Employers
There are many sound business reasons for the employment of people with a disability; most will be able to work alongside their colleagues with no - or very little - special assistance.
Some people may need an adjustment of the working environment or working practices, but these can be a lot simpler than you may think; particularly as there is often financial or support based assistance available.
What can be clearly demonstrated are the benefits to employers of employing people with disabilities. Research shows that:
- Having people with disabilities in the recruitment pool offers more choice, making it more likely to get the right person for the job.
- Employers have found employees with disabilities stay in the job for longer and have a strong commitment to work, as well as having good punctuality and low rates of absence.
- Keeping an employee who becomes ill or disabled, in their job generally costs less than having to recruit and train someone new.
- Employing people with disabilities can help to increase the numbers of customers with disabilities using an employer’s service and also improve staff morale, since both parties will view the organisation as more representative and diverse.
- Often, the adjustments made to help in employing a person with a disability can bring benefits for other employees and customers, such as using wheelchair access ramps (easier for parents with toddlers using pushchairs), handrails on steep steps or simply promoting a company as an equal opportunities employer.
In addition, adopting good practice and complying with the duties and requirements of the DDA (Disability Discrimination Act) raises your profile as a good employer and reduces the risk of litigation.
There are compelling arguments for employing someone with disability and principally, it makes good business sense to recruit the best person for the job.
Some individuals can make a valued contribution to the efficiency of the work place by being prepared to carry out essential but perhaps routine and/or repetitive tasks very well.
