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152 
DISABILITY
Page 36
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Often the biggest problem disabled people face is overcoming colleague or employee misconceptions and reluctance to accept change.
Driver PAUL STANNARD worked for Wincanton Logistics on a contract for Asda at its Wigan depot. Born without a right hand, Stannard had used a detachable pommel to hold the steering wheel for six years, but the device had later been ruled unsafe by its manufacturer.
This meant that his employer was required to fit a fixed pommel to his wheel instead, which could net be completely removed when other employees drove the truck. Some of them complained that the device got in their way and was a hazard. Stannard took the case to the DRC and ended up continuing his driving career after Wincanton agreed to adapt two trucks. He now works for Asda after the supermarket chain took the business in-house.
Although the problems took place several years ago, Stannard still feels bruised by the experience. "It was a really bad time," he says. "rd never asked for concessions in my work, I did the same job as the other drivers and pulled the same weight. All I wanted to do was to get on with my work."
John Greenhalgh, Wincanton's communications manager, responds: "While there was a practical issue with the modification needed for our driver, we worked with all involved and are pleased to have come to a conclusion satisfying the concerns of Paul Stannard and the other drivers."
Campaigners for the disabled stress that employing truck drivers with a disability does not push up hauliers' insurance premiums—disabled drivers are assessed on their accident record the same as their able-bodied colleagues.
But for the disabled, finding a job can mean more than overcoming prejudice from businesses; it can mean leaping bureaucratic hurdles too, some of them put in place by government agencies. Stannard had originally been refused a provisional HGV licence by the DVLA on the grounds of his disability.
However, after reading of a case of a truck driver with a similar disability to his own, he confronted the DVLA and was issued with a licence two weeks later.