For people with epilepsy

As for anybody, the type of work you can do depends on your skills, qualifications, and experience. It may also depend on how your epilepsy affects you. 

Can I do any job I want?

Not necessarily. All employers have to comply with safety and equality laws, which:

• cover you from when you apply for a job, throughout your  work (including promotion and training) to when you leave it; and
• apply whether you have a disability before you start a job or if your disability begins once you are employed.

Employers cannot legally refuse to give you a job just because you have epilepsy. However, they need to consider your epilepsy, and what the job involves, to ensure your safety and that of other employees. 

Safety at work

Risks to safety will depend on what your epilepsy is like and what the job involves. Some jobs may be a risk if you have seizures. For example, working at heights, around unguarded machinery, or near open water.

As each situation is different, your employer usually needs to do a risk assessment to look at how your epilepsy could affect your safety at work. See below for more about risk assessments. 

Can I do a job that involves driving?

For a Group 1 licence you must be seizure-free for one year, with or without taking anti-seizure medication (ASM). 

The regulations are different if you only have seizures while you are asleep, or if your seizures do not affect your ability to act.

For a Group 2 licence you must be seizure-free, without ASM, for 10 years. 

If you meet the DVLA regulations to drive, you should be able to do a job that involves driving. 

Some employers use the DVLA regulations to help them assess risk. For example, if the DVLA say that you can drive a car, your employer may decide you can work with machinery.

Can I get a job in the Armed Forces?

Whether or not you can work on active service in the Armed Forces (Army, Royal Air Force, and Royal Navy) depends on your situation; the type of epilepsy you have, when you last had a seizure, and whether you have been on ASM. For example, you would not be able to join the armed forces if:

• you have a diagnosis of epilepsy;
• you have had more than one seizure since the age of six; or 
• you have had a seizure in the last five years

You may be able to join the armed forces if:

• you have only had seizures as a child (under the age of six);
• you had a single seizure more than five years ago (without treatment);
• you had childhood absence seizures starting under the age of 10 and no seizures (without treatment) for the past five years; 
• you had benign rolandic epilepsy in childhood and no seizures (without treatment) in the past five years; or
• you have had a provoked seizure.

For more information, visit The Joint Service Manual of Medical Fitness

Other health and safety regulations

Many professions have a governing body that sets health and safety regulations. They will usually look at your individual situation to see whether you can do the job safely. Contact the relevant governing 
body for further details on their recruitment policies and guidelines.

Reasonable adjustments

“The duty to make reasonable adjustments aims to make sure that as a disabled person, you have, as far as is reasonable, the same access to everything that is involved in getting and doing a job as a non-disabled person.”    Equality and Human Rights Commission

An employer needs to consider making adjustments that may help you to do a job as well as any other employee. This means looking at:

• anything about the job that is difficult for you to do or could put you at risk;
• anything about the work environment that makes it difficult for you to do the job or could put you at risk; and
• whether any changes to the job or work environment would help to overcome these problems or risks.

Adjustments vary and will depend on how your epilepsy affects you and your work. Your employer can make adjustments when you apply for a job, or at any time during your employment. Adjustments for your epilepsy could include:

• changing your working hours to avoid shift work, if you have seizures that are brought on by tiredness;
• making changes to the building or office to make it safer;
• getting or changing equipment; and
• time off for medical appointments. 

Help with finding a job

You can look for a job through your local Jobcentre Plus office, personal contacts, newspaper and website adverts, or employment agencies. Jobcentre Plus offices have Disability Employment Advisers (DEAs) who help you with your job search. They may help with assessments and referral to schemes offering support, such as The Work and Health Programme.

They may also have information on employers who are positive about employing people with disabilities, who are signed up to the Disability Confident Scheme. 

If you are on benefits, you can ask your local Jobcentre Plus about how your benefits might be affected. See pages below for more organisations that can help with work, skills and training.

Telling people about your epilepsy

Do I have to tell my employer?

You don’t have to tell an employer about your epilepsy, although there are several reasons why this can help you (see below).  

Some people worry that telling an employer about their epilepsy could affect their chance of getting a job or being treated fairly at work. Although discrimination can happen, the Equality Act 2010 aims to protect you from discrimination, and help your employer to treat you fairly and support you at work. Having the right information about your epilepsy can help employers to do this.

Employers have responsibilities under the Health and Safety at Work Act.

For employers to be able to meet health and safety regulations, they need to know whether their employees have any medical conditions that could affect their work. 

Employers can only ask you questions about your health to help keep you and others safe at work, and to help you to be able to do your job.

If your employer knows about your epilepsy they may make changes to your job or environment to make it safer for you. If you don’t tell your employer, you can’t hold them responsible for not doing safety assessments for you. 

Employers are expected to consider making reasonable adjustments.

If your employer knows about your epilepsy, they can consider making reasonable adjustments to your work or environment for you. But if your employer does not know about your epilepsy, you can’t hold them responsible for not making reasonable adjustments that may help. 

The people you work with will be more able to help you if you have a seizure.

Often people feel more comfortable with epilepsy if they understand it and know what to do if someone has a seizure. This might help you, and them, feel more confident about how they can help you if you have a seizure at work. 

Epilepsy Society runs training courses for employers, first aiders, and other staff.

When is the best time to tell a new employer about my epilepsy?

If you decide to tell your new employer about your epilepsy, there are several opportunities for you to do this:

• You could include a covering letter with your application explaining about your epilepsy. This could include details from your GP or neurologist about your epilepsy. This may help your potential employer to understand about your  epilepsy before you have an interview.
• You might mention it if you are invited for an interview, and talk about it face to face. This gives you an opportunity to sell yourself, and your skills and experience, before mentioning your epilepsy.
• You might mention it at a final interview, or when you are offered the job.

Once you have told your new employer about your epilepsy, they might do a risk assessment and consider reasonable adjustments.  They may get medical advice, or ask a health and safety or occupational health expert to help. 

Access to Work

Access to Work is a scheme that supports people who are disabled, or have a physical or mental health condition, who are in a paid job, or about to start a job. If you have particular needs at work, because of 
your epilepsy, Access to Work may be able to help fund solutions. 

For example, an Access to Work grant could pay for equipment or extra support at work, or help with the cost of getting to and from work if you are not able to drive or use public transport.
Contact your Jobcentre Plus for details 

Other help with travel costs

If you do not drive because of your epilepsy, you can apply for a railcard to get discounted rail fares. You can also apply for a free national bus pass to travel around the UK.

Could I lose my job due to my epilepsy?

If you are already in a job and you develop epilepsy, or if your epilepsy changes and starts to cause problems at work, you might be worried about losing your job.

Under the Equality Act, your employer is expected to make reasonable adjustments so that you can carry on working (see above). If you cannot continue in your role due to your epilepsy, your employer should consider if you could be moved to another role.

If you develop epilepsy, or your seizures are difficult to control, you may be referred to a specialist to review your epilepsy. The review may help you to make decisions about your job. For example, it may help to identify reasonable adjustments for you.

Some adjustments may be temporary while your epilepsy is being reviewed or treated, and some may need to change over time.

Who can I talk to?

You may want to

talk to your line manager, or someone in your human resources department, about how you are feeling. Talking about any problems or concerns you have might help them to support you or look for reasonable adjustments that would help you.

Our helpline offers support to anyone affected by epilepsy. 

See Further information for other organisations that below might also be able to help.

Epilepsy Society is grateful to Emily Peoples, HR Business Partner, Epilepsy Society, who reviewed this information.

Information updated: April 2024