Work, DLA and Epilepsy,

[ChocolatChip]

Hi there,
My husband is 27, and an epileptic (Petit Mal), but has severe memory loss when his seizures occur. (i.e will lose 2 years of his memory for several weeks, and cannot retain information, therefore needing 24hr care during this time)
He has been off work (as a chef) since May of this year, and has been told by his consultant neurologist that it is no longer safe for him to work in this field, and therefore quit his job. This all happened 2 months ago.
He is now on job seekers, looking for managerial positions as restaurant management (as he was 'management' in the kitchen and highly educated). He has already had several interviews, where he has been well liked, and the job has been almost certain. But when they bring up his reason for leaving he previous job, he cannot lie and is forced to tell them it is because of his illness. To which the employer goes cold, and decides that he is not what they are looking for.
As much as we know they are not hiring him because of his epilepsy, we cannot prove it under the disability discriminations act.

I was interested to find out about Disability Living Allowance, and wondered if this would be a possibility for him?
When he is well, he is a perfectly normal person. But every few months he will have hundreds of fits everyday for a couple of weeks. He is unable to comprehend pretty much anything, cannot dress or feed himself properly and can be quite aggressive (I have been attacked several times.) and it takes him about 2 months to properly recooperate and remember things.
I am very concerned that any job he gets will have to end because of this reason, can anyone help me or give me some advice. We are having to live with my family as we cannot afford to move out, and when he is very ill, I need help with his care.
I am only 19 myself, so we have a long time left together until retirement, etc. And just don't really know what to do!

[bednobs]

there is nothing to stop you trying, filling in the forms and giving it a go. Just be honest on the forms and tell them it's not every day.

[ummmm]

I'm sorry...

Can you really expect someone to employ him when he'll need that much time off and won't remember what job he's in when he feels better?

[bednobs]

And to be honest, i'm not sure that what you are describing is discrimination. There is a big difference between not employing someone because they have a condition and not employing someone because every couple of months they wont be capable of doing their job for a couple of weeks. there aren't really any "reasonable adjustments" that an employer can make for that.

[boxtops]

Chocchip, I do wish you good luck - you could also seek advice from the CAB, or maybe the Epilepsy Soceity website would be able to give you advice if you ask them - I am sure they will have come across this before http://www.epilepsysociety.org.uk/Homepage
I hope this helps.

[ChocolatChip]

But ummmm, at the same time, if we applied for DLA and they refused, how could we possibly live? JSA forever?!

[ummmm]

If he's that bad he shouldn't be on JSA...

[ChocolatChip]

He didn't go into massive detail during his interviews, but he was honest in the fact that he had epilepsy and had been off work since May, until his neurologist had told him that he needed to leave his job in August.

[bednobs]

i wonder if temporary work would suit him? If he was with an agency, he could work when he is well and not work when he was unwell? I'm afraid DLA won't be awarded just because you need the money, crap as it sounds. Maybe he would be better getting ESA, because then he could have help to find a job tailored to his abilities?

[boxtops]

I still think you can seek advice from those with direct experience, at the Epilepsy Society ;-)

[ummmm]

What would they be though bednobs?

[ChocolatChip]

Well we hadn't got round to looking at all the options, he doesn't want to be on any kind of benefit, he'd much rather work, and since leaving his job, he thought that JSA was the natural progression kind of thing. He didn't think that he'd have a problem with getting a job, I think probably because he doesn't know how bad his epilepsy is. He only knows what we tell him, because he doesn't really know anything about it. It takes a long time to explain to him that he's got epilepsy.
But I believe that we will be looking a DLA now.

[ChocolatChip]

It's such a shame because he's a really bright, hard-working guy. His epilepsy only really came about 2 years ago, it just seems to be problem after problem. It's so difficult, and no one ever seems prepared to help us.

[ChocolatChip]

We do explain redhelen, but when he's particular bad he just says 'we're liars' and that there's nothing wrong with him.
And when he's okay, he understand it somewhat, but doesn't 100% comprehend how bad it is, he just thinks it's a big story kind of thing.

[36TEAK36]

Hi ChocolateChip,

Has your Husband ever thought of learning a trade such as plastering? He could then be self employed and will only work when he is well. I understand a good plasterer can earn a very decent wage.

[ChocolatChip]

Thanks for that, it may help in the future. But may be awkward due to the fact he can't drive. He has to wait 12 months after a seizure before a license is returned.