Disability and mental health

Studying for and achieving a degree, with the extra challenges faced by disabled students or those with mental health conditions, is a real achievement and testament to your motivation and commitment. We understand that the transition into employment may seem daunting, and we want to support you as you research and apply for jobs.  

Direct or indirect discrimination related to a disability breaches the Equality Act 2010. Disability is defined by the Act as a physical or mental impairment that has a substantial and long-term adverse effect on a person's ability to carry out normal day-to-day activities.  

Employers are required by law to make reasonable adjustments to the recruitment process to prevent a disabled person being disadvantaged compared to a non-disabled person – if they know about your disability. For many, though, it’s not just a legal requirement – they have a genuine desire to create a diverse and representative workforce, and to benefit from the insights which this will bring. 

EmployAbility Next Generation Inclusive University

We are a Next Generation Inclusive University, working in partnership with EmployAbility to promote best practice and to offer webinars tailored to your needs. This partnership enhances our drive to support students with mental health conditions, neurodiversities and other disabilities, to ensure you get the careers you deserve. 

EmployAbility

EmployAbility can provide you with individualised advice and support about adjustments for recruitment and the workplace, information about your rights, and support you with your application. The EmployAbility team will also advocate for you with an employer to ensure you receive the adjustments you need, taking any stress and anxiety out of the process. 

We will be running a number of webinars and one-to-one sessions with them throughout the year, when you can learn more and ask EmployAbility any questions you may have.

 Register with EmployAbility

Recruitment process  

Graduate recruiters are keen that you ask for relevant reasonable adjustments during the recruitment process. However, whether or not you do this, and at what stage, is entirely up to you and will depend on what you feel comfortable with.  We talk about this in more detail on the following page, and it’s something you can discuss with us at a careers appointment: 

Sharing your disability 

Examples of reasonable adjustments are given here: 

Disability and inclusion: find positive employers 

Book a careers appointment with us    (MyCareerHub)

These recorded sessions from EmployAbility offer in-depth explanations of how to approach the recruitment process.

Mental health - your rights to privacy and adjustments      (needs UoE login)

Neurodiversity - managing the hidden barriers in recruitment      (needs UoE login)

Talking about disability with an employer: when, why and how      (needs UoE login)

Finding employers and vacancies 

We suggest ways to identify employers with a positive attitude towards disability and inclusion: 

Disability and inclusion: find positive employers  

Support organisations   

The following organisations offer advice and support for people with specific disabilities. This isn’t a comprehensive list. 

Astriid - a charity which helps people with long-term health conditions find meaningful employment or volunteering opportunities

Astriid

British Dyslexia Association – includes advice on dyslexia support in the workplace

British Dyslexia Association    

National Autistic Society (NAS)

National Autistic Society employment support 

MIND 

MIND - applying for jobs 

Blind in Business  

Blind in Business employment services

The following have a broader remit: 

Access to Work scheme – financial support to help disabled people with interview costs or help employers to make reasonable adjustments to their workplace.  

Access to Work

Access to Work (BSL translation, in YouTube)

Access to Work - response to Covid-19 (BSL translation, in YouTube)

IntoWork – personalised employment advice for people with long-term disabilities in Edinburgh and Midlothian 

IntoWork

Remploy – advice for disabled people on finding and staying in work   

Remploy

EmployAbility – support disabled students and graduates into work, also run internship and graduate programmes for employers

EmployAbility

Opportunities on programmes offered by EmployAbility, Change 100 (internships) and similar organisations, targeted at students and graduates with disabilities, are advertised on MyCareerHub. 

Opportunities (MyCareerHub)

Online resources

We provide access to information and advice on e.g. unconscious bias and being your true self at work, ADHD at work, neurodiversity and more, via a suite of e-learning resources. 

Neurodiversity support at work (University of Edinburgh login required)

Thriving with ADHD at work (University of Edinburgh login required)

Tips & techniques for managing ADHD (University of Edinburgh login required)

Careers for ADHD minds (University of Edinburgh login required)

Culture and Diversity e-learning  (University of Edinburgh login required)