Skip to main content
Donate

Work

Starting a new career

When you start a career, it is common to invest a lot of time in your new job and you may not have much time for other things. As always with PCD it is important that your health remains a priority and that you find time for your physiotherapy sessions. Eat a varied diet to try and keep energy levels high. Try and keep up regular exercise, a dose of fresh air can be invaluable.

If you are finding it difficult to keep on top of your physiotherapy, talk to your physiotherapists about alternative physiotherapy strategies that fit in better with your new lifestyle. In most cases, you are not legally required to tell your employer that you have PCD, however it could help. Sharing information about your PCD with your employer can help them understand how it affects you on a daily basis. This might make it easier if you need to have time off, attend regular hospital appointments or work from home. These things are called ‘reasonable adjustments’ which employers are required to make in order to enable a disabled person to work.

Many people with PCD consider themselves disabled under the Equality Act 2010. The Equality Act 2010 defines disability as “a physical or mental impairment, and the impairment has a substantial and long-term adverse effect on the ability to carry out normal day-to-day activities”. The Equality Act 2010 states that disabled people have the right to ‘reasonable adjustments’, which can make jobs and services accessible to them. This applies to most areas of public life, including public and private services and employers.

 

Additional information

The charity, Scope, has some useful guidance about work and careers for people with disabilities and long-term health conditions.