Max Zadow – Senior Trainer/Producer

“I feel like I’m working at the forefront of new media and involved in really innovative work. Every day I wander in and feel excited about the work that we do.”

Trying to find an employee who feels excited about their work is not an easy task. However, 39 year old Max Zadow, is certainly one of them. Max, who has worked for new media company Onteca for the last five years, gets immense satisfaction both from his actual job as a trainer and producer and because he enjoys working for a small company. “I feel much closer to the business than I would working for a larger company” he says. At one stage in his career, Max worked for the BBC, so knows how it feels to work for a large organisation with an international presence. Previously he also worked as a self-employed new media artist.

The correct skills for the job

Max arrived at Onteca after completing an MA in New Media Production. His first role for the company was as a guest lecturer. However, after a few months, he became involved in various other short term projects before securing a job as a full time employee. He admits that finding work in ‘new media’ is not easy, especially if you are disabled. However, his manager and the owner of the company, Jon Wetherall, was only interested in one thing. “All Jon wanted to know about me was whether I had the correct skills for the job and whether I was prepared to put the work in” says Max.

Employer's story

Both Max and his manager Jon agree that employing disabled people requires flexibility from both parties. Depending on the nature of a person’s health condition, time off may be required for medical appointments. However, that doesn’t have to be an insurmountable problem. At Onteca, Max and the other disabled employees work flexibly to cover any time taken for medical appointments.

“Research shows that disabled people take less time off work than non-disabled people” says Max, “it’s a case of being flexible. In the end flexibility and a supportive environment will create a more productive environment” he adds. Jon agrees, “It’s all give and take but in our case it’s a good give and take. Because of the nature of our industry with changes in the flow of work, we can work around any time off issues. There’s also a lot of trust on both sides but it works”.

No illusions about the challenges

Jon has no illusions about the challenges employers face when employing disabled people. “You can’t pretend that a person’s disability doesn’t exist or just ignore it. Having said that, you can’t treat all disabled people the same, you have to treat disabled people as individuals with individual disabilities and needs”. As to whether he had any concerns about employing a disabled person, Jon is very honest. “I was at first worried about whether a disabled person would be able to commit to a full time contract but you have to respect the fact that a disabled person knows their own limitations. As an employer you have to be flexible about that and on the other hand the employee has to be flexible about meeting their obligations as an employee”.

Cost is a major issue that can be a deterrent to employers who want to have a more diverse workforce and employ disabled people. But research has shown that on average the cost of providing adjustments is not prohibitive. Jon wanted his company to be more inclusive for clients, trainees and employees, so by the time he recruited disabled employees, the company had already moved to offices that were more accessible than the company’s previous accommodation.

As an employer, Jon has witnessed the positive impact that work has had on his disabled employees. He has seen an improvement in their emotional well being. He also believes that employing disabled people has been good for the business. “We offer training for disadvantaged groups and it’s therefore been good for our image to be seen to employ disabled employees”.

Employee's story

Max has been disabled since childhood and has arthritis, a condition which affects his mobility. However, when he started to work at Onteca, Max knew exactly how to obtain the support he needed to do his job. He said, “My boss Jon, didn’t know anything about the support that’s available for disabled people but I did. I knew about the Access to Work scheme and I knew how it worked – basically you have to prove a need to obtain support”. Because some of Max’s work involves delivering training across the Wirral, a support worker accompanies him when he travels across the county.  The only other support he needs to do his job is in his words a ‘comfortable’ chair, which out of choice he has provided from home.

There is excellent support available

Max is well informed about support schemes and agencies that offer support for disabled people and was therefore in a position to be proactive about obtaining the support he needed as a disabled employee.  He is convinced that the information both disabled employees and their employers need is readily available, even if it might initially require some investment of time and effort.  “There is excellent support available out there to ensure disabled people can fulfil their role and be just as effective as non-disabled people. Employers and employees might find it useful to speak to a job broker to find out exactly what support is available” says Max.

Some employers have been worried about the implications of the Disability Discrimination Act (DDA) and possibly even more worried that employees will use it in a negative way to make unreasonable demands on their employers. However, Max believes that the best way to use the DDA is as a fall back position rather than the first line of attack. “It’s nice to know the DDA is there and to have that legal back-up, but I believe that negotiation is the best way to resolve any issues with your employer”.

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