• Accessibility
• Email alerts
• RSS feeds
• Contact us

Think Work First: The transition from education to work for young disabled people Contents

---

Chapter 7: Supporting employers: creating inclusive workplaces

176.In the preceding chapter, we discussed the challenges that young disabled people face in enforcing their workplace rights and the legal framework underpinning this. This chapter focuses on the other side of that coin: how employers can be encouraged and supported to employ young disabled people. While there are numerous support schemes314 and organisations working with employers,315 and there is guidance on supporting disabled people in the workforce,316 these do not appear to be cutting through to employers, with many of our contributors reporting low awareness of the rights of disabled people317 and of schemes such as Access to Work.318

Disability Confident

177.In terms of the Government support available to employers, the Disability Confident scheme is viewed as the flagship programme for encouraging employers to employ disabled people. As of May 2024, the published data suggest that 19,637 employers have signed up to the scheme. There are three levels of accreditation under the scheme. The lowest is ‘Disability Confident Committed’, which requires an employer to “agree to the Disability Confident commitments and identify at least one action that [they]’ll carry out to make a difference for disabled people.”319 Next, ‘Disability Confident Employer’ accreditation is obtained through self-assessment, against two themes: “getting the right people for your business” and “keeping and developing your people”,320 following which the employer will be registered for 3 years. It is only Disability Confident Leaders, the highest level of accreditation, who are subject to any external scrutiny. They are required to have their self-assessment validated by someone outside of their business321 and confirm that they “are employing disabled people“322.

178.The Committee heard a range of views about the scheme. On the positive side, the most prominent was Hector Minto, Director of Accessibility Evangelism for Microsoft. Microsoft is a certified Disability Confident Leader and Mr Minto described the scheme as “an incredible starting point”323 when viewed in a global context. He outlined how Microsoft was “trying to recruit more of our partner network into Disability Confident and make sure they have the learning.”324 Another relatively positive view was expressed by the Youth Employment Group Disability Subgroup, which said that “there is some evidence … that the Disability Confident scheme has improved attitudes towards employing disabled people for employers who sign up.”325

179.However, these positive perspectives were the exception. A common complaint was that the scheme does not require employers to change their behaviour and that Disability Confident Committed and Disability Confident Employer status “can be reached without an organisation having to employ a single disabled person.”326 Professor Kim Hoque, Cofounder of Disability@Work, has published research indicating that the “percentage of the workforce that is disabled is no higher, and disabled employees’ experiences of work are no better, in organisations in the Disability Confident Business Leaders’ Group327 than in non-Disability Confident organisations.”328

180.We heard reports of disabled people having poor experiences with Disability Confident employers. Disability Rights UK’s Apprentice Network reported that they had looked for Disability Confident employers “because they thought they would be more inclusive, but their experience was not that at all.”329 Sense330 and RNIB331 reported that the disabled people that they work with faced workplace discrimination from Disability Confident employers. Laura Davis explained that part of the problem is that employers lack an understanding of what they actually need to do to be ‘disability confident’: “employers [who] have signed up to Disability Confident … understand … why it is important, but they do not know the how: ‘How do I make sure that my recruitment process is accessible? What do I do to offer alternative pathways?’”332

181.This gives rise to another concern, in that the scheme in its current form may actually lead disabled people towards unsuitable employers. In the words of David Hale, “if a jobcentre has a disabled jobseeker, they are more likely to go to a Disability Confident employer … [but they] would probably be better off trying to place that person with a small business that is looking to employ someone and give them a chance.”333

182.We heard of a considerable lack of trust in the scheme among disabled people. The Trades Union Congress suggested that people “have little faith that the scheme leads to employers becoming more inclusive places to work for disabled people.”334 Disability Positive said that the people they support “feel that the scheme at Committed335 and Employer336 status is a tick box exercise and not a meaningful route to improved employment opportunities.”337

Disability Confident Leaders

183.The Disability Confident Scheme promotes such behaviour as part of Level 3 of the scheme, Disability Confident Leader, which introduces an expectation that they “encourage other employers to become Disability Confident”.338 There are examples of large employers providing support to others. For example, we heard that Microsoft,339 Coca-Cola, and Amazon340 were providing support to organisations to employ more disabled people, including those within their supply chains, as were smaller organisations such as The Usual Place.341 However, Hector Minto suggested that “not every company” that is a Disability Confident Leader is working to promote disability inclusion,342 and Leonard Cheshire reported that less than 1 per cent of Disability Confident Employers are Disability Confident Leaders.343

Reform of the Disability Confident scheme

184.Given the range of concerns about Disability Confident, it is unsurprising that we heard numerous calls for reform. The EHRC called for a “full evaluation”, including how effectively the scheme had improved “the proportion of disabled people in work, and on the pay, progression and retention of disabled workers”.344 Several witnesses called for more rigorous assessment criteria and reporting requirements, and for there to be real consequences for those that do not maintain the standards required. Sense recommended independent auditing for all levels of the scheme, taking into account the experience of disabled employees, rather than companies assessing themselves.345

185.Disability@Work argued for amending the certification criteria to “focus on … minimum thresholds regarding the number of disabled people the organisation employs as a percentage of their workforce”.346 They also argued that there should be a mechanism for employers who “slip below” these thresholds to be moved down to lower levels of the scheme.”347

186.In its written evidence, DWP told us that it was continuing to develop and grow the scheme and expected to “publish refreshed guidance, tools, and products which will provide employers with a better understanding of what being a disability confident employer means.”348 In subsequent oral evidence, the then Minister for Disabled People, Health and Work told us that these improvements were “a work in progress” but that the new guidance had now been published and her department was “continuing to engage with disabled people to hear their voices and what they need in it.”349

187.Achieving Disability Confident status at any level should be made conditional upon the employer demonstrating that it has reached clearly defined thresholds for the percentage of its workforce that is disabled. This reporting should be subject to external audit, with an employer’s status being lost or downgraded after a year where these thresholds are not reached.

188.The Disability Confident scheme itself should be reformed to focus on outcomes rather than the employer’s internal processes and procedures, and to ensure that those accredited at the higher levels are subject to commensurately more stringent requirements.

Support with Employee Health and Disability service

189.DWP told us that it was “developing a digital service for employers called Support with Employee Health and Disability, offering tailored guidance on health and disability.”350 This service has been developed with small and medium-sized enterprises and will reportedly enable businesses to ‘self serve’ support to disabled employees and signpost employees to other relevant support, such as the Access to Work scheme. The website is currently in live testing. Scope said that the service “contains some useful information” but noted “gaps in support”, including support for managers to have discussions with the disabled people they manage, tackling negative attitudes in the workplace, and making disabled people comfortable with being open about their disability at work.351

190.We welcome the introduction of the Government’s Support with Employee Health and Disability service, which may provide valuable support for employers with disabled employees.

191.The content of the Support with Employee Health and Disability website should reflect the barriers and challenges faced by both employers and disabled people and should be developed in partnership with disabled people, disabled people’s organisations and employers. The site should act as a single, centralised hub for employers, with signposting to relevant support—regardless of whether that support is delivered by local or central government, or by external organisations. It should also be linked to the single information hub for young disabled people so that both employers and young disabled people can easily access the information they need.

Support from employer organisations

192.Multiple witnesses told us that there was a role for employers and employer networks to promote good practice and awareness relating to disability and employment.352 We also heard that some local bodies, such as Chambers of Commerce353 and the Humber Learning Consortium354 were providing support to employers to introduce inclusive employment practices, as were the Federation of Small Businesses355 and the Business Disability Forum.356

193.However, we heard that more could be done. CDI suggested that “employment bodies such as Chambers of Commerce could disseminate case-studies of employed young people with a disability” and the positive impact of government schemes such as Access to Work.357 Careers England argued for awareness raising campaigns driven by local Chambers of Commerce and FSB, focused on engaging employers to encourage them to employ disabled people.358

194.Employers and employer organisations have a key role to play in supporting employers of all sizes to develop inclusive employment practices and support young disabled people in the workplace.

195.Alongside work to support and incentivise employer bodies to improve access to work experience, the Government should work with representative bodies and membership organisations, including Chambers of Commerce to improve awareness and support businesses to recruit and retain young disabled people.

---

• A-Z index
• Glossary
• Contact us
• Freedom of Information
• Jobs
• Using this website
• Copyright