We have (or rather had) a job seeker registered with us who desperately wanted to work – for him the realisation that in Australian society work and personal worth are closely linked is very much a reality.
This young man has a moderate intellectual disability and comes from an ethnic background – his family arrived as refugees.
A very dedicated young lady employed by me who comes from a similar ethnic background and whose work is skilled, thorough and generally goes beyond our expectation found this young man a position with an equally committed employer – a business prepared to go the extra mile to accommodate our lad.
Our job seeker (now worker) began his job and after a few days the family suggested the working conditions (he had to get up at 6am) were too hard as his preparation for work disturbed the family routine.
The NOVA staff person negotiated a change in working hours that meant get up time moved to 7am.
A week later the family again asked for a change as they were still being disturbed and again, the employer and our staff person changed start times
Now at this point I should point out that this lad and the employer got on well and he had the skills and enthusiasm to settle into his role and become a valued member of the team, Our lad loved his work and his co-workers liked him.
Dad however was concerned about the effect of his son’s employment on his Centrelink benefits and his child support money.
{Important note: You are NEVER worse off in Australia because you choose to work}
Our Employment Consultant arrived at our job seekers home to meet the family and then to take our lad to his work – the family told her they did not want him to participate anymore and they would not let him leave his home – our lad appeared and tried to get past his brother and other family members who restrained him and refused to allow him to attend work – he was in tears and my worker was in tears.
His employer was also very upset.
Needless to say, our lad is back on the Disability Support Pension.
Absolutely tragic.
I am not allowed to make a fuss.
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