Has anybody with heart disease found new employment? I have had af and heart failure for 5 years and am just turning 60. I have lived off my savings and a small pension for the past 5 years but now find I need to earn a little more income. I only need part time work but I’ve been told that I shouldn’t tell a future employer about my health problem. I have disclosed my health problem before and was told at the interview that I wouldn’t be considered for the role because they didn’t feel I would be up to it because of my health problem.
I will probably sign on for JSA to get help with my CV (no chance of any money), but I was just curious if anybody has found fresh employment after a heart problem.
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Howardl
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After my heart bypass I thought I was for the scrap heap as did not think anyone would be interested in a mid-forties person with heart issues. I was lucky in that someone came knocking at the door as he wanted a hand for someone to help him build computers - that was the start.
3 years after this my wife in her infinite wisdom decided it was a good idea to buy the local shop. This was followed by another and then another so I came onboard to help her. Now years later we disposed of one shop and following more problems off loaded another. Now I only work a 1/2 day per week leaving everything to staff and hopefully will be able to persuade one of them to take it on.
It has been good getting back into things and in particular being able to offer employment to others. But now having become an OAP with a whole raft of health issues the time has come to stop and let others take over.
Yours is such an impressive story! Must be really encouraging to others in your position. It seems to be a lesson in finding something that really fits your interests and health.
Thanks for your reply and glad to hear it worked out for you. Finding employment the conventional way via a cv is going to be difficult. Exploring other avenues maybe better.
I am also interested in any replies you may receive as my circumstances are very similar . I am 58 and in the process of being made redundant , I had a cardiac arrest 18 months ago , I have 6 stents and type 2 diabetes and I am not optimistic that employment can be found .
Thanks for your reply. There still seems to be too many people looking for work. I think somebody with a heart problem would be put to the bottom of the list. Hence that’s probably why it’s best to not mention it, but at some stage they may have to know. I find it embarrassing talking about my condition, not talking, explaining, this is something I wouldn’t have to do if I was of pension age.
Well I would say that since your stents, you are in far better health than you were before so , providing you feel you can cope with the job, I see no reason why you should mention it ; at least not until you've been offered a job. Type 2 diabetes should have no effect on work
There’s also a BHF booklet on returning to work that can be downloaded from this site. Geared more towards those people who are still employed but has some useful hints.
I think many job applicants have a fear of disclosing illness for fear of being discriminated against. From a legal point of view you might be interested in the attached brief article lindsays.co.uk/news-and-ins...
A friend of mine recently decided not to disclose a week sick absence with previous employer due to stress as he feared be would be pushed aside. He got the job and is thriving in it! In my previous work employment in HR many years ago I found that sick absence rates among people with chronic illness's were often better than those with none who were frequently absent for multiple reasons.
Covering a gap in your CV is a tricky one. You could have decided on a career break, travel, caring for someone. I know some may recoil at my 'distortion' of truth but you have to look after your interests when you are unsure who you are dealing with and you did take a career break.
On a completely different angle it's often worthwhile claiming a benefit even if you know you may not be able to receive it. You may have a notional entitlement which gives you national insurance credits to maintain your pension ask when you visit job centre. From age 60 I think you may get automatic insurance credits for state pension for blank periods but check this with advisor.
Have you any pensions from former employers that you can now claim.
An interesting reply. I am 56, been living off my pension since 55 because benefits were causing enormous issues with mental health, and that was without th efear of going on to UC.
I have accepted that any future work will be desk bound but do not do well in an office environment in terms of 'office politics'. I just like to get on and do the job - which apparently is not always the most popular policty in these enlightened days.
But this thread has given me something top ponder...
I wonder if goign to Uni might not be an option - always wanted to be a student and study web development etc...
Interesting, thought about uni a couple of years ago. I was going to get the student lone thinking (I don’t think it’s this easy), I have only at the time 8 years of work left before I retire. The chances of ever paying the lone back are pretty slim. As I said I don’t think it would be that easy. But when you think about the amount of time sitting around with heart failure thinking what to do next, uni would have been a good, desk bound, way to go.
The thing that stood out in your post was 'always wanted to be a student ...' maybe that's the way to go instead of getting stressed in an office job which I can totally identify with from the past. Couple of links attached on going back into education as a mature student. ucas.com/undergraduate/stud...ageuk.org.uk/information-ad...
Question is what did you do before you retired 5 years ago, manual work or office/site ? It boils down to basically what do you have to offer an employer. Obviously your not looking for a long term career position so I wouldn't bother telling about any past ailments. I really think the hurdle you have to clear is your age rather than your past illness, depending on the type of work of course.
I think if I was in your position I would approach this from what do I want ( wages ) and work from there. One word of caution if you are looking at say driving you have no alternative but to disclose your past health for Insurance reasons.
Regards
I had a successful career after a Heart Attack and worked for a further 21 years
I’m used to manual work. I’d struggled with the work now but the doctors won’t put me on esa because I can do a desk job. But it’s like you say I have to decide what I want and need as opposed to a career.
Hi Howardl it looks like we’re in the same boat! I had a heart attack aged 60 about 4 months ago. At the time I was working on a contract as a project manager. Needless to say, I had to suddenly break the contract. I’ve been signed off work since, but am now looking to return to work. My husband isn’t keen on me plunging straight back in to a potentially demanding full-time role, so I have been looking for part-time roles to start back. Easier said than done! I share your nervousness about disclosing your health-history. I went to an informal interview yesterday, and first question was what have you been doing since your last contract? I just said I had a health issue that is now resolved. I hate the look on people’s faces when I say I had a heart attack! However, in terms of what holds us back in getting jobs, I have found age as much of a hurdle as a gap. When I had children, I explained myself as a “returner” and that was generally accepted. Now that I’m older, I have had to get used to the interview panel being younger than my kids! However, like the others in this thread, I would suggest you consider what the job requires (skills/experience) and pitch your application in terms of what you can do for the employer. Provided they are open-minded, if you can demonstrate how you could match what they want, you should be in with a good chance. Good luck!
I wouldn't tell an employer if they don't ask and you honestly think you could cope with the workload. I wouldn't even mention it at work while working to any workmates whether it be in work or outside of work, because sometimes people can use this information against you.
However if you have to do a medical you need to tell them, otherwise they could say that you are dishonest. I would emphasise that you follow the treatment plan that the doctor has given you and you have had no issues since, if that is the truth.
Or if you have struggled despite following the doctor's treatment plan then you need to look at a less stressful line of work. I don't know if you are a labourer or what. If so maybe consider being a painters off-sider for instance.
I think it maybe difficult to find employment going the cv route, because of age and filling in gaps. I don’t think employers understand all medical conditions and don’t expect them to. I was guilty of this when I was told by a consultant that I had symptoms of heart failure I told him he must be wrong as my heart has never stopped. It wasn’t until I googled heart failure that I realised what he was talking about.
I will take on all the feed back but I am a little disappointed that my original question didn’t bring anybody forward.
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