Are O2 shops bound by the Disability Discrimination Act?

[Anonymous]

Topic.

I am a disabled adult with several years of retail experience and NVQs in retail, yet whenever I've applied to work in O2 stores in Sheffield, and been honest enough to declare my disability, my application clearly gets binned as I never hear back from the potential employer.

I admit I have no direct sales experience though, only charity shop till work and stock room duties, is this why I'm not getting the jobs?

[MI5]

O2, just like any other employer, will be bound by the DDA.

Under the DDA, it is unlawful for employers to discriminate against people with disabilities for a reason related to their disability, in all aspects of employment, unless this can be justified.

Obviously this means that certain disabilities may be excluded from certain work aspects / environments but it is the employers responsibility to prove / justify if challenged.

[Anonymous]

I get that, I just don't see that even my disabilities, which include being deaf, having back problems, limited mobility and Asperger's syndrome (a mild form of autism) should be such a barrier to my dream of working at least a 10-12 hour week for minumum wage or above, but everywhere I apply to, as soon as I declare that I have a disability, boom! I might as well not have gone to the effort of applying IMO.

I think it's the Asperger's that scares people off personally, as outside of the medical profession and Autism specific care companies, not many people including employers, have heard of it, although organisations such as the NAS (National Autistic Society) are constantly working to raise awareness.

[sheepdog]

Client facing retail is notoriously cut-throat so its not just your disability. But its a sales job requiring a relatively thick skin to deal with people. Judging by the posters on this forum, its not a nice place to be if things go wrong and you're expected to solve problems.

There are hundreds of people applying who don't have any skills but want a job even if they're not suitable. I've seen a number of CV's way back my retail days and to be honest, you automatically filter candidates by certain things on paper. Disability was far far from the filter. You have to look at what the job entails in detail e.g. smooth talking, calm nature, ability to make people comfortable etc. Actually I think one of our regulars (version 7.0 perhaps)  might be able to advise on what the jobs entails as he is on the front line!

It has been in my experience how you portray your skills and experience in the context of the position. Even if you do have, in your opinion, the right skills the hiring manager may be looking for something that strikes them as suitable for the position. As a bit of advice, if you never hear anything back just move on to the next one as its usually HR who really can't be bothered to reply to anyone out of courtesy. 

When I mean "your opinion" I mean it in the context of getting someone to look at your CV objectively and start asking questions. That way you might realise you're not coming across as you want to be and can re-write the CV. Believe me, its hard to listen to but worth trying as someone might point something obvious you have but haven't quite put down clearly.

[Anonymous]

Their are lots of able bodied people that don't hear anything back either.

Good luck in your quest.

[Anonymous]

I've had my CV re-written professionally by someone from Remploy last year, but it still gets binned as soon as I mention my disability IMO, purely cos as I've been saying for years, the DDA ain't worth the paper it's written on cos it's not enforced.

[Liquid]

The old club I worked for had a hard time with the DDA a young gentleman in a wheelchair wanted to work behind the bar. Unfortunatly it would of required a complete redesign of the club to allow it. Was a very long court procedure:( such a shame.

Try sending the same cv again without mention of your disability if you get a reply you have your answer.

I just don't understand discrimination:(

"Can you do the job?"

"Yes"

"Welcome aboard!"

To be honest a lot of people's cvs are thrown in the bin without even taking the time to read.

[Anonymous]

The main problem in today's climate is that employers can choose the best applicants which are probably 1 in 500.

Even well educated double first degree applicants can sometimes lose out to somebody with more work experience or charisma eg some well known entrepreneurs are not university degree standard.....for example Alan Sugar :

"When Sugar was young, his family lived in a council flat. He attended Northwold Primary School and then a Secondary Scool and made extra money by working at a greengrocers. After leaving school at 16, he worked briefly for the civil service as a statistician at the Ministry of Education. He started selling car aerials and electrical goods out of a van he had bought with his savings of £50." (Wikipedia)

Today, it's probably even more difficult for the disadvantaged to succeed...... but it's not impossible with a positive attitude similar to somebody like Sugar.

[Rycal]

Just because you aren't hearing back from your applications doesn't necessarily mean it is because of your disability, on average a retail position invites hundreds of applications and only those invited to a formal or telephone interview hear back from the employer.

[Seven_up]

 I am a full time active wheelchair user after been left paralysed in an accident that left me having to look for a new career path. I applied for a role with an 02 partner and was successful enough to gain employment through them, i worked for them for a few years before moving to work self employed doing on the road sales for a few years after been approached by an o2 franchise owner. This worked particularly well for me and helped me overcome the trauma from my accident and also a much loved role that i thoroughly enjoyed. I then moved to work through another o2 franchise store doing the same role up until 2016 when the business contracts team  of their business were closed for reasons i am unsure of.... This left me in great confusion and no matter how hard i tried i was unable to get a similar working role with any other local franchises, i ended up in a very depressive state and with the thought how could this be allowed to happen! 

I searched online for a considerable amount of time and came across home working business development manager roles that were advertised by o2, this sounded exactly like the type of role that i was previously qualified in so i made an application, i stated all my experience of almost 10 years on my CV as well as stating all details of where i had previously worked and that i had a disability with the confidence in my mind that i easily had the necessary experience to qualify for the role. Some time passed and after making a few applications for the role and receiving emails back saying i had been unsuccessful in the role i took it upon myself to send an email back asking why it at i was unsuccessful in even receiving an interview on any occasion. I was really shocked in the response i got and was eventually sent an email from a litigation officer and within a short space of time the role was then advertised as Business Development Manager roles based in mainland Uk only

In an age were o2  say they are creating diverse opportunities for people from all backgrouds this for me in my opinion is an absolute slap in the face, over the many years that i worked in my previous role and for all the thousands of numbers and customers i signed for them thanks for your loyalty, thanks for allowing me a short term role and not what i thought was a job for life if you put the effort in. Thanks for creating  team of what i am sure are able bodied workers to target and out price me and early upgrade customers that i brought to the company! Lastly thanks for still allowing me to still  receive free o2 pay&go sims which i earn a few measly pounds for distributing. No one in this day and age should have to go through the stress and depression i went through and left cast aside as well as be threatened by a legal team... This in no way shows me a true meaning of diversity for everyone!