Are you a Disability Confident employer?

Disability Confident is a Government-lead scheme that is designed to help businesses to recruit and retain disabled people and people with health conditions for their skills and talent.

The scheme has been running for several years. It has replaced the ‘Disability Two Ticks’ symbol that employers previously signed up to and used to promote their commitment to employing and retaining individuals with health conditions and/or disabilities

Nearly seven million people of working age in the UK are disabled or have a health condition.

Historically there has been a significant gap between the proportion of disabled people employed compared with non-disabled people. Encouraging applications from disabled people is good for business. It can help you to:

• Increase the number of high quality applicants available.

• Create a workforce that reflects the diverse range of customers it serves and the community in which it is based.

• Bring additional skills to the business, such as the ability to use British Sign Language (BSL), which could result in large savings.

The costs of making reasonable adjustments to accommodate disabled employees are often low. Financial assistance may also be obtained by contacting Access to Work, details of which can be found on www.gov.uk.

The benefits of retaining an experienced, skilled employee who has acquired an impairment are usually greater than recruiting and training new staff. It is also good for the individual. Under Disability Confident, the Government is working with employers to:

• Engage and encourage them to become more confident so they employ and retain disabled people and those with long-term health conditions.

• Increase understanding of disability and the benefits of employing or retaining disabled people.

• Make a substantial contribution to halving the disability employment gap.

Find out more about the Disability Confident campaign by visiting www.gov.uk and typing in ‘Disability Confident’.