Epilepsy and employment

What the issue is

People with epilepsy face big challenges at work. These include stigma, changing health, lack of understanding from employers, and uneven access to workplace adjustments.

Employment rates for people with epilepsy are much lower than in the general population and among many other disabilities. People with epilepsy also face the second largest pay gap of any disability.

• Only 44% of people with epilepsy are in employment
• People with epilepsy are paid 26.9% less than their colleagues

People with epilepsy also face discrimination from employers. Surveys of employers and employees with epilepsy carried out by Epilepsy Action found that:

• 42% of employers said they might not hire someone with epilepsy to avoid potential challenges, even though they know this is illegal discrimination. Almost two thirds of respondents with epilepsy (60%) report facing unequal treatment or discrimination at work due to their condition. Two in five (40%) say their employer has refused to provide reasonable adjustments
• Over a third (36%) have had their colleagues, manager or employer make derogatory comments about their epilepsy
• One in three (33%) have been bullied because of their condition, either by their employer, manager or their colleagues
• 28% have been subjected to disciplinaries for having seizures

What needs to change

People with epilepsy need to be better supported to find, and stay in, work. This means better job support from the Government and a shift in how employers view things.

Many employers are unaware of the different ways that epilepsy can affect different people.

They think everyone with epilepsy has tonic-clonic seizures. They don’t know thatmany people can control their seizures a  with medication. They also think that the majority of people with epilepsy would be ‘photosensitive’. This is despite the fact that only around 3-5 in every 100 people with epilepsy have photosensitive epilepsy.

Many people with epilepsy aren’t sure what counts as discrimination in jobs. Because of this, they hesitate to challenge behaviours and practices they think are unfair. We’ve seen many examples where employers have effectively supported employees with epilepsy. This support has made a positive difference.. Then employers are prepared to put measures in place to support people with epilepsy it can make a huge difference.

Increased knowledge about epilepsy can make a can really help people with the condition, and their ability to find and stay in work. By taking simple steps to help support people with epilepsy, employers can help to create a more inclusive workplace.

What we’re doing

To help more people with epilepsy find jobs, Epilepsy Action is urging the Government to provide specific employment support for them. This support should include:

• Introducing mandatory disability employment and pay gap reporting for employers
• Jobcentre Plus Disability Employment Advisers should provide more focused employment support for those with hidden and fluctuating conditions. They also need to offer better support for people with epilepsy. Reforming the current Access to Work system to ensure that people with epilepsy get the support they need to find and stay in a job

We have advice and information about work and epilepsy. This covers when to inform your employer and colleagues about your epilepsy. It also includes tips on care plans, risk assessments, reasonable adjustments, and what to do if you face unfair treatment at work.

Epilepsy Action offers epilepsy awareness training, which can help to improve employers’ awareness and understanding of the condition.

The training explains epilepsy. It includes video clips that show the different types of seizures and how to give proper first aid.. It lets us talk about issues related to living with epilepsy. We can also discuss reasonable adjustments needed at work.

How you can get involved

We are looking for MPs to support our work to ensure that these recommendations are implemented.

We would like people to raise this issue with their MP.

You can download the attached briefing and edit it to explain your own experiences with work and send it to your MP.

You can find the name and contact details of your MP here.