work & epilepsy

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seetseet

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Hello everyone!
I was hoping to get some feed back about your personal experience regarding work and epilepsy and whether or not your work place knew/knows about your epilepsy, and why/why not?
I just started a new job and I am not keen at all about letting them know about my "condition", I am just not keen about having a bunch of strange conversations..
But am I legally obliged to let them know?

Thanks ahead of time!
 
I can only answer this question for what it is like where I live. You should contact the epilepsy society for Australia to find out what the rules are there for requirements to disclose details of a medical condition. Around here, when filling out a job application or being interviewed and the question comes up about being fit to perform all aspects of the job you have to be honest and say no (but you are not legally required to give a reason). For instance, if your seizures are not controlled and there is a possibility that your job may require you to do something that would endanger yourself or others (eg. let's say you cannot drive because your seizures are not under control, but one of the job requirements is driving the company vehicle occasionally) then it is your legal obligation to say what part of the job requirements you cannot meet. Then it is up to the employer to decide whether to overlook that (back to our example - the employer may still hire you, recognizing that you will not be able to drive).
 
I was controlled for many years and only told a few coworkers. I felt pretty comfortable with my manager and told her. I felt I needed to have a few people who knew I had E in case I ever had a seizure at work. They were people I worked with everyday and felt comfortable with. I eventually had to resign due to having seizures during a medication change and being unable to drive. I would check to see what the law requires where you live.
Good luck!
 
Well I am allowed to drive legally (yay for me here in Australia) because I "officially" have nocturnal epilepsy, so really because I have a day job, I should be ok, right?? (Just an easy as call centre customer service average joe position)?
 
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