How to Identify Disability-friendly Employers?
Job hunting as a disabled person can be an extremely hurricane task. It has been seen that the unemployment rate of disabled persons is much more than normal persons. But recently, the pandemic has opened great opportunities for disabled employees, and some best-in-class employers have created inclusive workplaces, especially for them.
But in this hustle identifying disability-friendly employers can be a daunting process. For such situations, certain organisations support disabled people to find appropriate and the best opportunities for their survival.
Certain recruitment publications explore and review the employers and their workforce policies to shortlist the best employers in your vicinity who also offer government-aided programs, thus making them inclusive for all companies. Let's look into this in more detail.
1. Identifying with Two Ticks
Every year, the National Organization on Disability recognises the top companies that hire talent with disabilities and offer them apprenticeships, sector-based placements or student opportunities. As every employer has something different to offer, it is essential to check whether they use the “two ticks” symbol on their website. It is meant to showcase on job adverts that the employer is positive in hiring disabled applicants and commits to supporting any employee who becomes disabled to stay in employment. For that, they need to fulfil some of the 5 criteria to get permission to use the symbol.
2. Participation in Mind Employer Charter
One of the most important aspects of finding a new job and checking whether the employer is disability friendly is to see if they actively participate in the Mind Employer Charter program. They work towards better mental health and well-being in the workplace. This factor can show you if they are considerate towards their commitment to prioritising your health to foster a functional and positive work environment. They actively aim to recruit candidates from diverse backgrounds and include work from home across the organisation. Employers must check whether the staff are actively involved in recruitment and conduct proper interviews. With this, they must also commit to inclusion and accessibility and work towards the best practices for disabled employees.
3. Careers with Disabilities Jobs Board
You get some good opportunities by connecting to a career with a disability jobs board which helps you connect with accessible organisations. They work as a mediator between the disabled applicant and the employers and lead the way by tapping into many benefits of recruiting a disabled employee. Even for jobs for people with back problems, they tailor-made the employer profiles and helped the applicant to choose the most inclusive for their needs. These job boards also share the companies' inclusive policies and avail the jobs alert feature to never miss out on any golden opportunity.
4. Disability Confident Scheme
The quickest way to identify a disability-friendly employer or workforce is by looking to check whether they have the “Disability Confident” Accreditation. It is a government scheme that encourages organisations to take extra steps and state if they are part of this scheme. They need to proactively recruit and support disabled workers and incorporate inclusive educational practices within their workforce. Employers with a disability confidence scheme will have their special logo, replacing the two ticks. This accreditation means that the employer provides assistive technology with voice recognition software and special mouse and keyboard facilities and relieves disabled employees from uncomforting tasks. Moreover, these employers also make changes to working hours to suit their disabled employees and promote disability equality to comply with legislation rules and to define best practices.
5. Equality, Diversity and Inclusion Policies
The Equality Act is a piece of legislation that a disability-friendly employer should implement in their policies. This policy helps disabled workers to look into this company and apply for respective jobs in their workforce. Having these equality and diversity policies can also give an insight into employers' practices to support disabled employees and their health conditions while at work. Moreover, the employers can even share their assessment and accessibility check on what they would do to accommodate a disabled applicant. They must make reasonable adjustments and equip everything to accommodate a disabled employee within the organisation. All the adjustments have to be offered before the recruitment phase and also after their joining phase.
6. Business Disability Forum (BDF)
Another great way to identify how a company supports its disabled workers is by checking whether your employer is registered with the Business Disability Forum. In this forum, many organisations share employee experiences, get a wide range of support to businesses concerning recruitment and make it easier for employers to recruit and retain disabled employees. Some organisations even help disabled people in their employment phases and support them by finding their dream job at the right accessible employer. Thus, they aim to improve the job prospects of disabled people and promote a positive attitude towards employing disabled workers.
