How to recognise a disability-friendly employer

How can you tell an employer is open to working with persons with disabilities? How can you know your application will get a fair read? Easy, look for the Disability Confident symbol!

This Government programme is an important signal for persons with disabilities that want to explore the world of work. It means employers have seriously engaged with reviewing and considering their workplace policies to make them fair and inclusive for all. It was introduced in 2013 and as of 2018, over 5,000 companies have signed up. Us included! Discover more about our commitment to inclusive recruitment.

Disability confident assessment

Disability Confident organisations go through an assessment and evaluation process to show they play a leading role in changing attitudes for the better. It’s about reflecting on behaviour and cultures in their own businesses, networks and communities. Many of our current vacancies are available with Disability Confident employers, find your next job now.

Ultimately, it’s about enriching the skills mix in the UK economy. It’s about access and opportunity. Employers sign up to:

• Open their recruitment practices to the widest possible pool of talent.
• Find skilled, loyal and hard-working staff to grow their business with.
• Create an inclusive and positive work environment that evidences how they treat all employees fairly.
• It also helps customers and other businesses identify those employers who are committed to equality in the workplace.

What does that mean in practice?

The motivation behind the scheme is to get more disabled people and those with longer-term health conditions into work. This can also reduce the large disability employment gap between the numbers of disabled people employed compared with non-disabled. According to Government figures, 3.9 million people of working age with disabilities had a job in July-September 2018 (an employment rate of 51.3%). The same figure for persons without disabilities was 81.f%.

There are three levels of achievement, from engaging with issues right through to industry leadership. Size is no barrier to companies achieving these goals. That means jobseekers can expect Disability Confident employers to engage in inclusive and accessible recruitment, offer guaranteed interviews to disabled people, provide reasonable adjustments and support existing employees.

Looking for a job?

This could be done via a wide range of activities. You can expect Disability Confident employers to offer things like work experience, apprenticeships, traineeships, student opportunities and sector-based work academy placements. Every employer, like every employee, has something different to offer. Search our database now for vacancies.