Supported employment
Survey finds employees enjoy supported employment
Removing supported employment in its current form “would override the career aspirations and desires” of thousands of employees across Australia, according to a submission to the Disability Royal Commission.
Jointly prepared by advocacy organisations Activ Action Team (AAT) and Our Voice Australia (OVA), the submission is based on a national survey by OVA and AAT of workers and their primary carers.
The survey received 655 responses, including from people living with intellectual and learning disabilities, and reveals that employees in supported settings overwhelmingly enjoy their work.
Almost 90 per cent of supported employees who took part in the survey said they liked their job, and over 50 per cent said they liked everything about their job. Reasons given for liking the work include feeling good about themselves, learning new skills, enjoying the work and taking pride in it.
Seventy per cent of supported employees surveyed said they didn’t want to work in open employment, and three quarters of those said they would miss their job if they couldn’t work in a supported setting.
A minority of respondents said they didn’t like their job, finding it monotonous and boring.
OVA and AAT are calling for the disability sector to embrace the work choices of individuals as discussions about employment continue.
In their submission, the advocates say the future of supported employment should be determined by those who work within it — that is, employees with intellectual and learning disabilities.
“Otherwise, some of the most vulnerable members of our labour force will be left behind, turning Australia from a country with an “all-abilities” workforce into one with a “some-abilities” workforce,” the submission states.
“No person, disabled or otherwise, should be forced to ascribe to someone else’s definition of meaningful work and meaningful inclusion.”
AAT representative Amy Clark said the “overarching theme” of the survey is that “supported employees like their job, the people they work with, and want to stay where they are now”.
AAT and OVA said their results “largely mirror” the findings of consultations run by the Department of Social Services five years ago on supported employment.
Given this consistency, Clark believes it’s important that supported employees are listened to when they give their thoughts on what meaningful work means to them.
“All working people, whether living with a disability or not, bring an individual set of personal goals and priorities when deciding on what is the “right job” for them. Meeting someone else’s criteria for “meaningful work” will be no more satisfactory to supported employees than it would be to anyone else,” she said.
She added it’s important the sector recognises those who have a lesser or limited ability to self-advocate.
“Disability Social Enterprises predominantly employ people with an intellectual disability, who experience inherent barriers to self-expression and advocacy given the nature of their impairment. These obstacles have only grown in recent years through the increasing use of technology and non-personal consultations, which are often not effective channels for people who need individualised or in-person communication to properly express their wants and needs,” she said.
Almost 60 per cent of supported employees completed OVA and AAT’s national survey with assistance from a family member. Clark said family members are vital in elevating and championing the wishes of supported employees.
She said employees and their families are currently watching what’s happening in supported employment scenarios overseas in places like the UK, were the closure of a supported employment service led to the redundancy of 1700 people with disability, three quarters of whom were unable to find a new job in the ten years since.
To avoid following in the footsteps of the UK, Clark said it is important that the wishes and experiences of supported employees are kept at the heart of any decisions regarding the future of supported employment.
“While we deeply respect the role of professional advocates and the right for each group to pursue their ideological goals, the push to close Disability Social Enterprises seems to be coming from organisations which don’t represent large numbers of supported employees,” she said.
“Given supported employees and their families are the ones who will be most impacted by such a decision, we believe they are entitled to the definitive voice in the conversation.”
The submission from AAT and OVA follows a push by a coalition of disability social enterprises late in 2022 to be included in the national discussion about employment for people with disability.