The importance of becoming a Disability Confident employer

AdviserPlus is proud to be a Disability Confident Leader and our Learning Director, Pat Ashworth, sits on the Government’s Disability Confident Professional Advisors Group (PAG), helping to ensure that it’s flagship ‘Disability Confident Scheme’ is robust. The Government’s Disability Confident Scheme provides a great starting point for employers to develop environments that are more accessible and begin to improve how they recruit, retain and provide development opportunities for disabled people within their organisation.

The scheme is a great way of letting everyone know that you’re serious about becoming an inclusive employer.

– Pat Ashworth, Learning Director

Check out this video from Pat Ashworth discussing how you can become a Disability Confident Employer.

Or tune into this insightful discussion surrounding:

• Strategies to raise awareness and foster positive attitudes towards disability
• The potential barriers that organisations may encounter while supporting disabled employees and how to overcome them
• How to increase understanding of the practical implications of changes in disability legislation.

To be recognised as Disability Confident committed Level 1, you are agreeing to 5 disability confident commitments and at least one activity you will carry out to make a difference for disabled people.

Ensuring your recruitment processes are inclusive and accessible

• Ensuring against discrimination through diversity and inclusion training for interviewers
• Making job adverts accessible
• Providing information in accessible formats
• Accepting applications in alternative formats

Communicating and promoting vacancies to encourage applications from disabled people

• Advertising vacancies through a range of channels to encourage applications
• Using your Disability Confident badge to make sure potential applicants know you’re an inclusive employer
• Receiving advice from Jobcentre Plus

Offering an interview to disabled people if they meet the minimum requirements for the job

This does not mean that all disabled people are entitled to an interview, they must inform you that they have a disability and meet the minimum criteria for the job you are offering. The aim of this commitment is to encourage disabled to people to apply for jobs and provide them with an opportunity to demonstrate their skills, talent and abilities.

Anticipate and provide reasonable adjustments as required

All employers have a duty under the Equality Act 2010 to make ‘reasonable adjustments’ in the workplace where a disabled person would otherwise be put at a substantial disadvantage compared with their colleagues. Workplace adjustments don’t have to cost much, in fact, many cost nothing at all. In addition, disabled people can apply for Access to Work funding for employment related support above the level of statutory reasonable adjustments.

Supporting any existing employee who acquires a disability or long term health condition, to stay in work

Retaining an employee who becomes disabled, thus keeping their valuable skills and experience, will also save on the cost of recruiting a replacement.

You will also need to identify at least one activity that you will carry out to make a difference for disabled people, this can include:

• Work experience
• Providing work trials
• Paid employment
• Apprenticeships
• Job shadowing opportunities
• Traineeships
• Paid internships and supported internships
• Student placements
• Sector-based work academy placements

For more information about how you can become a Disability Confident Leader, download this useful guide: