For many disabled people, getting a job is only half the battle.
Maria, from Hackney, has spina bifida. By 2021, after facing barriers in employment throughout much of her working life, she had begun to question whether she would ever work again.
When Maria discovered Scope's Support to Work service, she was looking for practical help to return to employment. Her confidence had become so low that she remembers thinking: "I'm 51 now. I might not work again."
Support to Work offers disabled people personalised employment support, including help with CVs, applications and interviews. But for Maria, it also provided a space to talk through some of the disability-related challenges that had followed her throughout her career.
For years, Maria had struggled with confidence and often worried about how employers would react to her disability.
"I never wanted to talk about my disability. I wouldn't disclose it on application forms."
Working with her adviser, Sam, gave Maria space to talk through some of the challenges disabled people can face in work, including discussing reasonable adjustments, transport barriers and how to confidently advocate for the support they need.
"Talking to Sam... it's just re-affirmed that I need to be assertive and say, 'Well, actually, I do need a taxi.' And not be worried about saying that as well."
For Maria, having dedicated support made a real difference and gradually, her confidence started to return.
"It's just having somebody there in your corner almost… It started to make me think, ‘I can do this still’.”
Not long after going through Support To Work, Maria was offered a job. The offer itself was an important turning point, helping Maria see that she still had valuable skills and experience to offer employers.
"That was a real boost to my confidence. I know I wouldn't have got that offer if I hadn't had that help from Scope."
But returning to work didn't mean the barriers had disappeared.
Maria believes one of the biggest barriers disabled people face is that employers often wait for employees to identify problems and request support themselves.
When Maria started work as a registrar, conducting marriage and civil partnership ceremonies, nobody sat down with her to discuss her disability or ask what adjustments might help her succeed in the role
"They should have spoken to me about my disability, I think, and just said, well, what would work for you?"
Looking back, she believes many of the difficulties she experienced could have been avoided by a simple conversation.
"We could have had a conversation about that."
As time went on, Maria began experiencing behaviour that left her feeling singled out because of her disability.
During a practice wedding ceremony, a colleague criticised the way she stood, despite it being directly related to her impairment.
"She said to me... the way you stand is distracting to the audience."
For Maria, the comment was shocking.
"As an adult, to have somebody actually go as far as to say that to me... it's never been quite so blatant as that."
When she tried to raise concerns, she felt she wasn't listened to.
"He just wasn't interested…it was like they were really trying to discourage me from making a fuss… I was quite hurt.”
Experiences like these had a significant impact.
Maria says years of negative attitudes towards her disability affected how she viewed herself and her place in work.
"My lack of confidence throughout my life is completely associated with my disability."
After leaving the role, she once again found herself questioning whether employers would value what she had to offer.
"I just thought I was unemployable."
Her confidence became so low that she stopped putting herself forward for opportunities she might previously have considered.
"If I hadn't been offered a job like that, I wouldn't have applied. My confidence was low."
Today, Maria is working in a different role and says the contrast has been striking.
This time, managers raised the subject of adjustments from the start and focused on what would help her succeed. The difference has had a significant impact.
"My direct manager has been great... he made it clear that he was happy to have me there and was really supportive. They said, 'if it'd be better for you, you can work from home if you like.'"
Support from Scope also continued after Maria found work, helping her build the confidence to advocate for herself and ask for what she needs.
"Talking to my Scope adviser Sam... it just re-affirmed that I need to be assertive and say, 'Well, actually, I do need a taxi. I do need support'."
Looking back, Maria believes support can make a real difference, not only in helping disabled people find work, but in helping them stay in work.
We've written an open letter to the Government, calling on them to make disability pay gap reporting mandatory for all large employers. This would be an important first step in creating accountability, and driving change. Sign our petition and add your name to join the movement for work without barriers.
