Information for Employers
FAQ’s
Q: What kind of jobs can these adults do?
A: Organise an informational review with The Living Link. Talk to us about your business and let us see what you do. We can help you identify types of jobs or possible job restructuring.
Q: What do they look like?
A: These adults have mild intellectual disabilities. They have no major physical disabilities. Most have no obvious impairments.
Q: What will the other workers think?
A: This is often a sensitive and unfamiliar issue for co-workers and other staff. A sensitization workshop is highly beneficial.
Q: What will it cost?
A: The Living Link does not charge the employing company a placement fee. If a job coach is needed that is charged for hourly. The amount of hours needed is dependent on the adult.
Q: What if they don’t fit in or it’s not suitable?
A: If a good job match is made this is unlikely. However we recommend a trial period and job coaching for the intellectually disabled adults.
Q: What kind of salaries do they need/earn?
A: An adult placed in a job should earn the same salary as other workers performing the same job. Adults are entitled to benefits if this is standard company policy for other workers. Other adults that we have placed earn anywhere between R1500.00 – R5000.00.
Q: How must we talk to them/treat them?
A: They are adults who are coming to complete a job. Therefore they need to be treated like adults. They need to be included and integrated into the workplace like any other workers. They need to be given good instructions and consequences for actions. These adults don’t respond well to shouting and as a general rule will need things explained to them slower and usually more than once.
Give instructions by demonstrating and clarify that they have understood you by asking them to explain what they have to do. Job Coaching will definitely assist with many of these issues.
Q: What is “reasonable accommodation”?
A: The aim of reasonable accommodation is to reduce the impact of the impairment on the person’s capacity to fulfill the essential functions of a job. Employers are obliged to make reasonable accommodation for adults if they disclose their disabilities. Accommodation makes it easier for an adult to perform a job more effectively and can include but are not limited to:
- Adapt facilities to make them more accessible
- Adapting equipment
- Re-organising workstations
- Changing training materials
- Restructuring jobs so that non-essential functions are re-assigned
- Adjusting working time and leave
- Providing specialized supervision, training and support in the workplace (see Job Coaching)
Q: How will they get to work?
A: Transport is a problem for many of these adults hence the fact that it is better to place them in jobs close to their homes. Many of them know or learn to use public transport to get to work, others do drive or they get taken to work by family or friends.
Q: Is The Living Link a multi-racial organization?
A: Yes
Q: What is a job coach?
A: Job coaching or intervention is any act, strategy or structure put into place for, with or by an employee that does not ordinarily exist for the employee’s co-workers who perform the same job.