School Purmerend is proud to win the MS prize, a teacher nominated by the employer

Mike is not disappointed, although the teacher admits that he would have really liked it if his employer had taken the prize home. “It was exciting just before the announcement. I also got some stress about the speech I might have to give, but in the end that was not necessary at all. NTT Netherlands received the prize, a deserved winner.”

The Jan van Egmond Lyceum was in the top 3 of employers committed to employees with MS. Mike looks back on the nomination and award ceremony with a good feeling. “We did our best. It was of course an honor to be nominated.”

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Calling companies and MS patients

So no prize, but what is most important to the 28-year-old biology teacher is that employers show understanding if employees have a disability. “But that should of course be self-evident. In that regard, I would like to tell employers that they must be open to employees who have a condition. We do this for our students, but schools must also do the same for their teachers if something is wrong. In that respect, you should not treat educational staff differently.”

In addition, the biology teacher also calls on employees who also have MS or suffer from another disability. “Talk to your manager if you need something,” says Mike. “It’s easy not to say anything out of shame, but then you don’t get the help that can help you.”