The Complete Guide To Employing Disabled People
Every month, businesses lose out on £2 billion by ignoring the needs of their disabled customers. The next generation of employees are demanding ethical practices, sustainable operations and inclusive cultures from their employers.
Research by Deloitte found that 80% of employees said inclusion was an important factor when choosing an employer – and as Gen Z enter the workforce, this figure is only set to rise.
So, how do you become a truly inclusive employer? Great question – that’s why we’ve put this guide together.
We’ve spoken to experts in inclusive recruitment, workplace accessibility and disability discrimination to equip your business with the knowledge you need to attract and retain disabled talent and create a truly inclusive workplace culture that benefits your teams, clients and customers.
Chapter 1: Inclusive Recruitment
What is inclusive recruitment and why does it matter?
Inclusive recruitment means that anyone with the right skills, talent, or experience can apply for a job, attend an interview and be hired into a role.
SIC Founder and CEO, Rachael Mole, says: “Inclusive recruitment is vital for a diverse workforce, as it allows employers to tap into a talent pool of forgotten and incredible people who have lived experience of understanding the complexities around how the world works, that others won't.”
What’s more, 76% of job seekers and employees report that a diverse workforce is an important factor when evaluating a job offer. The same survey revealed more than 50% of people think their company should be doing more to increase diversity among its workforce.
With the majority of Gen Z and millennials saying they wouldn’t work for a company that doesn't have an inclusive culture, employers who ignore the importance of inclusive recruitment aren’t just shutting the door to disabled talent – they’re potentially shutting the door to the majority of talent.
What does an inclusive recruitment process look like?
There is no one-size-fits-all approach to accessibility. Inclusive recruitment means being flexible and open-minded about how the recruitment process looks for each candidate and being willing to adapt any element of the process.
Kelly Gordon, Co-Founder of inclusive recruitment company With Not For, told us: “Inclusive recruitment requires open, honest and clear communication between the employer and candidate about how the recruitment process will be managed, which elements of the process are flexible, salary and benefits being offered, and when to expect feedback after an interview.”
There are plenty of small, simple changes you can make to your recruitment process that make a big dierence to disabled and neurodiverse candidates, such as:
Conducting initial interviews remotely wherever possible, or oering the option to all candidates
Where in-person interviews are required, oering alternative locations which might be more accessible to candidates
Sending an agenda and interview questions in advance, allowing the candidate to prepare.
As you develop your inclusive recruitment process, working together with disabled people to understand their needs and challenges is vital.
With Not For Co-Founder Emma Gardner urges: “Before doing anything else, employers should start thinking about accessibility with disabled people, not for them. From the very start, employers should educate themselves to ensure that people with disabilities are not made to feel uncomfortable or put o from their company in any way.”
True workplace inclusivity requires critical thinking about your leadership team’s behaviour, acknowledgement of your organisation’s blind spots, being open to collaboration and willingness to take accountability for your biases.
Inclusive recruitment is not just a box-ticking exercise, it’s about changing mindset. After committing to oer all roles to everybody, employers must then continue to be inclusive in all employee communications, management and support.
Chapter 2: Retaining Disabled Talent
Workplace culture
Your workplace culture is defined by the core values that drive the people who work for you.
Rachael Mole describes workplace culture as: “The identity of an organisation, and how an organisation embodies their values internally. Your workplace culture is the engine that runs the company – so it must work for everyone.”
How do you know whether your workplace culture is inclusive?
Many dierent factors make a workplace inclusive. High employee turnover, low employee engagement, lack of team morale and motivation and poor feedback from exit interviews are all signs that your workplace is not an inclusive one.
Additional questions to ask yourself are:
Are we receiving job applications from a diverse range of candidates?
What diversity do we have in our team?
How many disabled employees do we have?
How many other minorities are represented in our team?
How are dierent education levels represented in our team?
Organisations need to be collecting and reviewing this type of data to ensure the make-up of their business reflects their diversity and inclusion policy and goals.
Rachael Mole says: “1 in 5 people in the UK has a disability. If this isn’t reflected within an organisation, then something isn't right. Either a company has created a culture where nobody feels it's safe to disclose a disability, or it has created a culture where no disabled people are being hired.”
How can you make your workplace more inclusive?
The first steps to becoming an inclusive organisation include:
Creating an accessibility policy
Creating a diversity and inclusion policy
Putting the process in place to ensure adherence to accessibility, diversity
and inclusion policies
Recruitment training for HR managers and senior leaders
Diversity and inclusivity training for all employees
Ensuring all internal and external communications are accessible.
Having an inclusive and accessible culture doesn’t just benefit your disabled and neurodiverse employees – it benefits everyone who works for you.
Rachael Mole says: “When you create an inclusive workplace for disabled people, everyone in your organisation benefits. It sets a precedent of accessibility for other groups of people who may have been labelled disabled by society, including single parents, new parents, carers, people in education, people working second jobs, or people who've been unable to access education. Focusing on inclusivity for one group brings everybody into the conversation.”
Workplace accessibility
Workplace accessibility isn’t just about physical accessibility, it’s about being able to adapt any element of your organisation to meet your employee’s needs.
Emma Gardener from With Not For explains: “A truly inclusive employer will lead by example. They start by seeking the right advice and take informed action to create flexible, adaptive environments or processes that become the DNA of their business.”
In addition to physical workplace adjustments such as ramps or disabled toilets, having accessible processes and communication methods are equally important.
Allowing remote working, being flexible with meeting start times, or deciding whether cameras need to be on or o during video conferences, are examples of simple changes that make a dierence.
Emma says: “It’s not just disabled workers who benefit from accessibility adjustments. All employees have access needs – whether it’s caring for children or elderly family members, dietary requirements, or religious practices. By asking your employees what they need and accommodating them, you show appreciation, respect and care.”
“When an employer is completely open-minded and committed to advocating for a disabled person, they make anything possible. For your disabled employees to thrive, you can’t have any barriers.”
Digital accessibility is also vital for true inclusion. Emma says: “Digital accessibility might mean ensuring your website and social media are accessible with captioned videos, image and video descriptions, content warnings, good colour contrasts, easy-to-read text and information in multiple formats.”
Reasonable adjustment
According to Acas, a reasonable adjustment is a change that must be made to remove or reduce a disadvantage related to:
an employee's disability when doing their job
a job applicant's disability when applying for a job
Kelly Gordon from With Not For describes making reasonable adjustments for employees as accommodating anything that's needed for an employee to be able to do their job eectively. She says: “Once an employer decides a person is the right candidate for them, they should do whatever it takes to ensure that person can perform to the best of their ability”.
Reasonable adjustments should be made in collaboration with your employees, after giving them the space to discuss their needs.
By law, employers must consider making reasonable adjustments when:
They know, or could be expected to know, an employee or job applicant has a disability
an employee or job applicant with a disability asks for adjustments
an employee with a disability is having difficulty with any part of their job
an employee's absence record, sickness record or delay in returning to work is because of or linked to their disability.
Practical examples of reasonable adjustments include:
Hiring a part-time PA
Providing specialist equipment
Changing shift patterns
Adjusting working hours
Providing an accessible car parking space.
For smaller companies with limited budgets, these adjustments don’t need to be expensive to make a positive impact on your employees.
Kelly Gordon explains: “People automatically assume any adjustments are going to be expensive and dicult to implement – but that’s not always the case. Something as simple as a standing desk or specific chair can be all they need.”
Grants are also available for your disabled employees through schemes such as Access to Work.
>>> Find out more about Access to Work on the gov.uk website
Chapter 3: Accessibility & Inclusion Policies
What is an accessibility policy?
Your Accessibility Policy is a public-facing statement of your organisation’s commitment to accessibility. It shows you value everyone’s contribution equally.
Rachael Mole explains further: “Your organisation’s Accessibility Policy should cover every interaction within your business from job applications, employees, customers, suppliers and partners. It should set out how you meet the needs of disabled people in every area of your operations.”
An Accessibility Policy doesn’t need to be complex. As part of your recruitment process, it should reassure candidates that their needs have been considered and that you will be willing to accommodate any additional needs.
Rachael adds: “Once this policy exists for your organisation, it opens the door for existing employees to start conversations and request additions. It also means disabled people don’t need to email you and ask if they're going to be accommodated or spend their own time researching solutions – which isn’t their responsibility.”
Accessibility policies should also make it clear who to contact with any questions and what their role is. This signals to disabled job applicants employees that they are supported, valued and accepted within your workplace and that their voice is important to you.
Additional policies
As part of your inclusivity strategy, the following policies are also important to have in place.
Diversity & Inclusion Policy
An effective Diversity & Inclusion Policy goes beyond minimum legal compliance and shows your organisation’s commitment to equality. It discusses plans and programs for employers to address D&I issues in the workplace, such as mission statements, recruitment eorts, addressing unconscious bias, diversity training, partnerships, memberships and more.
Sickness & Absence Policy
An organisation’s Sickness & Absence Policy aims to maximise attendance while recognising that there are occasions when employees may be unable to attend work due to ill physical or mental health.
An inclusive Sickness & Absence Policy includes what happens if someone needs time o work for reasons related to their disability and makes fair provision for this.
Flexible & Remote Working Policy
Having a Flexible & Remote Working Policy allows employees to conduct all or some of their work at home or an alternative workspace, and/or flex their working hours around their disability.
Flexible and remote working has huge benefits for disabled people and everyone else in your team. Removing or reducing stressful commutes and alleviating time pressures can help manage employees’ energy levels, reduce sensory overload and remove stressors that may become overwhelming.
>>> Got more questions on policy creation? Book a discovery call with SIC Founder & CEO Rachael Mole
Chapter 4: Legalities
What is disability discrimination?
Disability discrimination is when a person is treated less favourably because of their disability. Discriminatory behaviour might also include a person being intimidated, degraded or humiliated.
Nicole Humphreys, Dispute Resolution & Employment Solicitor at Acumen Business Law, spoke to us about the legal implications of failing to treat disabled employees in the same way as non-disabled employees.
Nicole explains: “There is a legal definition of disability under the Equality Act 2010 which requires a person to have a mental or physical impairment that has substantial long-term eects on their ability to carry out day-to-day activities. In some cases, such as physical disability, this might be very easy to prove, but it can be more complicated when the disability stems from mental illness.”
As well as ensuring disabled employees are treated equally and that reasonable adjustments are made to accommodate their needs, employers also have a duty under employment law and UK legislation to be responsible for the health and safety of their sta.
Under this duty of care, employers ought to know if an employee has a disability, and should take note of any changes in their employees’ character or behaviours such as appearing upset or stressed, taking more time o than usual, or changes to their physical appearance including personal hygiene.
It is important not to ignore these signs when you are an employer, as if it is deemed you could be reasonably expected to have known something was going on with an employee then you cannot avoid liability.
Legal implications under the Equality Act 2010
Under the Equality Act 2010, there are six dierent claims that a disabled person can bring against an employer. Before hiring any sta, it is important to understand these and therefore how to avoid them.
1. Direct disability discrimination
Treating somebody dierently, or not giving them a job, because of a disability. Employers must be aware of the disability to be discriminating based on it.
2. Discrimination which arises from disability
An example of this would be dismissing someone for taking extended sick leave when the root cause is their disability.
3. Indirect disability discrimination
Where a policy is applied to everyone but discriminates against one employee more than the rest because of their disability.
4. Failure to make reasonable adjustments
Every employer must make reasonable adjustments for disabled employees. These adjustments must be eective and alleviate or resolve the issues your employees face.
5. Harassment
When a disabled employee is singled out, picked on, intimidated, degraded or violated because of their disability.
6. Victimisation
Where a disabled employee is treated unfavourably because they made or supported a complaint regarding their treatment as a disabled worker.
Some of these behaviours may be unintentional. That’s why it is vital, in the case of any dispute or performance management issue, that employers consider the entire employee experience from application to employment to ensure disabled workers have not been disadvantaged or mistreated in any way.
At the start of the recruitment process, employers should ask pre-employment questions – but only for legally prescribed reasons.
For example, you shouldn’t ask whether an applicant has a disability unless it is for reasons of positive discrimination under an Equal Opportunities Policy. Instead, ask the candidate whether they require any reasonable adjustments relating to the application process or the role.
What to do if you are accused of disability discrimination
Protection from disability discrimination is a day one right, meaning it applies to applicants as soon as they begin the recruitment process.
If you are accused of disability discrimination, it is best to seek legal advice immediately. Employment Solicitor Nicole Humphreys explains: “If an employee has a legitimate complaint and you take it seriously and deal with it seriously, it is much less likely to be pursued as a claim. Employers must be prepared to admit where they are wrong and consider how they can change things in future.”
As well as seeking legal advice, employers should familiarise themselves with and refer back to the ACAS Code of Practice on disciplinary and grievance procedures.
Avoiding disability discrimination
If you know or suspect that an employee has a disability, the first step is to consult with them and explore what reasonable adjustments can be made to help them in their job.
Nicole says. “Open dialogue like this will always be more powerful than any policy written down in a handbook. It is not enough just to have a policy, it must be actively enforced.”
Every member of your organisation should be aware of what disability is and the sensibilities around disabled workers – regular sta training around disability-related issues is the most eective way to ensure this.
Any discrimination claim made against a member of your sta could ultimately lead to a claim against the company. Therefore, it must be made clear to all employees that there is zero tolerance for any form of discrimination while providing them with the tools and support to acknowledge and address their own biases.
The Future of Employment is Inclusive
As we continue shifting to a more flexible, less traditional model of work, the opportunity to achieve equality for disabled employees and close the UK’s disability employment gap has never been greater.
Now is the time for employers to set the standards for disability inclusion, and move from a ‘Why?’ to a ‘Why Not?’ mentality in their recruitment strategies and workplace culture.
The conversation around disabled and diverse talent must shift from commercial benefits and PR opportunities toward human impact and social progression.
Ready to lead the way in Disability, Accessibility & Inclusion in the workplace?
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Meet Our Contributors
Kelly Gordon, Co-Founder of With Not For
Kelly is an entrepreneur and consultant based in the West Midlands. She co-founded With Not For to support disabled people in work, and into highly paid, high-power roles. Kelly has Spinal Muscular Atrophy Type 3 and uses an electric wheelchair to get around.
Emma Gardener, Co-Founder of With Not For
Emma’s mission is to ensure workplaces include disability within their business values and culture. She is also the Co-Founder of Born Equal Consults, an inclusion consultancy supporting workplaces to create cultural change. Emma’s disabled daughter, Dotty, has been the catalyst for her work in recent years, guiding her to push for a better and more inclusive future for everyone.
Nicole Humphreys, Dispute Resolution & Employment Solicitor at Acumen Business Law
Nicole is a senior commercial solicitor specialising in commercial disputes and all areas of employment law, working with both employers and employees. She always endeavours to resolve disputes without the need for court proceedings, and her approach to employment matters is to focus on employees’ potential and create an eective working environment for them – and the rest will follow. Nicole works with all sizes of businesses and has expertise and knowledge in a variety of industries, enabling her to provide relevant advice and guidance.
Rachael Mole, Founder & CEO, SIC
Rachael launched SIC in February 2021 to give people with disabilities and chronic illnesses the career support and training she wishes she had been able to access when she first started looking for work. SIC now works with employers too, helping companies become accessible and inclusive employers through bespoke consultancy and the SIC Business Centre.