Poll: Am I disabled?

[lizziec]

Having made it through Edexcel marking and Clearing more or less in one piece I'm now starting to look at jobs and I've found one I want to apply for.

I've become rather stymied by the "Do you consider yourself to have a disability" question. Thing is, I'm much better than I was, I have to be or I wouldn't consider applying for jobs at all and those closest to me wouldn't let me, but I've been off work for a year, and a year long gap doesn't look good on a CV. I'm still seeing my counsellor and I'm still on happy pills, and though I'm winding down visits to my counsellor I'm probably going to be on the pills for at least another year to make sure I'm properly better and try and stop any relapse. Apparently the first year is when I'm most vulnerable to it. My gut says I should declare it, but I also feel like a bit of a fraud for even considering it.

"The University operates under the Two ticks scheme which means we will interview all applicants with a disability who meet the minimum criteria for a job vacancy and consider them on their abilities". This is rather valuable, and I feel it's my only shot at an interview given the huge gap on my CV when I was essentially "doing nothing", but am I really disabled as it's counted?

The University say: When answering this question, please note that under the Disability Discrimination Act 1995 a disability is defined as ‘a mental or physical impairment which has a substantial and long term effect upon your ability to carry out normal day to day activities.’.

[Poll #1246569]

(Please post any expansion on this or thoughts in comments below)

I can't help but feel that this would all be easier if I were visibly physically disabled.

Any (helpful) advice or comments you lot could give would be really great. I'm feeling very mixed up about this, and a tad anxious about giving the "wrong" answer if I'm completely honest. I mean, I was never on benefits while off work (the forms scared me) so never really "disabled" in the eyes of the government. I just don't know what to say :|

Comments

[barakta]

I should be around this evening if you want to talk to me about this :)!

Btw: yay for feeling well enough to consider jobs and stuffs.

[trappermcintyre.livejournal.com]

I would appreciate any thoughts you could give me on this. I'm around doing nothing in particular if you have some time to spare and are on a computer :)

How's work going for you? :D

[alisondh.livejournal.com]

I find the positive discrimination idea a bit annoying/patronising, actually, but if that's the way they work then that's the way they work. I'd be inclined to put an explanatory note by the question, because, regardless of the definite interview issue, a) you don't want to end up being told you put something misleading either by ticking it or not ticking it and b) you need to show that there's a genuine reason for the fact that you aren't working at the moment. That sentence is horribly garbled but hopefully you know what I mean!

[trappermcintyre.livejournal.com]

I understand where you are coming from with that and I am no fan of positive discrimination, but in this instance it seems the only way they will seriously consider someone with an unexplainable year long gap on their CV. I'm sure this is a job I can do, and I can do well, but with that huge gap on my CV I don't think I'll ever be in a position to explain that to the people who count. I don't really want preferential treatment or hiring on the basis of my mental illness, but I would like a chance for the people who are recruiting to see past the gap on my CV. I've also garbled - I hope you get the general gist :)

[bethanthepurple.livejournal.com]

From personal experience I would recommend you don't declare mental stuff. They're legally required to SAY they'll consider people no matter their ability, but mental health is stigmatised, and if they do have a bias against you there's jack you'll be able to do about it.

[belethcalwen.livejournal.com]

is the job maybe advertised through an agency as well? If that was the case they would probably let you know what the best thing to do is?
I'm kind of torn in this issue myself because even though I know it is an illness I'm one of those people who finds it very difficult to understand why this just doesn't mean a person is weaker than others emotionally.

I suppose the question is if you went through to the interview and they asked you why there was a gap what would you say (as in there was no paper application you're jsut there). If there is no good answer that could explain this (maybe even something like you wanted to enjoy married life for a while and get things going, or you needed a long time to consider what you wanted to do with your life etc)
If you have no good answer other than the truth I would tick it and then be prepared to explain why you think it's a disability (it meant you were unable to work for a year so i guess it clearly is).

sorry this is long and makes no sense, just my ramblings before sleep

[bonadish.livejournal.com]

My opinion:

I think that yes, under that definition, you do count as being disabled, however - I don't think they actually mean it.

If this is one of those "positive discrimination" type things, then maybe tick the yes box as it's probably a fast track route to an interview (but beware - whatever people may say, negative discrimination does still go on in the interview room). If it is just the "for our records - you don't need to answer" type question, then I'd tick yes, as it means they won't refer to it at the interview.

I'm not saying that it's right or wrong. I myself am around 50% colour blind, and it genuinely has held me back in my career, but in the eyes of the government, I am not disabled. Should I be classed as disabled? Personally, I think that if any ailment holds you back in life, then it should be considered a disability.

It's a big ol' can of worms you've opened - that we could debate all night and still not have an answer.

Only advice is, ask yourself if you want your disability to be discussed and taken into account at the interview, and during employement. This is the big question. If you don't declare it now, get the job, and then later on down the line request that allowances are made for you (ie - time off, change to hours, etc), then they can turn your request down.

If you think you would like them to discuss it with you regularly, and offer allowances, then I would declare it.

It all depends on how strong and confident you are feeling towards the future. Only you, I'm afraid, can anwser that.

Hope that's of some help.