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Mental Health, Discrimination and Employment

Mental Health, Discrimination and Employment. This session will cover…. This session will cover…. Background and context Disclosure and the law Support. Why is employment important?. 1. how to get a job. Why is employment important?.

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Mental Health, Discrimination and Employment

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  1. Mental Health, Discrimination and Employment

  2. This session will cover… This session will cover… • Background and context • Disclosure and the law • Support

  3. Why is employment important? 1. how to get a job Why is employment important? • For people with experience of mental illness, employment can contribute to: • Social status and identity • Self esteem and self respect • Clinical improvement • Sense of helping others

  4. unemployment 1. how to get a job Unemployment • For people with experience of mental illness: • Unemployment rates higher compared to general population and other disability groups • Not inevitable • With appropriate support, people with severe mental illness can hold down employment

  5. Barriers to employment 1. how to get a job Barriers to employment • Three key barriers: • Discrimination • Attitudes and beliefs about applying for and retaining employment • Practical barriers • The nature of discrimination: • Hostility, harassment, derogatory comments, scrutinising people such that stress leads to further symptoms of mental illness

  6. Grounds for discrimination 1. how to get a job Grounds for discrimination • “Disability” includes: • Physical disability or impairment • Physical illness • Psychiatric illness • Intellectual or psychological disability or impairment • Any other loss or abnormality of psychological, physiological, or anatomical structure of function • Reliance on a guide dog, wheelchair, or other remedial means • The presence in the body of organisms capable of causing illness

  7. Other relevant law 1. how to get a job Other relevant law • The NZ Bill of Rights Act • UN Declarations and Conventions • Universal Declaration on Human Rights • UN Declaration on Rights of Disabled Persons (1975) • UN Convention on Rights of Persons with Disabilities (2006) • Disability (UN Convention on Rights of Persons with Disabilities) Act 2008

  8. Exceptions to the right not to be discriminated against Exceptions to the rights not to be discriminated against 1. how to get a job • Everyone has the right to not be discriminated against (s22), except where: • “Measure to ensure equality” (s79) • Employing a disabled person would present too much of a risk to that person or others, or • A disabled person could only do the work with accommodations which the employer cannot reasonably be expected to provide (s29)

  9. Disclosing mental illness 1. how to get a job Disclosing mental illness • Do employers and colleagues need to know? • It is illegal for potential employers to ask questions with the intention to discriminate • But, from the perspective of people with experience of mental illness, disclosure is complex • Do employees have to tell? • Legal: obligation to disclose if symptoms “pose a risk”, or would make you unable to perform a job, or if no reasonable accommodation can be made • Ethical pressure? • Practical pressure

  10. Benefits from disclosure 1. how to get a job Benefits from disclosure • Research suggests that the benefits outweigh the negatives and the risks: • Reasonable accommodation can be organised • Employees’ and employers’ understanding of and dealing with the onset of symptoms can be facilitated • Workers with experience of mental illness can readily access supported employment services

  11. What is “reasonable accomodation” 1. how to get a job What is “reasonable accommodation”? • Flexible working arrangements • Job coaches, mentors, and job buddies • Specialised supervision • Changing policy to better meet needs • Changing job duties to suit abilities • Changing physical environment • Generally, reasonable accommodations are identified during the hiring process

  12. A note on privacy 1. how to get a job A Note on Privacy • It is illegal for employers to share confidential information about an employee’s disability, medical condition or “accommodation” (indicating a disability) without the permission of the employee, with the exception of those who need to know

  13. Support and more information 1. how to get a job Support and more information • Association for Supported Employment Services: www.asenz.org.nz • Mental Health Foundationwww.mentalhealth.org.nz • Like Minds, Like Mine www.likeminds.org.nz

  14. THANK YOU

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