Can you work with multiple sclerosis?

Plenty of people who are diagnosed with all kinds of multiple sclerosis (MS) are still in the workforce, so there is no reason that it will stop your career in its tracks immediately.

However, there are still lots of things to consider when working with MS that can be easily overlooked. In this mini blog, we aim to give you a glimpse into some of the most important areas you should know about as well as other resources you can read.

What is there to protect MSers at work?

One of the most important laws within the UK for employment is the Equality Act 2010, as this prevents discrimination against recognised characteristics. In your case, disability is protected and cannot influence consideration for your employment or impact you whilst in your current role. The act also includes rules like how references cannot refer to protected characteristics. The law also extends to how you work through reasonable adjustments, which make it easier for people to work with minimal disruptions.

Reasonable adjustments for people with MS

Employers must be as accommodating as possible to make reasonable adjustments for employees, but what’s proposed can have some back and forth. Multiple sclerosis, however, happens to be one of three diseases where employers must be willing to make adjustments for (cancer and HIV are the others).

Examples of these include enabling a colleague to have a screen reader if they have visual symptoms or reserving a parking space closer to the office if an MSer experiences fatigue. An employer must have a very valid reason not to offer the adjustments requested, else this is in violation of the equalities act and a form of discrimination.

What about early retirement?

There is of course the chance that some MSers don’t feel well enough to carry on working and so might consider looking into ill health retirement.

You should note that this is a very big step to take in your life, as it will most definitely mean you’ll never work again. It’s best to firstly consider another career that is better suited to your MS, such as moving from a manual job to one that isn’t as physically demanding if you experience fatigue for example.

It is always worth getting your MS nurse’s, neurologist’s and pension provider’s thoughts around this decision to make sure that you’re doing the right thing.

We’ve only really scratched the surface around working with multiple sclerosis in this blog, and there’s a lot more to know about. We’ve put together some of our most viewed resources below that we’re sure you’ll gain a lot of value from too – just click the buttons below!