[New post] Employing disabled people and people with health conditions
Opportunity posted: " Reposted from the Department for Work and Pensions - updated Thurs 1 Sept 2022 This guidance provides a summary of information for employers to help: increase their understanding of disability enable them recruit and support disabled people and" http://teacakeclub.org
This guidance provides a summary of information for employers to help:
increase their understanding of disability
enable them recruit and support disabled people and those with long term health conditions in work
It has links to other resources to enable employers to become more confident when attracting, recruiting, developing and retaining disabled people.
1. Why recruit disabled people?
1.1 Definition of disability
A disabled person is defined as someone with a physical or mental impairment that has a 'substantial' and 'long-term' effect on their ability to do normal daily activities (Equality Act 2010).
1.2 The benefits of employing disabled people
Over 7.7 million people of working age in the UK are disabled or have a health condition. Historically there has been a significant gap between the proportion of disabled people employed compared with non-disabled people.
Encouraging applications from disabled people is good for business. It can help you to:
increase the number of high quality applicants available
create a workforce that reflects the diverse range of customers it serves and the community in which it is based
bring additional skills to the business, such as the ability to use British Sign Language (BSL), which could result in large savings
The costs of making reasonable adjustments to accommodate disabled employees are often low.
The benefits of retaining an experienced, skilled employee who has acquired an impairment are usually greater than recruiting and training new staff. It is also good for the individual.
Disability Confident
We are working with employers to:
give them the skills, techniques and confidence they need to recruit, retain and develop disabled people
increase the understanding amongst employers of disability and the benefits disabled people can bring to their businesses
steadily increase the number of employers, across all sizes, sectors and locations, signing up to be Disability Confident and taking action that will make a difference to disabled people
make a substantial contribution towards getting 1 million more disabled people in work by 2027
You must make reasonable adjustments to support disabled job applicants and employees. This means ensuring disabled people can overcome any substantial disadvantages they may have doing their jobs and progressing in work (Equality Act 2010).
An individual can take you to an employment tribunal if they think you have not made reasonable adjustments.
Many reasonable adjustments involve little or no cost and could include:
making changes to a disabled person's working pattern
providing training or mentoring
making alterations to premises
ensuring that information is provided in accessible formats
2.2 Help with the extra costs disabled people face in work
You may be able to get help from Access to Work towards some costs where an individual requires support or adaptations. Find out more in the Employer's guide to Access to Work.
Access to Work usually provides a grant to pay for the cost of the support. For example it can provide funds towards:
special aids and equipment
adaptations to equipment
travel to and from work
communication support at interview
a wide variety of support workers
Access to Work also has a Mental Health Support Service. This can offer support to individuals with a mental health condition who are absent from work or finding work difficult.
2.3 Health Adjustment Passport
The Health Adjustment Passport is a document that is completed by Individuals with a disability or health condition to help them identify what extra support they will need as a result of their disability or health condition in the workplace. This could include provision of:
help communicating at interview
help with travel to work or travelling in work time
workplace assessments
specialist IT software
specialist equipment
a support worker
The passport will provide a personalised live document of their in-work support needs and adjustments. It can help with a smooth transition into employment and when changing job roles.
2.4 Supporting older workers
Older workers often have a vast amount of experience, knowledge and skill. By not retaining older workers you can face a loss of output and extra recruitment costs.
The Work and Health Programme (WHP) was launched throughout England and Wales on a rolling basis between November 2017 and April 2018. It predominantly helps people with a wide range of health conditions or disabilities, as well as the long-term unemployed, and certain priority groups, to enter into and stay in work, using the expertise of private, public and voluntary, and community sector providers.
WHP providers are building strong links to national and local employers to identify employment needs, identify roles and provide more individual training to better match people's skills to jobs. They also offer light touch in-work support from job start for the participant if they need it, and ensuring that appropriate arrangements for continuation of support, including Access to Work is in place before the provider support ends.
For more information on available support, employers can contact the following WHP providers:
It is against the law to treat someone less favourably than someone else because of a personal characteristic, such as being disabled. There are different kinds of discrimination.
Discrimination does not have to be direct to be illegal. You can discriminate indirectly with working conditions or rules that disadvantage a group of people more than another.
Discrimination can include, for example:
not hiring someone because of their disability
selecting a particular person for redundancy because of their disability
paying someone less than another worker without good reason
All employees, whether or not they are disabled, have changes in their performance levels. These could be problems with attendance, behaviour or conduct.
Before starting action to deal with poor performance, you must make reasonable adjustments to allow a disabled employee to improve their performance. If you don't, they could take you to an employment tribunal.
4. How to recruit disabled people
4.1 Accessible job adverts
You must not discriminate against disabled people at any stage of the recruitment process.
You must make job adverts accessible to all those who can do the job, whether or not they are disabled.
When writing job adverts:
use a font that is easy to read and large enough to read
make sure that they don't exclude any section of the community
state clearly that you welcome applications from all sections of the community and that you have an equal opportunities policy
include in your person specification only the skills and experience which are vital to the job
do not set criteria which automatically exclude certain groups, for example stating that applicants must have a driving licence when there is no requirement for travel within the role
provide the contact details of someone in your organisation who can provide further information and discuss any reasonable adjustments that the applicant may need
offer alternative formats for applications, for example if the application is to be made online, provide a paper based form as an alternative
4.2 Conducting interviews
Under the Equality Act 2010 you must not ask about a job applicant's health until you have offered them a job, except to:
find out whether they need any reasonable adjustments during the recruitment process
find out if they can carry out an essential function of the job
Ask applicants if they need an adjustment to the interview process to allow them to be considered for the job. Make any adjustments if they are reasonable, for example:
use premises that are fully accessible
change lighting or room layout
show a visually impaired applicant to their seat
offer an alternative to a standard interview, for example a working interview or allow extra time
allow applicants to complete a written test using a computer
When interviewing a disabled applicant, help them to perform to the best of their ability by:
speaking directly to them rather than any support worker
telling them about any flexible working patterns that you may be able to offer them
making sure that you ask each applicant the same questions, whether or not they are disabled
4.3 Disability Confident symbol
The Disability Confident symbol replaced the 'Two Ticks' (positive about disabled people) symbol in 2016.
Disability Confident is creating a movement of change, encouraging employers to think differently about disability and take action to improve how they recruit, retain and develop disabled people.
Being Disability Confident is a unique opportunity to lead the way in your community, and you might just discover someone your business cannot do without.
Sign up to the Disability Confident scheme and you can use the Disability Confident symbol on adverts to show that you encourage applications from disabled people.
Mental Health conditions cover a wide range of illnesses which can affect how people feel, think and behave. They can include:
depression
anxiety
bipolar disorder
According to the Mental Health Foundation, 1 in 4 people experience a problem with their mental health every year. It's likely you will at some point employ someone with a mental health condition. Being in work can improve someone's mental health. With understanding and support from an employer, there is no reason that someone with a mental health condition cannot succeed in the workplace.
Adjustments for employees with a mental health condition include:
offering flexible working patterns, including changes to start and finish times and adaptable break times
changing their working environment, for example providing a quiet place to work
working with them to create an action plan to help them manage their condition
allowing them leave to attend appointments connected with their mental health
had their impairment from birth or it may have increased gradually over time
a temporary or permanent impairment
The proportion of people with a hearing impairment who are in work is below the national average. However, there are many people with a hearing impairment who are in work and even more who would like the opportunity to be in work.
The National Deaf Children's Society (NDCS) has developed a collection of resources with the Department for Education (DfE) to support the transition young people with a hearing impairment make into employment. These resources include a personal profile template for young people to complete about their working environment needs, an employer handbook and short videos aimed at young people, parents and employers.
Adjustments for an employee with a hearing impairment include:
providing information in accessible formats
seating an employee in a quiet area, away from distracting noises
using adapted telephones with adjustable volumes and lights
There are almost 80,000 registered blind and partially sighted people of working age in the UK (not including conditions which can be corrected by glasses or contact lenses). The majority have some useful vision. They represent a huge pool of potential employees.
Advances in technology mean that blind and partially sighted people can now overcome many of the barriers to work that they faced in the past. With the right training, skills and experience a blind or partially sighted person can do just about any job. Just like any other worker, they will need the right tools to do the job, for example additional tools that reduce or eliminate the need for eyesight.
Adjustments for a blind or partially sighted employee include:
offering additional training about visual impairments for other colleagues
making alterations to the working environment
supplying documents in audio or Braille formats
carrying out a risk assessment of the workplace
arranging a tour of the workplace
providing software or technology that magnifies onscreen text and images or converts text to sound
A physical impairment is one which limits a person's ability to do physical activity such as walking. These impairments may be as a result of:
amputation
cerebral palsy
injury
muscular dystrophy
multiple sclerosis
Some physical impairments may not be visible such as epilepsy or respiratory disorders.
Many people with physical impairments have mobility aids to assist them. You may only need to take a few simple steps to ensure an employee with a physical impairment can fulfil their potential at work.
Adjustments for a physically impaired employee include:
providing assistive computer equipment such as modifications to hardware or voice activated software
agreeing an emergency evacuation procedure with them if they require assistance
making sure that the layout of the working environment is accessible and free from obstructions
About 10% of the UK population are thought to be affected by dyslexia. Even where literacy skills have been mastered, people with dyslexia have difficulties with reading efficiently and spelling. They may struggle with tasks such as:
organisation and time-management
writing or structuring documents
retaining information (without written back-up)
note taking in meetings
working under pressure of time
Potential strengths of people with dyslexia include creative and innovative thinking and good communication skills.
Adjustments for an employee with dyslexia include:
providing text-to-speech or speech-to-text software
Co-ordination difficulties associated with dyspraxia (DCD) can affect many areas of everyday life, such as learning to drive or ride a bicycle and acquiring fluent word processing skills. Some people with dyspraxia appear clumsy, with weak muscle tone. They may also have poor social skills and come across as abrupt. Dyspraxia also affects the ability to organise ideas, language and information.
Tasks with the following elements are challenging for people with dyspraxia:
sequencing, organisation, time-management and prioritising
managing change and coping in unfamiliar situations
extracting information from charts or diagrams and following maps
learning new skills
working at speed or to deadlines
Attention deficit hyperactivity disorder (ADHD)
ADHD is often associated with specific learning difficulties and a range of mental health issues. People with ADHD show signs of inattention, impulsivity, over-activity and restlessness.
Difficulties in the following areas characterise ADHD:
poor listening skills and being easily distracted
difficulties maintaining attention, concentration and focus
problems with planning, organisation and time-management
talking excessively, interrupting or intruding on others
problems with controlling and switching their attention as needed, for example starting, switching or finishing tasks and activities
failure to take account of feedback
poor self-regulation of actions and emotions
Dyscalculia
Dyslexia and dyspraxia may affect numeracy skills but the term dyscalculia refers to more severe difficulties with numeracy and concepts involving numbers. It affects around 5% of the population.
People with dyscalculia struggle in the following areas:
handling money, budgeting and dealing with finances
time-telling, such as recording times, dates and appointments correctly
using pin numbers and dialling phone numbers
remembering personal information, like date of birth, addresses and post codes
travelling and directions, reading road numbers and making sense of timetables
Learning disabilities
It is estimated that up to 1.5 million people in the UK have a learning disability. They may have difficulties learning new skills and coping independently with everyday tasks.
Many people with a learning disability are in work and with the right support can be hard-working and reliable employees.
Adjustments for an employee with a learning disability include:
altering the recruitment process to allow work trials instead of formal interviews
using supported employment providers to offer in work support to help learn a role
Neurodiversity refers to the different ways our brains work and interpret information.
The CIPD neurodiversity at work guide aims to raise employer awareness of neurodiversity in the workplace. It provides information about neurodiversity, the benefits for organisations, and how to support neurodivergent people at work.
5.6 Epilepsy
Epilepsy is a condition that affects the brain. When someone has epilepsy, it means they have a tendency to have epileptic seizures.
Anyone can have a one-off seizure, but this doesn't always mean they have epilepsy. Epilepsy is usually only diagnosed if someone has had more than one seizure, and doctors think it is likely they could have more.
Epilepsy can start at any age and there are many different types. Some types of epilepsy last for a limited time and the person eventually stops having seizures. For many people epilepsy is a life-long condition.
Stammering is hard to define even though everyone knows it when they hear it. Stammering is typically recognised by a tense struggle to get words out, characterised by repetition or prolongation of sounds, and silent blocks (known as 'overt stammering'). However, many people who stammer have developed techniques to hide it (known as 'covert stammering').
We know that stammering has no influence on someone's intelligence or abilities. However, personal experiences can affect educational attainment, career choice, professional success and even mental health.
Stammering varies tremendously from person to person and is highly variable for the person who stammers.They may be fluent one minute and struggling to speak the next.
Stammering affects about 500,000 adults in the UK, including 380,000 adults of working age.
Crohn's Disease and Ulcerative Colitis are Inflammatory Bowel Diseases. In Crohn's and Colitis, the immune system starts attacking the body. This causes painful ulcers and inflammation in the gut.
Everyone experiences the conditions differently, but the main symptoms include tummy pain, diarrhoea, fatigue, and blood or mucus in poo. Other parts of the body can also be affected: from your digestion and joints to your energy levels and mental health.
Crohn's and Colitis are invisible, because you cannot tell by looking at someone that they have the condition. These are lifelong conditions, but this does not mean that someone with the condition will always be unwell. Treatments like medicines and surgery can help keep symptoms under control.
A person with dwarfism is typically under the height of 4 foot 10 inches, there are over 200 different types of dwarfism, with around 7,000 people in the UK having one of these dwarfism types. 80% of people with dwarfism are born to average height parents and their condition is as a result of a spontaneous mutation. Some forms of dwarfism can be passed down to children.
Many conditions of dwarfism can have some medical complications, but most people have an average life expectancy and intelligence, proving themselves to be productive members of society. Slight adaptations may be required in the workplace for a person with dwarfism, however speaking with the person with dwarfism will determine the extent of these adaptions, however this should not be a barrier for a person with dwarfism to undertake their work commitments.
The Equality and Human Rights Commission (EHRC) promotes and monitors human rights. It protects, enforces and promotes equality across 9 areas: age, disability, gender, race, religion and belief, pregnancy and maternity, marriage and civil partnership, sexual orientation and gender reassignment.
The Business Disability Forum (BDF) is an employer organisation that offers information, support and advice on disability as it affects business. It can help employers to make sure that their online recruitment tools and processes are fully accessible for disabled people.
Clear Talents can help organisations identify and manage reasonable adjustments for job applicants, employees and students. It is free to use for applicants.
The British Association for Supported Employment (BASE) is the national trade association involved in securing employment for disabled people. The website offers guidance for employers on disability and work. BASE members work closely with disabled jobseekers and employers to help find sustainable work for the disabled person.
The Disability Action Alliance brings together disabled people's organisations with other organisations to work in partnership to change the lives of disabled people.
Vercida is a place for the diversity industry, employers, and jobseekers to communicate. The site brings together the best of what the industry has to offer with a broad range of views from employers, jobseekers, and diversity policy makers.
The Mental Health Foundation is a leading mental health charity for research, policy and improving services. It offers a range of training and courses for individuals and employers.
Remploy Employment Services provides wide ranging support to help employers to recruit and retain talented and motivated disabled people.
The Do It Profiler has resources for employers to help them to understand specific learning disabilities and their relevance to the workplace.
Evenbreak is a social enterprise run by and for disabled people, helping employers attract more talented disabled people through their specialist job board, and gain confidence and competence around disability inclusion through their best practice portal.
Careers with Disabilities supports jobs for disabled people by providing information, support and connection for disabled jobseekers and inclusive employers.
7. Toolkits
The Autism Centre for Research Employment (ACRE) Autism Employment Toolkit – for the Employment Profiling Assessment services for Adults on the Autism Spectrum. The portal aims to introduce you, or the person you support, to the most relevant work issues you need to know about.
The Business in the Community and Public Health England – Mental Health toolkit. The ambition of this toolkit is to help your organisation – whether business, public sector or charitable – support the mental health and wellbeing of your employees. It will help you take positive actions to build a culture that champions good mental health and provide a greater understanding for how to help those who need more support.
The Business Disability Forum Disability Standard criteria (log in required) highlights business areas to consider to meet the needs of disabled people as customers, employees and stakeholders.
Clear Talents is an online toolkit that simplifies the process of identifying, implementing and tracking the reasonable adjustments that allow your employees to perform at their best.
The DWP autism and neurodiversity toolkit is a resource to support awareness and understanding of autism spectrum conditions and hidden impairments. It provides practical guidance for supporting people who have neurodiverse conditions, including examples of reasonable adjustments. Employers are encouraged to use the toolkit to help support employees with autism spectrum conditions and hidden impairments.
Do-IT Solutions Neurodiversity Workplace Toolkit provides, helps to unlock the hidden talents in your employees and provide guidance for you and them.
Crohn's & Colitis UK's Are You IN? toolkit helps employers to better support people living with invisible disabilities and long-term conditions. The toolkit includes a range of free resources including talking guides, posters, HR support and more.
No comments:
Post a Comment