Help people with disabilities shine in hospitality

Over the next couple of years, my condition worsened as I became more arthritic and I spent a few years almost mourning the person I was. Every month or week there would be something else I couldn't do, such as walking with a heavy backpack, running or wearing shoes (I can only wear trainers with special insoles). The other side effects were fatigue, brain fog and also the practicalities of having a disease, such as the constant doctor and hospital appointments, or having to be home for medicine deliveries.

When Covid struck I decided to take a sabbatical. I had to stay indoors anyway, so I thought it would be a good time to just look after myself. If you have run a start-up in hospitality, you know it's an 18-hour job and, with my condition, I was getting worse and I was really tired. That year was great as I came to terms with the condition and readjusted, but when the world opened up again after lockdown all the usual expectations flooded back, along with the pressure to part take in "normal society". Prior to Covid I was a sales director, but the thought of sales or a high-pressure job filled me with dread because I didn't want my condition to get worse again.

One day I bumped into Ning Ma, who I knew after supplying her MamaLan restaurants in a previous role. She told me she was launching a bubble tea company called Tea Joy, and it was through giving her some start-up advice that I found my confidence grow and I wanted to become involved with the industry again. I started to find my mojo and, thanks to Ning's compassion about my disability, I eventually took up the role of head of commercial at Tea Joy.

That's the importance of a company to a disabled person or someone who has been recently ill. We have a lot of adjustments and changes to make and we can feel like we lack confidence or that we are a burden, but if an employer acts with compassion and empathy it makes a massive difference.

My advice to an employer is to try to understand the condition. Ning, to her credit, read a lot on PsA. Some conditions aren't static, so one day you can be fine, the next not. But if we can explain our daily challenges and work together we can form a plan, such as flexible working hours if it's hard to get out of bed in the morning due to pain, to let us start work later and finish later.

Providing support can make all the difference. Even simple things, such as when Tea Joy brought me a wheelie case so when I do a demo I don't have to carry my backpack. And give us a couple of grace days because there are always extra hospital appointments that we can't predict.

I promise that if you do this and employ more disabled people you will be employing people who face adversity every day but who still shine. They will be the most positive people in the room. The little things that bother normal people is taken in their stride because life has taught them resilience. They will be the hardest-working employees because they have to work harder to compete. Don't let someone's physical abilities, or your perceived perception of what they can or can't do, prejudge them. And if you do this, you will get someone who is committed with all their heart, will smash all boundaries and be a credit to you and the business.

I see so few disabled people in hospitality – 20% of the UK is disabled – especially at a time when hospitality has an employment crisis, so isn't it time we look to hire them?

Jack Gaskin is head of commercial at Tea Joy