8 Myths About Employing Disabled People Busted
According to LinkedIn, 78% of job seekers now expect to see adequate diversity and inclusion information on company pages.
However, research has found that disabled jobseekers apply for 60% more jobs than non disabled people before finding work.
If you want to become a truly inclusive workplace and tap into the wealth of the UK’s disabled talent, this article is for you.
Here, we bust some of the most common disability employment myths.
1. "Creating an accessible workplace won't benefit me as an employer."
Building a fully accessible workplace doesn't exclusively benefit disabled employees. It benefits your entire workforce and workplace culture.
By making accessibility a priority in your workplace culture, you are creating an open, welcoming and safe environment for your employees to share their needs. As a result, your staff will feel more able to open up to you about their struggles and barriers, enabling you to help them more effectively and support them to thrive and reach their fullest potential.
Your workplace will become known as a forward-thinking, friendly, desirable place to work which has a genuinely positive impact on its people.
2. "Disabled people should be the main educators around disability."
Don't rely on disabled and chronically ill people to be your guides and teachers around disability. We're all learning, and we understand questions might be asked of disabled people with the best intentions. But instead of expecting them to do the work and provide all the answers, the best thing you can do is take time to educate yourself.
For example, read books, watch documentaries and read articles. Soak in as much information and as many perspectives as you can. And if you do hire disabled people to work with you in an educational capacity, pay them for their time, expertise and insight.
Proactive learning and working together with the disabled community is how we drive changes in attitude.
3. "Making our workplace accessible will be too expensive."
When we talk about accessibility, there are two threads: physical accessibility and accessible culture.
Businesses might see physical accessibility as expensive: ramps, lifts, adjusted workstations or resources for visually impaired individuals – this can all feel daunting. But these measures are always a long-term investment. They make it easier for EVERYONE to enter and work in your office. Funding may also be available via various schemes such as Access To Work*.
Creating an accessible workplace culture, however, is something you can start today. It doesn’t cost anything to give your employees the space and opportunity to voice their concerns and needs, implement flexible workdays, or allow hybrid or work from home positions.
*SIC acknowledges that Access To Work is a fundamentally flawed scheme which follows a medical model of disability, and waiting times can be up to four months.
4. "There's not enough advice on how to support disabled employees."
Don't think there's enough advice out there on how to support your disabled employees? The good news is, there are plenty of resources.
One of our top recommendations is Mencap, who have an excellent page on their site, packed with resources dedicated to educating employers.
We've also got our own magazine. Here, you'll find advice for employers from our team of writers, most of whom have disabilities or chronic illnesses themselves.
Want to learn more? SIC offers consulting to businesses large and small across the UK. Find out more here.
5. "Disabled people don't want to take on internships or training programmes."
Too many employers are under the impression that disabled or chronically ill people don't want to take on internships or training programmes. This couldn't be further from the truth.
We're proud to support disabled and chronically ill people of any age who are looking to develop their skills, advance their careers and find work.
Kellie Smith joined us as a trainee and has now nearly finished her Masters in Publishing and secured a part-time role as an Editorial Assistant. She says:
“Whilst volunteering at SIC I’ve gained the experience and confidence I needed to apply for a Masters in Publishing. I’ve also been offered a part-time job as an Editorial Assistant. Joining the team has been life-changing. I’m so grateful to the company and its founder Rachael, for providing me with the skills I need to pursue the career I want, and I honestly can’t recommend working/volunteering for SIC enough.”
6. "Most disabled people use a wheelchair or walking aid."
Disabled or chronically ill people aren't always wheelchair users. Research by Leeds University has estimated that 70% of disabilities are invisible.
While sometimes a disability may be visible, more often it isn't. You should never make assumptions based on someone's appearance or behaviour.
Leading the way in diversity, inclusion and accessibility means making your workplace and culture accessible to people with a variety of different needs – whether those needs are seen or unseen.
7. "Disabled employees' needs are too complex to navigate."
There are many small changes you can make in your workplace’s day-to-day operations that make a big impact, like empowering your employees to share their needs in their email signature or at the beginning of meetings.
This could be anything from not touching a person's wheelchair, to speaking more slowly on the phone, to allowing people to move desks to a place they feel more comfortable.
And this isn't just about disabled people. It's about enabling everyone with different needs to work at their very best. When you empower your disabled and chronically ill employees, you empower ALL your employees.
8. "We don't have any disabled customers or employees."
Have you read this far and think you don't have any disabled or chronically ill employees? Ask yourself this: have you explicitly provided the opportunity for your employees to disclose their needs to you?
33% of working-age adults in the UK are disabled, chronically ill, or have a mental illness. That means even in a small organisation of ten people, on average three people will have a disability.
To be inclusive of all your employees' needs, it’s imperative to create a culture where employees feel safe to disclose their disability to you from the very start of their employment.
Looking for more support with diversity, accessibility and inclusion in your workplace?
By working with SIC, you’ll have experience to our lived experience of disability. Get in touch with our COO, Alice to discuss your businesses unique needs via email partnerships@sicofficial.co.uk.