Justine works part time at a very busy café, Michel’s Patisserie. She helps out with washing and cleaning as the café serves up to 1000 customers every day.
Justine, who has autism and is also deaf, communicates by lip reading and basic sign language. Justine is not able to work at full productivity, but this has been no barrier to her success in the job.
Michel’s have been able to employ Justine and give her the opportunity to work in the competitive, open labour market by paying her a productivity based wage.
Through the Supported Wage System, Justine has had an assessment of her productivity in the workplace. Justine’s productivity was assessed at 80 per cent. The Supported Wage System allows her to make an agreement with her employer to work for 80 per cent of the usual award wage.
For Justine, the Supported Wage System has allowed her to earn her own money even if she can’t work at full productivity. For people who are on the Disability Support Pension, working under the Supported Wage System means that the amount of their Pension reduces as their own earnings increase.
Justine and her employer also receive free support from Job Solve, a Disability Employment Services provider. Job Solve provides:
- ongoing, on the job advice to Justine’s employer and co-workers about autism and disability
- transport for Justine to get to and from work
- assistance, on occasion, to help Justine cope with work issues.
Michel’s has also made some adjustments to Justine’s role to allow her to complete the job.
‘Justine is able to perform her duties with limited supervision, is reliable and is considered one of our best back area staff, able to cope with busy workloads and she demonstrates that she enjoys her job’, said her employer.
Disability Employment Services and the Supported Wage System can help you work in the open labour market if you cannot find or keep a job at full wage rates.
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