Submission Made By

WillingtoWork:NationalInquiryintoEmploymentDiscrimination againstOlderAustraliansandAustralianswithDisability

Submission No 20

Name:Owen Thomas

Submission made by

XAustralianwithdisability looking for work

XAustralianwithdisability who would liketowork

Submission regarding Older Australians/ Australians withDisability / Both

aYourexperience

Have you(orthe personyouare submittingonbehalfof) experienced employmentdiscrimination?

Discrimination iswhen a person is treatedless favourablythananother person ina similarsituationbecause ofa characteristictheyhave,such as theirage,or disability. It isalso discriminationwhenthere isa rule orpolicy thatis thesame foreveryone

but hasanunfaireffecton peoplewho are olderorpeople with a particulardisability.

XYes

☐No

☐Notsure

Didyoutakeany actioninrelationtothe employmentdiscriminationyou experienced?

XYes

☐No

Pleasetell us more,forexample,whatactionyoutookandhoweffective you feltit was;orwhyyouchosenottotake any action.

Imade severalsubmissions to theAustralianHuman Rights Commission and tried to runa casethrough the FederalMagistrate'sCourt.

Didyour experienceof employmentdiscriminationimpactonyourparticipation intheworkforce?(Forexample,didyouhavetostopwork,changejobsortake sick leave?)

XYes

☐No

Pleasetell us more

Icouldn't dothe workundertheartificialandirrelevantconditionsthat were imposed by each of thesevenemployersIhad.Iam now on a disability pensionand I live in publichousing becauseno employerwill yet allowmetodo myjob.

bBarriers

DoyouthinkolderAustralians/Australianswithdisabilityfacebarrierswhen theylookforworkorareina job?

XYes

☐No

☐Notsure

Ifyes,or notsure,whatdoyouthinkthesebarriersmightbe?

Idon'tknowwhat barriersexistforolderAustralians,butIknowthathuman habit imposesanachronisticbehaviouron themodern workforce.Today,peopleshouldbe permitted toworkfromhomein manyjobswhich arestillbeing donefromoffice blocks.Icannot workin whatissocially toointimateand intrusive environment that theoffice blockrequires.

Does employmentdiscriminationhavean impactongainingandkeeping employmentforolderAustralians/Australianswithdisability?

☐Yes

☐No

☐Notsure

Are thereany practices,attitudesor lawswhichdiscourageor preventequal participationinemploymentofolderAustralians/Australianswithdisability?

XYes

☐No

☐Notsure

Pleasetell us more

Ican't work.Iwould make a fairbetthat there aremanyotherAustraliansaround who are facedwith thesamedifficultyasmyself.

Whatare theincentivesanddisincentivesfor olderAustralians/Australians withdisabilitytowork?

Incentives:

None.

Disincentives:

Many.

cGoodpractice

Are thereexamplesof goodpracticeandworkplacepoliciesinemployingand retainingolderAustralians/Australianswithdisability?

☐Yes

XNo

☐Notsure

Pleasetell us ofexamples ofgoodpracticeinemployingandretainingolder

Australians/Australianswithdisabilityinworkthatyouareawareof.

dSolutions

Whatactionshouldbetakentoaddressemploymentdiscriminationagainst olderAustralians/Australianswithdisability?

Ican do theworkI like from home andIcan do itpart-time,Letme work,andleave me alone so thatIcan doit.

Whatshouldbe donetoenhanceworkforceparticipationof older

Australians/Australianswithdisability?

Let peoplework from home and letpeople workpart-time.Bothare achievable with negligible impacton business function.Ifa companydoesn't havetoprovide and office foritstraditionallyoffice-bound employees,then itwouldn'treally bea logistical imposttoemploy twopart-timeemployees todo theworkof one full-timer.

Whatoutcomesorrecommendationswouldyouliketoseefrom thisNational

Inquiry?

I'dwant tohave a job,a job Iknowisout there.I want the samejob that people are doingfromofficesright now.Iseethese people doing thesejobsfromoffices because people, being creatures ofhabit,simplydo notwantto appropriate behaviour that technology hasrendered completelysensible.