In September 2023 Jan Cork was knocked off her motorbike on her way to work. She was signed off for a couple of months but when she wanted to go back to work, her employer was unable or unwilling to make any adaptations, even though she had been there for 13 years.
She needed room for a mobility scooter. ‘I had always given 110% to my job, but my daily work was now unbearable so I handed in my notice,’ Jan said. ‘I didn’t know then that the Jersey Employment Trust might have been able to help.’
It was only later that she found out about JET and she was introduced to her Employment Co-ordinator Kerry Robinson. Jan applied for 45 jobs over ten months, but many employers couldn’t allow for her disability. However, when she found her job at Amalgamated Facilities Management Ltd (AFM) as a Customer Service Adviser, it was like it was made for her.
AFM’s premises in St Helier Business Park at La Pouquelaye already had an access ramp to the front door, disabled toilets, and an open-plan office big enough for Jan’s mobility scooter to navigate.
‘It’s perfect, they haven’t really had to change anything,’ she said. ‘I love my role supporting AFM’s customers. I enjoy solving people’s problems.
‘I hated being out of work. All this has happened to me and yes, I could sit in a ball on the sofa and cry my eyes out but where’s that going to get me? It’s not going to pay my rent, buy my food or pay my bills. I don’t see it as ruining my life. I see it as my life before the accident, and this is how I live my life now.
‘With JET's intervention, I was able to secure a brilliant ground-floor Andium flat, Enable Jersey have been amazing, and I was lucky enough to get a grant to purchase the mobility scooter. AFM are a brilliant employer and they look after their staff. In the interview they said they were looking for someone who could do the job, is bubbly and has a good personality, someone who will fit in with the team. And I think they liked my attitude.’
Managing director Dave Webb said: ‘At AFM, we believe that everyone should have access to meaningful employment opportunities, whatever their circumstances. Our support for JET reflects this commitment, alongside our long-standing partnership with the Back to Work scheme and other initiatives that put people first.’
Jan was just as delighted when she passed her probation earlier this year and feels like everything has finally fallen into place.
‘I’m so glad I came to JET,’ she said. ‘Kerry encouraged and supported me after each rejection to carry on. She made it a lot easier and kept me going. She was always there. I don’t know where I’d be without her.’
Pictured: AFM managing director Dave Webb
