Aim of this guide

Many disabled people want to work but can’t get the opportunity to show what they can do.

The Supported Employment model is designed to enable people who are furthest removed for the labour market to work towards a paid job and supports employers who want to create workforces that are more diverse.

Every year more and more employers across Scotland are working with supported employment services. Trained job coaches are helping them to find the right candidate for their vacancy, supporting the jobseeker and employer through the recruitment process and providing in-work support to help the new employee settle in, learn the job and make a meaningful contribution to the business.

Find out more about Supported Employment. 

A person is described as disabled under the Equality Act 2010 if they have a physical or mental impairment that has a ‘substantial’ and ‘long-term’ negative effect on their ability to do normal daily activities. We’ve given some definitions below:

Mental Impairment refers to a wide range of conditions that impact on mental functioning. These include:

• Anxiety
• Autism
• Phobias
• Depression
• Schizophrenia
• Bipolar disorder
• Eating disorders
• Learning disabilities
• Obsessive compulsive disorder

Substantial is more than minor or trivial. A condition with a substantial adverse effect doesn’t have to stop a person from doing something completely, but it must make it more difficult to complete a daily task such as getting dressed. It may also be that a person avoids doing certain things because it causes them a lot of pain or makes them tired.

Long-term means a condition lasting 12 months or more, for example a breathing condition that develops as a result of a lung infection.

Normal day-to-day activities are those carried out by most people on a regular basis. For example:

• walking or driving
• washing or getting dressed
• cooking or eating
• using public transport
• talking or hearing
• writing, typing or reading
• carrying or moving things
• being able to concentrate or understand
• being able to form social relationships.

Some conditions are specifically excluded from the Equality Act as an impairment. For example, addiction to alcohol, nicotine and any other substance (unless the addiction is the result of medically-prescribed drugs or treatment).

A progressive condition is one that gets worse over time. People with progressive conditions can be described as disabled. However, you automatically meet the disability definition under the Equality Act 2010 from the day you’re diagnosed with HIV infection, cancer or multiple sclerosis.

Hidden disabilities refer to disabilities which may not be visible at a glance, but can have a major impact on people’s lives and can include:

• Chronic Pain – a variety of conditions may cause back problems, musculoskeletal issues, physical injuries, neurological causes or headaches.
• Chronic Fatigue –  can be extremely debilitating and affect every aspect of a person’s everyday life.
• Mental Illness – there are many mental illnesses that are regarded as a disability. Some examples are depression, attention deficit disorder, schizophrenia, agoraphobia, and many others. These diseases can make performing everyday tasks extremely difficult.
• Chronic Dizziness – often associated with problems of the inner ear, chronic dizziness can lead to impairment when walking, driving, working, sleeping, and other common tasks.

Some Common Hidden Disabilities include traumatic brain injury, epilepsy, diabetes, chronic fatigue syndrome, cystic Fibrosis, Attention Deficit-Disorder or Attention-Deficit/Hyperactivity Disorder(ADD/ADHD)

A related condition is a condition which later develops into another condition related to the first. If taken together, the adverse effects of these two related conditions last for more than 12 months, a person will be considered as having a disability under the Equality Act.