The percentage of working age adults with learning disabilities who are in paid employment is low compared with the general population. There may also be an underlying expectation that people with learning disabilities will take on unpaid voluntary roles and assumptions are often made that this population lacks the potential to contribute to their communities. This article discusses the barriers to and complexities of employing people with learning disabilities to work on a training programme and research project. It describes the various challenges experienced by the employers and employees during the recruitment process and while working in the role, and it details the strategies that were used to overcome these issues.

Learning Disability Practice. doi: 10.7748/ldp.2020.e2079

Peer review

This article has been subject to external double-blind peer review and has been checked for plagiarism using automated software

Correspondence

Leisa.Richards@nhs.net

Conflict of interest

None declared

Richards L, Flynn S (2020) Barriers to and complexities of supporting paid work for adults with learning disabilities. Learning Disability Practice. doi: 10.7748/ldp.2020.e2079

Acknowledgements The authors would like to thank all three trainers for their work on the Who’s Challenging Who? training programme. The inspiration to write this article came from their determination to succeed in employment despite the odds not being in their favour. Sadly, two of the trainers passed away suddenly during the writing of this article, so the authors would like to dedicate this article to them

Published online: 06 August 2020