Special Christmas 2024 edition case story.

Our employment services at Zebra-Access was recommended to Iain Burley, who lives in the Berkshire area. Upon hearing about the service, he initially thought we were some sort of scam. After some persuasion over Facetime, finally he registered with us.

Iain lost his job back in January 2024, when he was made redundant.

He was a professional chef for over 25 years. He had never been on benefits, and suddenly he was on Universal Credit and struggling to get support. He made never ending trips to the Jobcentre, to meet with a work coach who was ignorant of his disability. He struggled and was severely frustrated; all down to communication barriers.

Iain applied for many jobs independently; more than anyone I have ever known. He did this with endurance and never gave up.

We only gave him minimal guidance and advice, as well as interview support. One day he applied for several jobs on Indeed for chef positions. Then there was a hidden message, which was a response from one of the companies.

He spotted it and responded.

They were interested in him, and asked him to come for an interview. He brought his father along and used VRI (video relay interpreting) on his phone. The manager was talking to him unaware that he was watching the phone and communicating along. That worked out well and he was invited back again, but this time it was a face-to-face interview with an interpreter present, and he was shown around. He was then offered a job; starting mid-October.

The place is a family run business spanning six generations, called “Hillier” garden centre. The company has been around for over 155 years, and now has several garden centres at various locations. Iain mentioned that it is a very popular place for pensioners, who regularly come for meals. It is not just a restaurant, but a place for them to gather, where they can relax and chat. Many customers return again and again.

Soon Iain started to know what to do and settled into the role, and he really enjoyed the job. He worked well with his peers and manager and would use communication support whenever he needed to.

Most days, working at Hillier is extremely busy and the time goes very fast.

Next month there will be a special offer of a breakfast deal for £5, and Iain has been warned that the queue will be very long, like a snake. He is prepared for this.

Hillier will be undergoing expansion soon. They will have a bigger kitchen and the dining area will be doubled.

Linda Beasley, Specialist Employment Officer of Zebra Access said:

“Myself and my interpreter are extremely proud of the success that Iain has made with his employment journey, despite his struggles, frustrations and pain. We have done everything we can to support him. When he shared the good news, we were jumping for joy and celebrating his achievement. We hope to sample his cooking one day. It goes to show that endurance does pay off, after 9 months of hard work in applying”

Bob Marsh, Managing Director of Zebra Access, added

“We were so pleased to hear that, with our support through our Specialist Employment Officer, Linda, Iain successfully attained employment to compliment his 25 year chef skills. We wish Iain all the very best of luck as he deserves this break”