Where can I get advice about opening up my vacancies to disabled people?
Contact the Disability Employment Adviser (DEA) at your local Jobcentre for advice. The DEA can also tell you about specialist schemes to help you employ disabled people.
Are there particular recruitment agencies who deal with disabled candidates?
Jobcentre Plus provides information and advice to employers on the recruitment, retention, training and career development of disabled people. For more information, contact the Disability Employment Adviser at your local Jobcentre.
How can I make sure our application process is accessible?
Many small businesses do not use a formal application form. If you do, try to ensure that the layout is as clear as possible, and only ask for the information you really need to select the right person for the job.
You may need to make adjustments such as providing an application form in large print and allowing a candidate to submit an application on tape or by email. Make sure that people can access what you send to them. By talking with them about their needs, you can come to an arrangement that suits both parties.
If you ask for CVs, you should make provision to accept these in a format that is suitable to the disabled person. A person with a visual impairment may find it easier to send you an electronic copy of their CV.
Many small businesses do not use any formal process at all, and may just ask people to “come in for a chat”. If this is the case, you will still need to ensure that you do not discriminate against disabled people. Ask people whether they would need any reasonable adjustments to help them give the best account of themselves when they come in to see you. For example, a visually impaired person may need someone to come out and meet them on the street or a person with a hearing impairment or a learning difficulty may need to bring communication support with them, and this may take them a little time to arrange.
Try to ensure that staff members involved in the application process are aware that other formats for applications are acceptable and know where to get support if they need it.
Make sure you let applicants say if they need any special provisions or facilities for the application process.Do I need to make adjustments for the job interview?
You may need to make reasonable adjustments for the job interview. Ask candidates whether they need any adjustments in the application form and when you invite them to interview.
Adjustments are as individual as the people who need them, but might include:
- overcoming problems with the physical features of your premises – for example, using a ground-floor room or providing accessible car parking
- making other arrangements so that disabled applicants are not disadvantaged – for example, using an induction loop if you are interviewing a deaf applicant, or modifying tests to make sure that they are fair.
One of my applicants says he is disabled – what should I do?
If a job applicant says they are disabled, ask them what adjustments they need to the recruitment process. For example, you may have to adjust a test, provide a British Sign Language interpreter for the interview, or make sure the interview takes place in a room on the ground floor.
Can I accept only hand written applications?
Asking for handwritten applications may stop some disabled people from applying. For example, someone may be unable to write legibly but could instead apply verbally on audio tape, type an application or complete a form electronically.
Can I ask about disabilities on a job application form?
You can ask about an applicant's disability. However, the questions should be there to help you assess what adjustments the applicant might need to attend an interview or to do the job.
It’s more useful to ask directly whether the applicant might need any adjustments. For example, you could say: ‘Please let us know if you require any reasonable adjustments, due to a disability or health condition, to enable you to attend an interview, or which you wish us to take into account when considering your application.’
Any questions about disability must not be used to discriminate against a disabled person. For example, it may be discrimination if you decide not to shortlist a person just because they have a disability.
How do I know if someone is disabled?
Disabled people aren't just people who use wheelchairs or guide dogs. There are many types of disability and you often can't tell just by looking at someone whether they are disabled.
A 'disabled person' is legally defined as someone with 'a physical or mental impairment that has a substantial and long term adverse effect on his/her ability to carry out normal day-to-day activities'.
There is no longer a national registration scheme for disabled people (what used to be called the green card scheme).
Is financial help available to help disabled people into work?
The Access to Work scheme may help to meet any extra costs that result from a person’s disability, for example:
- A communicator (such as a British Sign Language interpreter) at a job interview.
- Specialist equipment to meet a disabled person’s requirements at work, such as voice-activated software.
- Adaptations to premises, such as installing an accessible toilet.
- Extra travel costs incurred because of a disability.
The Job Introduction Scheme can help if you are thinking of recruiting someone who has the skills and potential to do the job, but you have a few practical concerns about whether to take them on because of their disability.
The scheme pays a weekly grant of £75 for the first six weeks that the disabled person is employed by you.
To find out more about Access to Work or the Job Introduction Scheme, contact your local Jobcentre and ask to speak to the Disability Employment Adviser.
Is financial help available to help disabled people stay in work?
The Access to Work scheme may help with any extra ongoing costs that result from a person's disability, for example:
- A support worker, such as a reader for a blind or visually impaired person.
- Extra fares to work incurred because of a disability.
Access to Work may also help pay for adjustments to the premises or specialist equipment for an existing employee.
To find out more about Access to Work, contact your local Jobcentre and ask to speak to the Disability Employment Adviser.
Is financial help available for employers who employ disabled people?
You may be able to get a grant from the Access to Work scheme towards any extra employment costs that result from a person’s disability.
The Job Introduction Scheme can help if you are thinking of recruiting someone who has the skills and potential to do the job, but you have a few practical concerns about whether to take them on because of their disability.
The scheme pays a weekly grant of £75 for the first six weeks that the disabled person is employed by you.
To find out more about Access to Work or the Job Introduction Scheme, contact your local Jobcentre and ask to speak to the Disability Employment Adviser.
What sort of language do I use with disabled people?
In general, you should talk to disabled people as you would anyone else.
Some words that are used about disabled people can be offensive or outdated.
What sort of questions can I ask – and what should I avoid?
Any questions you ask about someone’s particular condition should only relate to their ability to do the job. You should not make assumptions about what a disabled person can or cannot do.
It can be useful to allow the person to guide you through their qualities and limitations, as they know their needs better than anyone else. This will help you to find out whether the person needs an adjustment and what this might be.
What if the disabled person isn’t up to the job?
If a disabled employee is not performing well in their job, you can discipline or dismiss them in circumstances where you would give the same treatment to another employee.
However, check whether their poor performance relates to their disability. If it does, you can only discipline or dismiss the disabled employee if you have first identified and implemented reasonable adjustments to enable them to perform adequately in the job. This would include looking at the possibility of redeployment.
Before taking steps to dismiss an employee, you must also consider:
- whether the employee’s condition is likely to improve and, if so, how long this will take
- whether the employee’s job can be covered if they are absent from work, or whether changes to duties and other workplace arrangements would enable the employee to return to work.
How do I find out what a particular disabled employee needs?
Discuss with the person where adjustments are required and what these might be. It will probably be useful to invite the successful applicant to look around the workplace when he or she is offered the job, to assess what adjustments are needed.
Further advice is available from disability organisations.
The Disability Employment Adviser at your local Jobcentre can also offer support and advice.
How do I find out about the equipment a disabled employee needs?
Discuss with the disabled person what specialist equipment they may need to do the job.
Further advice is available from disability organisations.
The Disability Employment Adviser at your local Jobcentre can also offer support and advice.
Do disabled people take more time off sick?
Having a disability does not mean that you are ‘unwell’. Many disabled people are as healthy as anyone else and most sickness absence has nothing at all to do with disability or a long-term medical problem. Most disabled people who are absent due to sickness will be so for the same reasons as their colleagues, for example because of colds, chicken pox or flu, rather than for any reason related to their disability.
What counts as a disability according to the law?
A ‘disabled person’ is defined by the Disability Discrimination Act as someone with ‘a physical or mental impairment that has a substantial and long term adverse effect on his/her ability to carry out normal day-to-day activities’.
Normal day-to-day activities include:
- mobility – for example being able to walk to the local shop
- manual dexterity – for example, typing
- physical co-ordination
- continence
- ability to lift, carry or otherwise move everyday objects
- speaking, hearing and seeing
- memory or ability to concentrate, learn or understand
- perception of the risk of physical danger
The Act includes people with facial disfigurements.
The Act also covers people with progressive conditions such as HIV, cancer or multiple sclerosis (MS), and those with 'hidden' disabilities like dyslexia, heart disease, depression, diabetes, asthma and epilepsy, when those conditions mean that they experience some effect on their ability to undertake normal day-to-day activities.
Do I have to employ a percentage of disabled people?
No. The quota system was replaced by the Disability Discrimination Act 1995, which does not require employers to employ a percentage of disabled people.
What does 'reasonable adjustments' mean?
In employment, reasonable adjustments are changes you make to the way your business operates or to the physical features of your premises, to help a disabled person do their job.
By law, you must make reasonable adjustments to take account of a disabled employee’s individual needs. Adjustments are as individual as the people who need them and the circumstances in which they are used – discuss what may be required with the disabled person.
What’s reasonable depends on factors such as:
- Effectiveness – does the adjustment prevent disadvantage for the disabled person?
- Practicality - how difficult will it be for the business to make the adjustment? Many adjustments are quite simple and depend on a flexible approach, goodwill and creative thinking.
- Financial and other costs – you are not expected to make adjustments that you can’t afford. However, many effective adjustments cost little or nothing.
- Health and safety – you are never expected to compromise health and safety, for either the disabled person or other employees.
- Difficulties with making physical changes to premises, such as planning laws and building regulations.
Our lease prohibits building alterations. What can we do?
If you occupy your premises under a lease, your terms of occupation may prevent you from making an alteration that would otherwise be a reasonable adjustment.
The Disability Discrimination Act overrides the terms of the lease.
You should request the consent of your landlord to make the alteration, in writing. If you don’t do this, you can’t justify not making an alteration because of the terms of your lease.