trust at work.
You may find that other colleagues are also carers. Together, you may be able to talk to your employer about ways you could be supported in juggling your job and caring. You may have a statutory legal right to ask your employer if you can work flexibly. This may mean changing your hours or working from home. Your right to make this request will depend on how long you have been working at your company the minimum for making a request is 26 weeks. Your employer must give serious consideration to your request but they can refuse if there are good business reasons for doing so.
To find out more, visit www.
Remember that there is nothing stopping you from talking to your employer informally. This may also be appropriate if you need a temporary change to your role. If you are a member of a trade union, ask them for help. A local, or regional, union representative may be able to negotiate with your employer on your behalf and attend meetings with you.
If you are not in a union, you have the right to invite a colleague to attend certain types of meeting with you. Call our helpline adviser for employment and benefits on to discuss your employment rights. The Employment Rights Act allows employees to take a 'reasonable' amount of time off work to deal with an emergency involving a dependant.
A dependant can include a: You should not be victimised or dismissed by your employer for using this right. It is at the employer's discretion whether the leave is paid or unpaid. You might need to take leave because of: You should also find out how unpaid time off might affect your work rights, pension and working tax credit eligibility. If you decide you have to leave work, think about other options which may be available to you other than resigning, such as: Employers are keen to keep skilled, experienced and committed staff, so they may be open to changing your role to fit around your caring duties.
If you are thinking of leaving work to spend more time caring for a loved one, you may be concerned about your finances. But there are things you can do to ease any worries, such as making sure you are claiming all the benefits you are entitled to.
Call the employment and benefits adviser on our helpline on to talk through your options. This organisation provides impartial advice for both employers and employees who are involved in an employment dispute or are seeking information on employment rights and rules. This organisation provides specialist legal advice for disabled people and their families and carers. This organisation has a number of programmes that help people with disabilities find employment and support them in their place of work. This is an online database where you can search volunteering opportunities in your area.
The EASS helpline can provide information, advice and support on discrimination and human rights issues to people in England, Scotland and Wales. This includes advice on the Equality Act and how it applies to you, what options you have in regards to resolving any issues at work and assisting you in finding local sources of support.
The EASS does not provide legal advice. The Government Equalities Office has information and guidance on the Equality Act on its website. Law Centres are not-for-profit legal practices providing free legal advice and representation to disadvantaged people. To find your nearest Law Centre in Scotland visit govanlc. This organisation helps people of all ages work with their local communities, and lists local volunteering opportunities.
Employers for Carers is a website set up by employers for employers, which provides practical advice on supporting carers within their workforce. Provides advice and information on carers employment rights. It's quite important so that I can keep going - I don't want to wear myself out too soon!
We have specialist employment advisers on our helpline to answer any questions you have about work and Parkinson's. Last updated February We review all our information within 3 years. Information and support Newly diagnosed with Parkinson's? Caring for someone with Parkinson's? Do I have Parkinson's?
Younger people with Parkinson's. Does Parkinson's run in families? Relationships and family life. Work, money, driving and legal. Apps and devices for Parkinson's. Symptoms and side effects. Side effects of Parkinson's drugs. Leave a gift in your will. Where your money goes. It can strike very early in life, as with the actor Michael J.
Fox, or much later. It is a progressive, neurological disorder, treated mainly with drug therapy but also alleviated with physical therapy and diet. Although each person with Parkinson's is different, and the ability to perform movements may differ from one day to the next, Parkinson's has a dramatic effect on a person's quality of life and also affects those around the sufferers.
This is a compassionate and helpful guide to the disease and its treatments. The good news is that Parkinson's can be controlled very effectively for many years with the right treatment and care. This definitive handbook allows you to ask all the right questions and to understand the disease so that the answer to the question above is, 'as long as possible'. Find your local bookstore at booksellers. A positive and practical guide that is essential reading for all sufferers of Parkinson's Disease and their family and friends. The New Parkinson's Disease Handbook.