Once you have registered with us, you are legally able to practise in your chosen profession. Some students apply for jobs while they are still studying and gain a job offer which depends on them registering with us. Others wait until they are registered before looking for work. As long as you do not practise using a professional title protected by us before you are registered, it is up to you which route to employment you choose. When you are applying for jobs, employers also have certain duties under the law not to discriminate against you and to consider your application fairly. In England, Scotland and Wales some employers display the ‘Two ticks’ symbol, which means that they will interview all disabled applicants who meet the minimum criteria for a job vacancy and consider them on their abilities.
Also, employers must make reasonable adjustments in the workplace to make sure disabled employees are not seriously disadvantaged when doing their jobs. However, employers can only provide you with appropriate support and adjustments if they are aware of your disability, so we recommend that you tell them any relevant information.
We do not make assumptions about how likely employers are to make adjustments as this is likely to depend on the cost and effect of the adjustment and the employer’s resources. We register people who meet our standards and would never refuse to register someone because they may not gain employment.
You may be eligible for national schemes which may provide you with extra financial support to help you stay in work, depending on your circumstances. For more information about help and support that may be available when you are looking for work, you should contact the Equality and Human Rights Commission or the Equality Commission in Northern Ireland.
Occupational health assessment
Once you have been offered a job, your employer may ask you to take part in occupational health screening, which normally applies to all staff.
This may be a form or questionnaire assessment, which you fill in and then send to the occupational health providers that your employer uses. Your employer may then contact you for more information, or ask you to go to a meeting or interview with an occupational health professional so that they can assess you. An occupational health assessment is about finding out what effect your work might have on your health (and vice versa), including identifying what adjustments might need to be made to support you in the workplace.
If this happens, it may be helpful for you to do some preparation beforehand to show how you practise safely and effectively. This could include describing how adjustments made to tasks in your academic work or on practice placement have overcome the barriers to your practice.
Education providers may sometimes ask students and people applying for places on a training course to have an occupational health assessment to help them identify how they can best support that person during their programmes.