The Disablement Employment Adviser

When you first meet the DEA, they will discuss your career and employment background and your general job prospects. The DEA will work with you to assess your abilities and help identify the kind of work to look for or, if appropriate, advise you and your employer on how to adjust your present job if a recent disability means you need to make some changes.

The DEA can also tell you about:

  • suitable jobs: they can contact local employers about vacancies and may arrange for you to work in a job on a trial basis;
  • [PDF] Job Introduction Scheme (JIS): if you find a job you would like, but you or the employer are not sure whether it would be suitable, JIS allows you to try the job out and DAS will help the employer with your wages for the first few weeks.
  • [PDF] Employment Support: The Employment Support Programme aims to assist people with significant disabilities who want to work, but who because of their disability are unable to reach the output levels of employees without disabilities. Employment Support can provide financial assistance to employers who recruit employees with disabilities.
  • [PDF] Access to Work (NI): If you have a disability and are unemployed, self-employed or in a job, Access to Work (NI) could help you. It applies to part-time, full-time,permanent or temporary jobs. Access to Work offers practical advice and help in flexible ways, so that it can be tailored to suit your needs and make your working life easier. Help will be approved for as long as you need it up to a maximun of 3 years. After that renewing help will be considered under the rules of the programme in operation at the time.

Examples of Access to Work (NI) help are:-

  • Communication Support at Interview: If you are deaf or have a hearing impairment and need a communicator with you at interview.
  • Special Aids and Equipment: Provision of special equipment to suit your particular work needs.
  • Adaptions to Premises and Equipment: Modifications to premises or equipment if you need it because of a disability.
  • Support Worker: If you need support beacause of your disability, including personal reader support if you have a visual impairment.
  • Travel to Work: Help towards the cost of getting to and from work because of your disability if you are unable to use public transport.
  • New Deal for Disabled People and all the other New Deal programmes available from your local Jobs & Benefits office / Job Centre;
  • Enhanced assessment: a practical way to find out what work or training will suit you best;
  • Vocational training: like the Jobskills programme, DAS specialist training and Open Learning Centres; training could help you update or gain new skills; and
  • Local and national disability organisations: these can advise you about issues relating to a particular disability; some have built up a great deal of experience and information so it may be worth getting in touch.

A brochure entitled [PDF] Disablement Advisory Service Employment Information was published in May 2003.