Polio - The Late Effects Reality

Employment

At the time of the survey, 145 (65%) of respondents were of working age out of the total partic-ipation. Of these, there is a split between those in and out of work, 77 and 68 (53% and 47%), respectively. The point where the figures diverge is the 60 – 64 year old group and, on closer examination, those in this group are predominantly female.

Table 16 – Ratio of Unemployed to Employed by Age Group – 65 Years and under

Age group of respondent	Total No’s	Unemployed No’s	Employed No’s
35-39	1	1	0
40-44	7	2	5
45-49	16	8	8
50-54	36	10	26
55-59	57	24	33
60-64	28	23	5
Total	145	68	77

This shows an unemployment rate in the respondent group of 47% (68), whereas the Census 2002 statistics give an unemployment rate for all people with disabilities of 75%.

When questioned, the respondents of all age groups not in employment said that they had been out of work for the following periods:

Table 17 – Length of time out of Employment – All Age Groups

Length of time since last employed	Total No’s
Not stated	1
Up to 6 months ago	7
7 months to 1 year ago	4
1 to 2 years ago	9
Over 2 years ago	88
Never been employed	11

It can be seen that the majority, 97 (82%), had been unemployed for over 1 year.

The reasons given for unemployment and the length of time unemployed, amongst 48 (49%) of those identified above, were the following:

Table 18 – Reasons given for Unemployment – All Age Groups

Reasons for unemployment status	Total %
Now too disabled	16
Retirement Age	11
Have taken early retirement	10
Engaged in home duties	7
Not Suitable	2
Full Time Education	2
Not Stated	52

Table 19 below shows the status of those who are in employment. Some respondents count unpaid training schemes and voluntary work as employment and this accounts for the discrepancy in the figures, i.e. 77 to 91.

Table 19 – Employment by Employer category

Current employment status	Total No’s
Employed by company including family	53
Self employed – other business	18
Other	10
On FAS/other training scheme	6
Self-employed – farming	4
Total	91

Table 20 below shows the work status of the respondents identified in Table 19 above. This shows that, of the 91 in "work" at the time of the survey, 60 (66%) were in full-time employment.

Table 20 – Numbers in Full, Part or Casual Work

Work status	Total No’s
Full-time	60
Part-time	23
Seasonal or casual	5
Other	1
Not stated	2

Table 20 was corroborated by a question asking respondents whether their capacity to work was/is affected by LEP. This shows that 24 respondents (30%), who are engaged in part-time or seasonal work, believe that LEP does have a bearing on their working capacity.

Table 21 – Capacity to work affected by LEP

Capacity to work affected	Total No’s
Yes	50
Sometimes	35
No	32
No comment / Not stated	107

The survey also examined the effect that poliomyelitis/LEP had and has on the employment prospects of respondents. Furthermore, it looked at the social aspects and employers’ attitudes. Initially, respondents were asked whether they thought that having Poliomyelitis had ever caused them to lose a job and 170 (76%) thought that it had made no difference.

Table 22 – Polio caused loss of Employment

Ever lost work because of Polio?	Total No’s
No	170
No Reply	19
Don't know	17
Suspect it was a factor	12
Yes	6

However, on further questioning, some respondents (in excess of the 18 (8%) in the "Yes" and "Suspect it was a factor" categories) replied as follows:

Table 23 – LEP caused loss of Employment

Reasons lost employment	Total No’s
LEP interfered with ability	18
LEP led to poor attendance	4
Transport to and from work	2
Other	2

Of the 77 respondents, under the age of 65, who are in employment, 50 (65%) declared that their employer knew about their Polio Survivor status, while the remainder had not disclosed the fact. The reasons for non-disclosure given by 13 respondents (17%) are shown in Table 24 below:

Table 24 – Reasons Employers not aware of Polio status

Reasons employer not aware	Total No’s
Don't feel the need to	11
Fears of affecting promotion	1
No comment	1
Other	1

More than half of those under 65 years old in work, 44 (57%), declared that their working environment was supportive. No respondent said that they had met hostile or non-supportive attitudes within the working environment. The vast majority of respondents in employment, 55 (66%), found no difficulty with access to their working environment.

It is worth noting that the gender split of those in employment fits the general overall profile of respondents, i.e. 26 (34%) male, 51 (66 %) female. Therefore, it cannot be argued that any of the employment statistics and findings are distorted through the traditional gender differential of the male working whilst the female stays at home.

This, in part, may be because, within those who are in employment, more females than males live on their own, 15 (27%) female to 6 (22%) male. Therefore, it could be that the proportion of working females within the sample is higher than the national average due to economic necessity. However, this has to remain a matter for conjecture, as it was not followed up within the survey.

Employment, and the lack of it, has a profound bearing on the quality of life that can be enjoyed by those with LEP. This is especially true for those who have to rely either on a pension or on some other form of benefit.