Employment of People with Disabilities

INTRODUCTION

[company] has a responsibility to increase the employment opportunities for persons with disabilities at all levels and occupations by:

• Developing recruitment plans that includes positive steps to allow the recruitment of disabled people.


• Recruiting widely for positions.
  
• Providing opportunities for students with disabilities in collaboration with colleges and universities.
  
• Giving full consideration to employees with disabilities for inclusion in developmental opportunities.
  
• Collecting and maintaining data to monitor success.
  
• Providing reasonable working environments for applicants and employees with disabilities.
  
• Providing appropriate training to all managers to ensure they understand the commitment and the policies of the company to employ individuals with disabilities and that they have an understanding of programs to recruit, appoint, and ensure that reasonable workplace environments are provided for employees with disabilities.
  

RECRUITMENT

In developing recruiment strategies for people with disabilities, [company] will recruit widely, using national and local agencies, and develop collaborative efforts with local groups. In order to attract highly qualified persons with disabilities at all levels [company] will:

• Develop flexibility in attitudes of recruitment and company working practices to assist in recruiting people with disabilities: alternative work schedules, job sharing, and part-time employment all being possible options of employment. 
  
• Ensure employment information and recruitment materials are accessible for people with disabilities. Information should be available in alternate formats, such as large print, audiocassette, braille, and computer disk.
  
• Provide training to managers and supervisors who will need continued education on recruiting programs and resources available for recruiting, promoting, and retaining employees with disabilities, as well as training on providing reasonable working environments for individuals with disabilities.
  
• Make vacancy announcements in plain language for all vacancies stating that [company] will make reasonable adjustments for qualified applicants or employees with disabilities.
  
• Post all vacancy announcements as widely as possible including the Internet.  The Disabled Workers Co-operative provides an opportunity for employers to advertise vacancies FREE direct to disabled job seekers.
  

EMPLOYMENT OPPORTUNITIES FOR STUDENTS

In order to provide opportunities for students with disabilities [company] will:

• Employ students with disabilities through student employment programs giving greater emphasis on employment strategies to recruit students with disabilities.
  
• Improve awareness of student employment programs to managers and supervisors.
  
• Improve outreach contacts through college and university visits and the targeting of professional organisations and publications serving the interests of people with disabilities. If possible, encourage staff members with disabilities to participate in campus and university visits.

CAREER DEVELOPMENT

Full consideration should be given to employees with disabilities for inclusion in all developmental opportunities designed to enhance their skills and to advance their careers by:

• Ensuring that individuals with disabilities have equal access to all career development opportunities available to employees.
  
• Ensuring that training allows all employees to be able to participate fully in the training, with course materials being made available in alternate formats such as Braille, large print, video, etc.
   
• Ensuring managers and supervisors are offered specific courses, such as Disability Access Workshops, where managers are provided with information and skills to hire and supervise employees with disabilities, learn to ensure that workplace environments are accessible and how to assess the ability of employees with disabilities to perform the essential functions of the job.
  
• Working with providers of software and on-line training to ensure that all courses available to employees through the Intranet/Internet meet standards of accessibility.
  
• Ensuring that mentors work to build self-confidence and encourage individual growth. All employees should be encouraged to participate in mentoring programmes. As well as being mentorees, when they should be paired with more senior employees, individuals with disabilities should also act as mentors, so as to provide useful role models.
  
• Actively encourage a system that allows all employees the opportunity to develop new skills.
  
• By providing professional career counselling services, in a way that is accessible, for example through sign language, to all employees to assist with assessment of job and work related skills including personal and professional goal setting.  
  

MONITORING AND EVALUATING

[company] will monitor success in increasing the numbers, retention and promotion of individuals with disabilities by:

• Making a periodic review of all polices ensuring progress is maintained in achieving greater employment of people with disabilities and strategies implemented in response to workforce diversity.
  
• Having a ‘performance appraisal system’, which includes performance on achieving workforce diversity for all supervisors.
  

WORKPLACE ENVIRONMENTS

In order to provide reasonable working environments for qualified applicants and employees with disabilities [company] will:

• Ensure that adjustments are determined on a case-by-case basis, taking into consideration the applicant or employee, the specific disability and existing limitations, the essential functions of the particular job, the work environment, and the effectiveness of the proposed accommodation. (The cost of work environment adjustments can often be minimal).
  
• Always consult the applicant or employee before adjustments are made!

A reasonable workplace environment is one that enables a suitably qualified person with a disability to apply for a job, perform job duties, or enjoy equal benefits and privileges of employment.  The law requires all companies to make reasonable adjustments for qualified persons with disabilities, unless doing so would impose an undue hardship on the Company. This concept applies to all aspects of employment, including recruitment, training, promotion, reassignment, and developmental assignments. Grants from the department of employment, through JobCenterPlus are available for screen readers, interpreters and other reasonable adjustments to the working environment.

This Document maybe reprinted or adapted with the permission of the Disabled Workers Co-operative provided the Disabled Workers Co-operative is credited and the Disabled Workers Co-operative Name and Website address remains on it.

Disabled Workers Co-operative

www.disabledworkers.org.uk

admin@disabledworkers.org.uk

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