Change advocate

Parcelforce attendance lead, Murray Goulder, who has debilitating epilepsy, spoke at the Disability Benefits Consortium about the impact of welfare changes on disabled people.

Through charities such as Epilepsy Action and his own activism on the subject of hidden disabilities and access to benefits, Murray has done a huge amount of work to highlight the plight of people with epilepsy, who are so often denied government support.

Murray had to fight for more than a year to get the benefits he was entitled to. Despite already receiving the Disability Living Allowance (DLA), his application for the Personal Independence Payment (PIP) was rejected. Having suffered from epilepsy for many years, Murray’s condition means he is unable to go anywhere alone in case he has a seizure.

In a recent interview with the Guardian newspaper, Murray spoke about the difficulties many people with epilepsy can face qualifying for benefits such as PIP.

‘My visit to Parliament to speak at the Disability Benefits Consortium was a truly heart wrenching day listening to the worst situations that you could imagine,’ said Murray.

‘I was approached by Marsha De Cordova MP, Shadow Minister for disabled people, Fabian Hamilton, MP for Leeds, and other MPs from the SNP to discuss my case involving the 15 months I spent challenging the Department for Work and Pensions (DWP) and its practices, and what needs to change.

‘I was also interviewed by Cassandra White, engagement officer for Epilepsy Action, to share my story in a fundraising legacy appeal – discussing work that I and Epilepsy Action have done and been involved in over the years, which has had a positive impact on people with epilepsy. These include my campaigning work on personal independence payments in highlighting the injustices involved in the assessment system.’

Supporting our people

As one of the UK’s biggest employers, we are committed to putting equality and diversity at the heart of our business. Call our internal disability helpline on 0800 028 6142 for advice if you are a disabled employee or manager looking for support with organising reasonable adjustments.

For more information on how to obtain support from our Disability steering group or if you would like advice on managing someone with a disability, please contact DisabilitySteeringGroup@royalmail.com.