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Adapting to disability
Adapting to Disability, a report from the Chartered Institute of Personnel and Development (CIPD), showed that most personnel managers in UK organisations have found compliance straightforward. Research published last year into how easy employers have found adapting to the Disability Discrimination 1996 act reveals some positive messages. The act requires organisations to take 'reasonable steps' to change any practice, policy or procedure which makes it unreasonably difficult for disabled workers in the areas of recruitment, promotions, transfers or training and development. But what are reasonable steps? Dianah Worman, CIPD Adviser Equal Opportunities, says, "There is certainly room for interpretation. And because the Act sets 'reasonable' as its test, it is vital that organisations can see what their counterparts are doing to comply." Adapting to Disability, the CIPD report, shows how some organisations are rising to the challenge. It starts from the beginning of the process from recruitment procedures and employment screening and tracks how employers have coped with adjustments to other workplace and HR procedures, such as making changes to reduce employment and promotion barriers. The good news is that most organisations reported making adjustments to recruitment practices as either 'easy' or 'very easy'. These included making new employee induction programmes accessible to people with disabilities and making interview locations accessible. The most challenging task according to one in five organisations was making information accessible for a person with a visual, learning or hearing impairment. Similarly, employers felt confident about interviewing people with disabilities. Eight out of ten said they were familiar with asking questions related to a person's ability rather than disability. Respondents were, however, less confident about adapting print materials for Braille users, accessing sign language interpreters and using text telephones/minicom or a relay service to set up interviews for deaf people. Worman says, "The findings are promising though there is clearly headway to be made. Some of the suggested changes are simply unknown territory, many employers aren't even aware of some of the technical aids available to them such as text phones. Many employers also create barriers for disabled people without even realising it. By having an inaccessible entrance, they are, in effect, putting off disabled applicants, it's as simple as that. There's a good deal of awareness-raising to be done." As for breaking down barriers to career advancement, disabled people as well as working in a similar range of jobs as non-disabled people have the same aspirations at work than non-disabled people. They want challenging and rewarding jobs that are likely to offer opportunities for career development. When employers were asked how difficult they found reducing barriers to career development or promotion, again the overall response was positive with the majority of respondents saying that making changes to policies concerning equal pay, sickness and absenteeism, adjusting the return to work or retention employment policy was easy. But changing fellow workers attitudes towards disability posed more of a challenge. There is a clear need for more education about the issues, particularly at line management level. When employers hear the word disabled attached to a potential candidate they probably envisage somebody who is wheelchair-bound. They perceive that in order for this person to work at their organisation, they would have to make extensive adjustments to the workplace including both access to the building, maybe lifts and certainly changes to workstations the burden of these costs would be heavy, and is it really in the employers interests to shell-out for just one person? Well, yes, is the answer: it probably is. In actual fact, fewer than five per cent of disabled people use wheelchairs. And most changes to the workplace are easy to carry out and are inexpensive. They might include adding handrails to washroom facilities, making steps more visible, or providing a certain office chair. And, if more extensive changes need to be made, there is help available to carry most if not all of the cost. The Access to Work programme, for example, run by the Employment Service, provides financial assistance towards these kinds of costs. Support available includes alterations to work premises; providing special equipment needed by a disabled employee, or communicators at job interviews for people with visual or hearing impairments. There are 6.2 million disabled people of working age in the UK. That's 18 per cent of the working population. And, despite redundancies grabbing the headlines recently, skills shortages are still rife in certain areas. Research published by the CIPD in May revealed that organisations are finding it more difficult than ever to recruit people with the right levels of skills and experience for their organisations. At the same time, unemployment among disabled people is three times higher than the rest of the workforce. When asked why, personnel managers said that a lack of experience and skills was the reason, not the cost of making adjustments which was cited by just one in six respondents. Even so, the situation is still a Catch 22, with disabled people up against more barriers when looking for a job. "Employers can not afford to rule out potential talent. For organisations to compete effectively, they need to tap into and employ as diverse a group of candidates as possible. It is vital that they select people for their ability to do the job, rather than be put off because of any preconceived ideas about how a person's disability would affect their business," says Worman. To succeed in today's knowledge-based economy, where it is the ideas of individuals that determine the success or failure of business, organisations need to take a diverse approach. It's akin to changing the corporate DNA. After all, good ideas are not confined to a homogeneous group. By recruiting people from a diverse range of backgrounds, with different lifestyles and experiences, organisations also get a better grip on their consumer base. Organisations like Sainsbury's use staff suggestion schemes, so by taking on board the suggestions of its employees they are tapping into the needs and wants of consumers. Employees can provide organisations with a valuable source of market information. And, the estimated annual purchasing power of people with disabilities is £40 £50 billion, so competing businesses cannot really afford to ignore this market. Seven out of ten economically active disabled people of working age will have become disabled in their working lives. By losing a disabled employee an organisation can be deprived of a considerable asset in terms of their skills and experience. If handled badly, it can also be extremely expensive, and generally speaking, the costs of making changes to accommodate the needs of a disabled employee can be less than recruiting and training a new person. By 2004 under the Disability Discrimination Act, businesses are required to make reasonable changes to overcome barriers to access, so employers need to make sure they comply, not only to stay on the right side of the law, but also to make sure they recruit the best person for the job. A progressive approach to disability and recruitment sends out positive messages to both current and prospective employees, that they value difference and offer employment and opportunities across the board. The Chartered Institute of Personnel and Development (CIPD) is a registered charity (number 1079797), incorporated by Royal Charter. Its office is at CIPD House, Camp Road, London SW19 4UX. CIPD has over 110,000 members and is the leading professional institute for those involved in the management and development of people. Website: www.cipd.co.uk Posted: 11 September, 2002
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