Direct employment: by and for people with disabilities

The disability sector plays a large role in the 'not for profit' sector. For example, many service providers are in receipt of government payments of $38.82 per hour, but the support workers they employ get approximately $20 dollars an hour. If a service provider serves, say, 200 clients in one-on-one support, paying support workers approximately $20 dollars an hour, with each client being served around twenty hours a week, by my calculations, that amounts to around a yearly income of $3,914,560. These figures are based on conservative estimates of the yearly amounts to these 'not for profit' disability service providers.

Synergy

Direct Employment's flexible approach to disability support may help sway and bring about mutually beneficial partnerships that can be created from out of the working relationship between direct support workers and people with disabilities. This is the state of affairs noted by "synergy theory", a perspective that helps people with disabilities see themselves as people with different abilities. For example, such synergy draws much needed attention to the primary objective which is to support support workers. As part of this it hopes to promote public recognition of the mutually beneficial partnerships that arise between support worker and the people supported. It is important avoid the term "disabilities" when doing so promotes a stereotypical fiction. People supported in what are called mutually beneficial partnerships (MBPs) are people with many different abilities and this highlights the fact that such people have much to give in their service to society just like any other person.

Synergy for people with different abilities and support workers is about life chances and the creation of opportunities. Therefore, the essence of synergy is to value difference by the pragmatic creation of order from what might otherwise be disordered.

The Risks to Direct Employment

There are risks in the Direct Employment of support workers.

The uncertainty related to payments to support workers is a current concern. Prospective direct employers need to consult the Direct Employment Resource Guide which advises people to think about what Award should apply to work to be performed. The Resource Guide advises that in most situations the Social, Community, Home Care and Disability Services Industry Award 2010 rate will apply but it is recommended that advice be obtained from Fair Work Australia.It is important that, while Awards outline the minimum rate of pay, employers can always offer above that if they think it is necessary to attract and retain the right people. This must be managed from within the Individual Support Package allocation. From an employer's perspective, paying employees at a casual rate brings about convenience to the direct employer in terms of arranging payments.

The Department does not know of, or suggest any, Occupational Health and Safety training or indeed any other training for direct employers. Individual direct employers may decide that they would like this and would need to make their own enquiries. However, there is a one-off grant of $500 for new direct employers that can be used for training to help this person establish themselves as a direct employer. Beyond that, any training would be paid for by a direct employer out of their ISP. The $500 grant is a new incentive aiming to attract more direct employers and was not available during the pilot program.

Case Studies

Peter Sember: Direct Employer

Peter Sember is a direct employer who has a physical disability related to spinal muscular atrophy. Some of his thoughts on direct employment are:

'I don't need supports to be there all the time, but thanks to Direct Employment, they are there when I need them to be there.'