Equality North East

E.ON

"I hid my disability by coping in ways others would not see"...

Two employees of E.ON took the floor to explain how disability had the potential to hold them back in their careers and how E.ON have helped them to achieve beyond their expectations by providing them with the support and flexibility they need to overcome their individual challenges.
Ashley Bailey, a Debt Collection Agent at E.ON described to the audience how she had previously dealt with not being able to read well due to severe dyslexia:

“I hid my disability by coping in ways other people would not see. I used to take pictures of places that I needed to visit regularly, like the Doctor’s Surgery, Library, Bank and Dentist, and then I used to put them on a calendar so that I knew where I had to be the next day, although I often forgot to add things to my calendar because my memory is so bad. But the stress of coping and fear of losing my job eventually made me quite ill. I was in a very difficult place.

“My manager at E.ON put me in touch with the Dyslexia association. I found that I had Dyslexia that was so bad it prevented me from being able to read properly. I had no idea it was so severe. I had never been told that Dyslexia was hereditary or that my father had a severe case. Like me, he hid his disability, carrying a gold pen in his top pocket so that nobody would know, and it was only recently I found he never used it.

“From that point my life changed. E.ON supported me to spend two hours a week at the Dyslexia Society for three months. They helped me to cope with my disability and gave me the confidence I needed to return to work.
“Since being back I was promoted and I am now the top debt collector in my area. I am really happy with my life now that I know what the problem is and how I can deal with it. I have confidence in my ability, I love what I do and I am really good at it.”

Will Ramsay, an undergraduate trainee Engineer, is on an industrial placement with E.ON as part of his Mechanical Engineering degree at the University of Bath. During the recruitment process he disclosed his paraplegia as a disability but opted not to do the same for his dyslexia because he didn’t think it would be relevant to the process.

Speaking of his experience he said:
“Not telling anyone about my dyslexia put unnecessary stress on me at the assessment centre when I realised I would be expected to read and process a large amount of information for a group task. I chose not to disclose at that late stage because I felt that it might weaken my chances. But, in spite of this, I was successful and have been working with the company for three months. E.ON have made sure that I have the right adjustments made to my environment and a fortnight before I was due to start, I was invited to see the site’s Occupational Health adviser in order to identify any problems that I might have encountered.

“What has really helped is people not making assumptions on my behalf. The best way to understand what changes might make a working environment more accessible is to ask the person. When someone asks me, I will tell them. And often, everything is fine as it is.”

Equality North East

E.ON

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