Less than six months after taking office, Keir Starmer's Labour Party are proving every bit as "nasty" as the "Nasty Party" the Conservatives of the past 14yrs managed to become infamously dubbed; most visibly in their narratives around people who are currently unemployed owing to disability.
Now, it is not unreasonable, to most people, to feel that "almost everyone can do something!" - but gainful employment isn't about whether people can do something; it's about whether employers are happy to let people "do something", and, more importantly, amenable to paying them a living wage for "doing something." With Rachel Reeves' recent increase in Employer National Insurance contributions, and the persistent shambles that is the process of being able to secure funding for necessary workplace accommodations for disability via Access to Work, which is seeing people waiting up to nine months or more without the means to comfortably, safely, and effectively do their jobs as disabled people, that's...not as likely as the UK government would like to believe. Which is going to be a major barrier to disabled people re-entering the workforce, however harshly they're treated by "welfare reforms."
Realistically, workers are not paid for the value they bring to a role, but for the value they create within their role for the company. And disabled people, especially those of us with "scary" disabilities - sight loss, seizure disorders, serious psychiatric illnesses such as schizophrenia and bi-polar disorder, non-verbal conditions (autism spectrum and otherwise), people who need colostomy bags, or continence pants/pads, are simply not seen by employers as being capable of creating value. Typically, we're not even seen as having inherent value as people, where employers (and, not infrequently, the government) are concerned.
And yes, I say "we"; I am registered blind, and also diagnosed schizophrenic. I was diagnosed with schizophrenia in 2007. In October 2024 I was told there was no treatment option available on the NHS for any of the three diagnosed sight loss conditions I have. Two further sight loss conditions are on a vague, probably very long, waiting list for further investigation. If confirmed, only one of them has a condition-management protocol available, and that may not work given the other sight loss conditions I have.
My schizophrenia is the paranoid subtype. It's as well managed as it can be, which still means I have 2-3 "flares" per year, even when I'm not under high stress demands.
I also have stress-triggered IBS (Irritable Bowel Syndrome), the impacts of which I won't go into, as they're pretty sh*tty. (Pun fully intended.)
In addition to all of that, I'm a kinship carer for my wife, who has mixed-type cerebral palsy, autism, ADHD, and compromised lung function as a result of emergency neonatal intubation.
I have experience in finance, marketing, healthcare, and VCSE. I currently run my own business (The Productive Pessimist), and serve as a charity Trustee.
I've also lost two jobs in two years because of my sight loss, and, in 2010, was sacked with a gross misconduct citation for experiencing a schizophrenia flare while at work. (No, I don't know what happened. No one would even speak to me; just "off you f-k, pal." As far as I could see, no one had unexpectedly unalived because of something I did in that flare state, the office was intact... I don't even remember anything that happened before I "came round"...)
I have never claimed my (many and varied) disabilities mean I "can't work" - but employers believe that's what they mean, with a near-rabid certainty.
Liz Kendall, like so many politicians of varied stripes before her, is guilty of the most dangerous belief; that "fixing" welfare spending is a simple undertaking, that can be done with a strong dose of British gung-ho "ginger up there, old chap!", and an edge of threat, cloaked in the shadow of absolute destitution as punishment.
Welfare spending can be proactively addressed. People with disabilities who can work, and, more importantly, who feel safe working, can be re-introduced to the most appropriate expression of 'the British workforce' in a compassion-led, person-centred way.
But it's not something that's going to happen in six months.
I have strong experience in project management, and, bringing that approach to the issue, I can say with confidence that, for a cost of £280,800(+VAT), with an upfront 'on agreement' payment of £140,000 (+ VAT) , and two further payments of £70,400 each (+ VAT) at Year 2 and Year 4 end, subject to mutually agreed metrics being met, The Productive Pessimist can support Keir Starmer's government to implement sustainable, compassionate welfare reform that will last for generations to come, with the flexibility to meet unpredictable workplaces, working patterns, and economic needs, within four years.
The project overview projection for that undertaking looks, in very simplified, broad-brush-strokes terms, like this:
. Complexity Levels of Ordinary (6 weeks stakeholder communication, 6 weeks implementation, 4 weeks snag-fixing),
Mid (12 weeks communication, 12 weeks implementation, 8 weeks snag-fixing), and
High (18 weeks communication, 18 weeks implementation, 12 weeks snag-fixing)
. Six (6) Priority Schedules
> Priority Schedules 1-3 will need to be worked simultaneously, or near-simultaneously:
Priority 1: (Mid-complexity: total 32 weeks for comms, implementation, and snagging management)
. Remove all current administrative and cultural barriers to workplace entry; this includes reforming application and interview processes to be less linguistic/verbal skewed, and more active demonstration of relevant skills based, and reforming (ideally removing) Right to Work, as this has caused observable barriers for British nationals who do not have passports, and whose life circumstances have not been "white cisgender middle class assumed standard" (a lot of white cisgender people actually fall foul of this, usually for reasons entirely outside their control.)
Obviously, people will still need to be able to prove they "are who they say they are", but this needs to be required with an awareness that an increasing number of British nationals do not have the means to acquire a passport, do not have billed utilities/council tax in their name, and may not have a birth certificate that reflects the name they have always been known by, and which is on all other documents, as well as the fact that, with the Department of Work and Pensions relying on online 'Journals', increasing numbers of people who have never had a formal job, or have not worked recently, do not have "acceptable" (to employers) evidence of their National Insurance number.
Priority 2: (Ordinary complexity: total 18weeks for comms, implementation, and snag-fixing)
. Awareness, inclusion, and respect training for businesses around all aspects of all disabilities which allow for engagement with the workforce.
Priority 3: (High complexity: 46 weeks for comms, implementation, and snag-fixing)
. Making Access to Work fit for purpose. In the current circumstance, it is taking up to nine months for individuals to merely receive a response to their initial application - this does not bring funding for accommodations. It should be obvious that it is unreasonable, for both employers and disabled employees, to expect people to wait for potentially almost a year before they are given the tools to ensure they can manage both their responsibilities and their disabilities in a workplace setting.
Priority 4: (Mid complexity: 32 weeks for comms, implementation, and snag-fixing)
Now, it is not unreasonable, to most people, to feel that "almost everyone can do something!" - but gainful employment isn't about whether people can do something; it's about whether employers are happy to let people "do something", and, more importantly, amenable to paying them a living wage for "doing something." With Rachel Reeves' recent increase in Employer National Insurance contributions, and the persistent shambles that is the process of being able to secure funding for necessary workplace accommodations for disability via Access to Work, which is seeing people waiting up to nine months or more without the means to comfortably, safely, and effectively do their jobs as disabled people, that's...not as likely as the UK government would like to believe. Which is going to be a major barrier to disabled people re-entering the workforce, however harshly they're treated by "welfare reforms."
Realistically, workers are not paid for the value they bring to a role, but for the value they create within their role for the company. And disabled people, especially those of us with "scary" disabilities - sight loss, seizure disorders, serious psychiatric illnesses such as schizophrenia and bi-polar disorder, non-verbal conditions (autism spectrum and otherwise), people who need colostomy bags, or continence pants/pads, are simply not seen by employers as being capable of creating value. Typically, we're not even seen as having inherent value as people, where employers (and, not infrequently, the government) are concerned.
And yes, I say "we"; I am registered blind, and also diagnosed schizophrenic. I was diagnosed with schizophrenia in 2007. In October 2024 I was told there was no treatment option available on the NHS for any of the three diagnosed sight loss conditions I have. Two further sight loss conditions are on a vague, probably very long, waiting list for further investigation. If confirmed, only one of them has a condition-management protocol available, and that may not work given the other sight loss conditions I have.
My schizophrenia is the paranoid subtype. It's as well managed as it can be, which still means I have 2-3 "flares" per year, even when I'm not under high stress demands.
I also have stress-triggered IBS (Irritable Bowel Syndrome), the impacts of which I won't go into, as they're pretty sh*tty. (Pun fully intended.)
In addition to all of that, I'm a kinship carer for my wife, who has mixed-type cerebral palsy, autism, ADHD, and compromised lung function as a result of emergency neonatal intubation.
I have experience in finance, marketing, healthcare, and VCSE. I currently run my own business (The Productive Pessimist), and serve as a charity Trustee.
I've also lost two jobs in two years because of my sight loss, and, in 2010, was sacked with a gross misconduct citation for experiencing a schizophrenia flare while at work. (No, I don't know what happened. No one would even speak to me; just "off you f-k, pal." As far as I could see, no one had unexpectedly unalived because of something I did in that flare state, the office was intact... I don't even remember anything that happened before I "came round"...)
I have never claimed my (many and varied) disabilities mean I "can't work" - but employers believe that's what they mean, with a near-rabid certainty.
Liz Kendall, like so many politicians of varied stripes before her, is guilty of the most dangerous belief; that "fixing" welfare spending is a simple undertaking, that can be done with a strong dose of British gung-ho "ginger up there, old chap!", and an edge of threat, cloaked in the shadow of absolute destitution as punishment.
Welfare spending can be proactively addressed. People with disabilities who can work, and, more importantly, who feel safe working, can be re-introduced to the most appropriate expression of 'the British workforce' in a compassion-led, person-centred way.
But it's not something that's going to happen in six months.
I have strong experience in project management, and, bringing that approach to the issue, I can say with confidence that, for a cost of £280,800(+VAT), with an upfront 'on agreement' payment of £140,000 (+ VAT) , and two further payments of £70,400 each (+ VAT) at Year 2 and Year 4 end, subject to mutually agreed metrics being met, The Productive Pessimist can support Keir Starmer's government to implement sustainable, compassionate welfare reform that will last for generations to come, with the flexibility to meet unpredictable workplaces, working patterns, and economic needs, within four years.
The project overview projection for that undertaking looks, in very simplified, broad-brush-strokes terms, like this:
. Complexity Levels of Ordinary (6 weeks stakeholder communication, 6 weeks implementation, 4 weeks snag-fixing),
Mid (12 weeks communication, 12 weeks implementation, 8 weeks snag-fixing), and
High (18 weeks communication, 18 weeks implementation, 12 weeks snag-fixing)
. Six (6) Priority Schedules
> Priority Schedules 1-3 will need to be worked simultaneously, or near-simultaneously:
Priority 1: (Mid-complexity: total 32 weeks for comms, implementation, and snagging management)
. Remove all current administrative and cultural barriers to workplace entry; this includes reforming application and interview processes to be less linguistic/verbal skewed, and more active demonstration of relevant skills based, and reforming (ideally removing) Right to Work, as this has caused observable barriers for British nationals who do not have passports, and whose life circumstances have not been "white cisgender middle class assumed standard" (a lot of white cisgender people actually fall foul of this, usually for reasons entirely outside their control.)
Obviously, people will still need to be able to prove they "are who they say they are", but this needs to be required with an awareness that an increasing number of British nationals do not have the means to acquire a passport, do not have billed utilities/council tax in their name, and may not have a birth certificate that reflects the name they have always been known by, and which is on all other documents, as well as the fact that, with the Department of Work and Pensions relying on online 'Journals', increasing numbers of people who have never had a formal job, or have not worked recently, do not have "acceptable" (to employers) evidence of their National Insurance number.
Priority 2: (Ordinary complexity: total 18weeks for comms, implementation, and snag-fixing)
. Awareness, inclusion, and respect training for businesses around all aspects of all disabilities which allow for engagement with the workforce.
Priority 3: (High complexity: 46 weeks for comms, implementation, and snag-fixing)
. Making Access to Work fit for purpose. In the current circumstance, it is taking up to nine months for individuals to merely receive a response to their initial application - this does not bring funding for accommodations. It should be obvious that it is unreasonable, for both employers and disabled employees, to expect people to wait for potentially almost a year before they are given the tools to ensure they can manage both their responsibilities and their disabilities in a workplace setting.
Priority 4: (Mid complexity: 32 weeks for comms, implementation, and snag-fixing)
. Increasing the variety, promotion, and accessibility of fully remote work, with employers required to give preference to suitably competent disabled/kinship carer applicants, to facilitate their re-engagement with the workforce.
Remote work which is truly flexible, and doesn't just "replicate an office day, but remotely!" is the only way many people with disabilities and/or kinship care responsibilities can reliably engage with employment.
In my own circumstance, for example (which is much more straightforward than many peoples'), I need to work remotely for several inflexible, non-mitigatable reasons:
Remote work which is truly flexible, and doesn't just "replicate an office day, but remotely!" is the only way many people with disabilities and/or kinship care responsibilities can reliably engage with employment.
In my own circumstance, for example (which is much more straightforward than many peoples'), I need to work remotely for several inflexible, non-mitigatable reasons:
1. I'm completely night-blind. If you expect me to be working after 4pm between November-February, that's going to have to be from my own home. I literally cannot see at all after dusk, and can't see much at dusk. On the same note, I struggle to navigate safely in unfamiliar areas, or to safely cross roads, in very bright, low sunlight conditions, or in fog, heavy rain, or snow. Weather in the UK happens: if I'm working from home, my work can happen, too.
2. I cannot navigate calmly and easily in unfamiliar areas, or when I'm stressed. Travelling by public transport (necessary, as my sight loss means I'm banned from driving) causes me exceptional stress, even before I've got to work. I can travel by public transport, and do so regularly; doing so calmly, however, very rarely happens. In my work with The Productive Pessimist, I can include taxi fares under my standard expenses. Not so much working for employers under PAYE, as a full-time employee.
3. The stresses of open-plan offices trigger my IBS. No one wants that, least of all me.
4. While my wife's care requirements are low-level, they do exist, and, if she has had a bad night, can ramp up without notice. If I'm working from home, I can support her and manage my workload with no issues. Not so much if I'm expected to be gone for 8hrs of working, plus potentially an additional 1-2hrs of travel time.
5. I suffer from insomnia, and also take medication that can leave me with very severe "lag" in the mornings. On bad days, starting work between 11am-1pm and working through until 8-10pm works fine - but this isn't usually "acceptable" as an in-person employee. (And isn't possible, outside of July and August, given my night blindness.)
6. I'm banned from driving owing to the extent of my sight loss; public transport in the UK is...not really reliable for most working situations, and getting taxis daily isn't affordable, given what most employers want to pay their staff.
Priority 5: (High complexity: 46 weeks for comms, implementation, and snag-fixing)
. Having an NHS that is able to respond promptly, and in actually relevant, person-centred ways (Cognitive Behavioural Therapy is not usually effective for serious psychiatric conditions, Cluster B personality disorders, or mental health challenges which are rooted in ongoing trauma, such as CPTSD), with full availability outside of office working hours, and which is proactively engaged in meaningful preventative care. ("Go for a walk!" and "Practice mindfulness!" are not 'meaningful', in most cases where peoples' disabilities and health challenges exclude them from the workplace. Seriously, 99.9% of us are already doing everything the NHS sticks in their smug little "this is because you're stupid, and don't know how to look after yourself properly!" leaflets - which cost the taxpayer how much to produce, mail out, place in prominent locations, etc?)
Priority 6: (High complexity: 46 weeks for comms, implementation, and snag-fixing)
. Embed qualified, experienced NHS professionals in businesses with high long-term sick/repeat absence rates, so that they can work proactively and collaboratively alongside businesses and employees, and respond to the actual causes of illness, rather than treating symptoms in isolation.
Project Management Schedule:
. Dependencies:
2. I cannot navigate calmly and easily in unfamiliar areas, or when I'm stressed. Travelling by public transport (necessary, as my sight loss means I'm banned from driving) causes me exceptional stress, even before I've got to work. I can travel by public transport, and do so regularly; doing so calmly, however, very rarely happens. In my work with The Productive Pessimist, I can include taxi fares under my standard expenses. Not so much working for employers under PAYE, as a full-time employee.
3. The stresses of open-plan offices trigger my IBS. No one wants that, least of all me.
4. While my wife's care requirements are low-level, they do exist, and, if she has had a bad night, can ramp up without notice. If I'm working from home, I can support her and manage my workload with no issues. Not so much if I'm expected to be gone for 8hrs of working, plus potentially an additional 1-2hrs of travel time.
5. I suffer from insomnia, and also take medication that can leave me with very severe "lag" in the mornings. On bad days, starting work between 11am-1pm and working through until 8-10pm works fine - but this isn't usually "acceptable" as an in-person employee. (And isn't possible, outside of July and August, given my night blindness.)
6. I'm banned from driving owing to the extent of my sight loss; public transport in the UK is...not really reliable for most working situations, and getting taxis daily isn't affordable, given what most employers want to pay their staff.
Priority 5: (High complexity: 46 weeks for comms, implementation, and snag-fixing)
. Having an NHS that is able to respond promptly, and in actually relevant, person-centred ways (Cognitive Behavioural Therapy is not usually effective for serious psychiatric conditions, Cluster B personality disorders, or mental health challenges which are rooted in ongoing trauma, such as CPTSD), with full availability outside of office working hours, and which is proactively engaged in meaningful preventative care. ("Go for a walk!" and "Practice mindfulness!" are not 'meaningful', in most cases where peoples' disabilities and health challenges exclude them from the workplace. Seriously, 99.9% of us are already doing everything the NHS sticks in their smug little "this is because you're stupid, and don't know how to look after yourself properly!" leaflets - which cost the taxpayer how much to produce, mail out, place in prominent locations, etc?)
Priority 6: (High complexity: 46 weeks for comms, implementation, and snag-fixing)
. Embed qualified, experienced NHS professionals in businesses with high long-term sick/repeat absence rates, so that they can work proactively and collaboratively alongside businesses and employees, and respond to the actual causes of illness, rather than treating symptoms in isolation.
Project Management Schedule:
. Dependencies:
#1: Employer re-education around disability, different ways of doing "business as usual", etc
#2: Access to Work reform
#3: NHS reform
Then the process of encouraging and supporting disabled welfare claimants to re-enter the workforce can begin. (This will be end of Year 4/start of Year 5.)
Until the dependencies are all met, disabled people have not been enabled to engage with workplaces which do not put their health at risk, and in which their limitations and external commitments are considered equally with their capabilities and potential.
Questions to Answer:
. Given that many disabled people who are currently outside the UK workforce are also kinship carers, and/or homeschooling SEND children, and that their re-engagement with the workforce would place the cost burden of suitable, safe, and accessible SEND placements in childcare and education establishments, and that of providing care to disabled peoples' disabled family members (often currently being met through disabled peoples' unpaid labour as kinship carers), as well as the UK government facing the costs of reforming the Access to Work scheme, so that it is truly effortless for employers to equip disabled employees with the equipment and accommodations they need to thrive in their roles from at least Week One, if not Day One, is it genuinely going to be cheaper for the taxpayer to have disabled people compelled to re-engage with the workforce, especially as many will only be able to engage part-time, and most will be limited to minimum-wage roles, and therefore the income tax returns to the Exchequer would be minimal, in the face of considerable unconsidered costs?
. If it will be cheaper to re-engage disabled people with the workforce, even given the considerations identified above, how much will the British taxpayer be "saved" by this process?
. Are UK employers truly willing to genuinely adjust their mindsets around disabled people, and does this include complexly disabled people, and those with "frightening" disabilities? (Provide fully verified, fact-checked evidence for your response/s.)
As I have already identified, The Productive Pessimist Ltd can provide capacity to support His Majesty's Government, under the Rt. Hon. Sir Keir Starmer, and his Labour Party, with all aspects of this four year process to create a sustainable, lasting, flexible, responsive welfare system which balances State, business, and individual needs fully, for the total cost of £280,800 (+VAT), and in line with rigorous, mutually-agreed metrics, in accordance with the payment schedule already stated earlier.
We're waiting on your call, Ms. Kendall, Mr. Starmer, et al - reach out by email: theproductivepessimist@yahoo.com, or by post:
Mr. A. R. Ford-McAllister, Director
The Productive Pessimist Ltd.
265 Raglan Street, Lowestoft, Suffolk, NR32 2LA.
If you're a UK business leader, and reading this post makes you think we have what it takes to help you be ready for a new era of employment, then, again, reach out - email us at theproductivepessimist@yahoo.com
#3: NHS reform
Then the process of encouraging and supporting disabled welfare claimants to re-enter the workforce can begin. (This will be end of Year 4/start of Year 5.)
Until the dependencies are all met, disabled people have not been enabled to engage with workplaces which do not put their health at risk, and in which their limitations and external commitments are considered equally with their capabilities and potential.
Questions to Answer:
. Given that many disabled people who are currently outside the UK workforce are also kinship carers, and/or homeschooling SEND children, and that their re-engagement with the workforce would place the cost burden of suitable, safe, and accessible SEND placements in childcare and education establishments, and that of providing care to disabled peoples' disabled family members (often currently being met through disabled peoples' unpaid labour as kinship carers), as well as the UK government facing the costs of reforming the Access to Work scheme, so that it is truly effortless for employers to equip disabled employees with the equipment and accommodations they need to thrive in their roles from at least Week One, if not Day One, is it genuinely going to be cheaper for the taxpayer to have disabled people compelled to re-engage with the workforce, especially as many will only be able to engage part-time, and most will be limited to minimum-wage roles, and therefore the income tax returns to the Exchequer would be minimal, in the face of considerable unconsidered costs?
. If it will be cheaper to re-engage disabled people with the workforce, even given the considerations identified above, how much will the British taxpayer be "saved" by this process?
. Are UK employers truly willing to genuinely adjust their mindsets around disabled people, and does this include complexly disabled people, and those with "frightening" disabilities? (Provide fully verified, fact-checked evidence for your response/s.)
As I have already identified, The Productive Pessimist Ltd can provide capacity to support His Majesty's Government, under the Rt. Hon. Sir Keir Starmer, and his Labour Party, with all aspects of this four year process to create a sustainable, lasting, flexible, responsive welfare system which balances State, business, and individual needs fully, for the total cost of £280,800 (+VAT), and in line with rigorous, mutually-agreed metrics, in accordance with the payment schedule already stated earlier.
We're waiting on your call, Ms. Kendall, Mr. Starmer, et al - reach out by email: theproductivepessimist@yahoo.com, or by post:
Mr. A. R. Ford-McAllister, Director
The Productive Pessimist Ltd.
265 Raglan Street, Lowestoft, Suffolk, NR32 2LA.
If you're a UK business leader, and reading this post makes you think we have what it takes to help you be ready for a new era of employment, then, again, reach out - email us at theproductivepessimist@yahoo.com
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