APSCo Embrace: Are you confident about disability inclusion?

Article written by Jane Hatton, Evenbreak

Working with hundreds of employers who are on a journey to improve their disability inclusion, I notice that confidence – or lack of – is an issue which crops up regularly. Often, organisations and recruiters feel they need everything in place before they can even think about employing disabled people. They are worried that their processes may not be perfectly barrier-free, or that their hiring managers aren’t competent enough, or that they may inadvertently offend someone.

The reality is that no organisation is perfect in this area – it’s an area for continuous improvement rather than a state to reach. My own organisation (Evenbreak) only employs disabled people, and we’re still learning, and occasionally get things wrong! The important thing is for disabled candidates and employees to know that you take disability inclusion seriously, and are trying to make progress. In the event of a serious mistake, the efforts you are making overall to ensure inclusion and accessibility will stand you in good stead. However, if you are just avoiding the issue altogether, you have no defence.

Of course, even if you are unaware of it, you will already have disabled employees and candidates. They just may not have told you. Most – in fact, 80–90% - of disabilities are invisible. And 2% of working age people acquire a condition or long-term health condition every year. so you, or any of your existing employees, could become disabled at any time. This really isn’t an issue you can afford to avoid or ignore!

Individually, people might also feel nervous around disability. What if I use the ‘wrong’ word, or offend someone, or don’t know the answers, or how to support them? Again, it’s about intention. If the disabled person can see you are genuinely trying to be supportive, but use an out-dated word, they are unlikely to be offended. They may correct you, in which case you have learned something, and then continue the conversation. And the onus isn’t on the recruiter, employer or manager to be an expert in every disability and access need. The disabled person will be an expert in how their condition affects them, and so just need to be asked, “what do you need me to do to ensure this works for you?”.

Disability can feel complex, and in some ways it is, but often it just boils down to asking people what barriers they face and removing them, or providing alternatives. Simples!

Find out more about ED&I in recruitment by visiting our Embrace Hub here.