Tip Sheets from the Alberta Learning Information Service. You can find more information about “Talking About Visible Disabilities” here on their website.
Deciding to disclose
The following questions will help you decide whether or not to tell an employer about your invisible disability:
- – Will disclosure help or hurt your chances of getting or keeping work?
- – How will the employer react?
- – What are the misconceptions about your disability and how will you address them if you disclose?
- – Do your coping strategies allow you to meet the job requirements?
- – If you know you can’t perform some of the duties in the job description because of your disability, would disclosure encourage the employer to modify the job to fit your abilities?
Before you make your decision about disclosing your disability, think about these points:
- – From an employer’s point of view, if you don’t disclose your disability you don’t need accommodations.
- – You can never un-disclose, but you can always disclose later.
If you choose to disclose, decide whether you’ll do so
- – during an interview
- – after you’ve been offered the job in writing
- – when, or if, you need accommodations.
In Alberta, human rights legislation governs the way an employer may approach issues about disabilities. Alberta employers
- – may not ask about your present or past mental or physical conditions (invisible or not) in an interview or on a job application
- – should clearly state the requirements of the position in a job description or advertisement. This allows you to decide whether your disability prevents you from doing the job.
- – can ask that you pass a medical exam or other tests related to the job, once you’ve been hired
Visit the Alberta Learning Information Service website for a table that shows some of the risks and benefits of disclosing your disability. There is even a space to add your own risks and benefits in the blank spaces provided.
See more at – https://alis.alberta.ca/ep/eps/tips/tips.html?EK=7371
