To create truly inclusive workplaces, it is time to reexamine how employment policies are developed and implemented.
The UK has long needed a strategic and holistic approach to creating an inclusive labour market that will boost business productivity and position the UK as an economic leader on the global stage.
The challenge for employers and HR teams is that they often have to piece together policies that come from different policy areas, come at different times, and often have competing agendas.
Read more: When will we get serious about attracting disabled talent?
The general election provides an opportunity to reconsider how employment policy is designed and implemented and what its priorities are.
The Business Disability Forum regularly consults with employers through its members. Based on this feedback, we are calling for the implementation of an integrated disability, health and work strategy. Such a strategy would provide clear direction on disability inclusion policies in the workplace, based on the experiences of employers and disabled people. It would also make it easier for governments and employers to work together to create truly inclusive workplaces.
Start with a comprehensive education system
Employers often ask us: “Where are the candidates with disabilities? How do you find them?” But think about it this way: how could candidates with disabilities even exist if they were not guaranteed access to inclusive and accessible learning and accommodations throughout their primary and secondary education journey? What support systems were in place to enable them to get to that stage?
Read more: Making the UK workplace a level playing field for disabled people
A comprehensive transition process is needed. Currently, people who have left their education with support are surprised to find that the adjustments they previously relied on may not be “reasonable” or even possible in their chosen profession. Better careers advice is needed to enable all people who leave education to make informed choices and succeed in working life.
Reforming access to work
Workplace adjustments are often the difference that makes work possible. But without reform of the access to work system, many disabled people won’t get the adjustments they need. We want an ‘agreement in principle’ award provided before anyone starts work, so they can look for work and meet employers with confidence. We also want to remove support caps that penalise those who can afford the most costly adjustments.
Access to work needs to be invested in as the only go-to health and adjustment service for people looking for work, working, starting businesses, volunteering or taking up unpaid work, across all sectors and roles.
Helping people keep their jobs
Many of us will need time off work due to illness. Hopefully, we will recover and return fully. But what if you are ready to return to work for a “little bit” before returning fully? At the moment, workers in that situation are at a financial disadvantage because statutory sick pay cannot be used in conjunction with a phased return to work. To remove this disadvantage we need a strategy that considers health certificate reform in tandem with sick pay reform.
Measuring inclusion
There’s a saying that goes, “You manage what you measure.” If you don’t measure inclusion, you won’t know if your workplace is becoming more inclusive. But the problem is that measuring inclusion is hard.
In recent years, there has been a focus on producing single numbers, such as wage or employment gaps. These numbers provide a snapshot of the current situation, but they don’t provide the whole picture. Instead, we need a disability and employment data strategy that helps us understand the employment experiences of people with disabilities.
Read more: Another perspective: Reasonable adjustments aren’t enough
You need to know what helps people stay in work, including routes to promotion, as well as what makes people leave jobs or prevent them from taking a job in the first place.
The employer is key
The answers to these problems cannot be solved by governments alone. Employers have a key role to play in creating inclusive workplaces, but they need support and effective structures to do so.
To make urgent change we need a UK-wide disability, health and work strategy that builds that infrastructure and removes barriers.
Diane Lightfoot, CEO of the Business Disability Forum