Welcome to Martin's blog

Malingerers and their hip pockets I’m sick of conservatives in power basing their treatment of job seekers at least in part on the idea that ‘these people are malingerers’. Surely this is the reason for the providing more of a stick than a carrot with demerit points lost for ‘misdemeanours’, such as missing appointments. Have they ever asked themselves, seriously, how they would go if they found themselves in the position of being largely ignored during

Duty of risk In a recent blog I talked about , where duty of care refers to ensuring that the most vulnerable people in society are protected from harm while at the same time being challenged to achieve their potential. Since then I’ve wondered, ‘What if we framed the conversation in reverse?’ Reversed, Duty of Risk refers to a person’s right to experience all that life has to offer. This would mean we all have

New contract, old problems A new Disability Employment Service (DES) contract has arrived, which will run until 2023. There are new players and new rules. There’s also a new demerit system. It’s supposed to ensure job seekers meet their obligations. If they don’t, they risk losing their disability support benefits. The new contract will not improve the number or quality of outcomes achieved by the DES network. I am actually fairly confident that results will either

Five steps to become an inclusive workplace The  for inclusion has long been established. The  stemming from inclusion is strong. But it’s all very well to aim to become an  Implementing can be daunting and restricted by initial push back from staff who may  To ensure inclusion actually happens, take the following five steps: 1.     Devise a well-documented plan 2.     Incorporate inclusion principles across all of the business 3.     Create opportunities for cross-functional interaction among the

Duty of care and dignity of risk Where’s the balance between duty of care and dignity of risk for the most vulnerable in our society? It takes great courage for carers of people with disability to entrust others to equip the adults in their care for the world of work. Essentially, Disability Employment Services (DES) staff say to carers: ‘It’s going to be OK. All you have to do is take this huge leap of

Risking success for people with disability We need to talk about risking success for people with disability. As disability service providers, we receive training in both duty of care and the dignity of risk, and learn to foresee when the two push up against one another. We need to negotiate that tension carefully. Like medical practitioners, our code is: do no harm. So, if in doubt, we must err on the side of caution. Take