Disability and Employment Report

Reed in Partnership, the welfare-to-work provider has published a report in partnership with charity Disability Rights UK about how businesses perceive the challenges disabled people face entering employment.

The findings show the responses to a survey of over 300 people involved in recruitment, human resources or leadership positions and present key results:

• 1 in 10 employees do not feel confident that their organisations would be able to support an employee with a disability.
• 84% of employers stated disabled people make a valuable contribution to the workplace, however more than one in ten (12%) worry that disabled people are more likely to take time off work.
• One in five employers consider that the cost of modifying equipment makes it expensive to employ disabled people, and almost half (49%) of respondents said that additional funding for adaptations would help businesses to retain disabled people in employment.
• Almost a third (31%) said that businesses are worried that disabled people will claim discrimination if the job does not work out.

The results demonstrate that employers want to support disabled employees but some have concerns.

With one in six of the population living with a health condition or impairment, by not recruiting or retaining disabled employees, employers can miss out on talented staff.

The report concludes that “disabled people often bring assets like problem-solving, empathy and resilience to the workplace because of the challenges they have faced” and promotes the creation of workplace cultures “in which people living with impairments or health conditions feel more confident to be open about what they need at work.”

If you wish to discuss your recruitment and retention strategies, reasonable adjustments for disabled employees or any other concerns regarding disability discrimination, please contact Eagle HR on 0808 168 5780.