The business case for disability inclusion in the workplace is a strong one.
Within the sector of disability inclusion, you do not have to go far to hear a disability expert talk about how supporting disabled people to achieve in the workplace has nothing but major business benefits which permeate the entire organisation. Yet, the business case is still being vastly under-utilised. Perhaps this is due to many reasons: under representation, lack of support, misunderstandings/ lack of awareness, confidence… the reasons go on and on.
Until businesses can truly believe the added value disabled people can bring into a workplace, things will barely change. So, I have created this quick infographic to help you and any of your colleagues/managers to begin to see the business case for developing a workplace that is inclusive of disabled people.
1 in 5 of the UK population is disabled.
Making up 30% of the UK workforce. When we think of disability, we still associate this with physical disabilities. However, many disabilities are hidden. In fact, less than 8% of disabled people are wheelchair users, with 80% of disabled people acquiring their impairment. According to the Equality Act 2010, a disability can be:
- Physical
- Mental Health
- Learning Disability
- Sensory
- Autism and Neuro-diverse
- Acquired
Did you know the average cost of a workplace (reasonable) adjustment is £95? This is because a lot of the support a disabled person needs does not necessarily have cost implications. Offering flexible and agile support and working options can make a huge difference. For those occasions when resources and assets do have to be purchased, there are funding streams available. Ross talks about this in his #PartofMe episode.
In an inclusive, supportive workplace culture, disabled people are…
Proactive and Innovative
Due to the large array of barriers disabled people face when attempting to enter the workplace, disabled people make productive, proactive employees. Innovation comes from utilising experiences of overcoming barriers on a daily basis in society.
Hard Working & Championing
If offered the right support and made to feel welcome, disabled people are hard-working employees. When a disabled person feels they are valued within your business, they will Champion your business to fellow colleagues and external friends and family.
Less Sickness Days & Lifetime Employees
On average, less sickness days because a happy disabled employee has good mental health and well-being. Due to perceptions and attitudes of others in the recruitment arena, a disabled employee is less likely to move to another business.
Celebrating Disability offer:
- Lived experience of disability
- Professional strategic planning
- Interactive, tailor-made training
- Face-to-face personalised support
If you would like to find out how we can help your business make this a reality, get in touch.
Esi (rhymes with messy) set up Celebrating Disability in 2017; offering training, consulting and auditing to support businesses attract, engage and retain disabled people. Having the opportunity to support businesses to see the wealth of benefits that disabled people can bring to business, either as customers or employees is a privilege. She is passionate about disability equality and inclusion and loves nothing more than that “Ah ha” moment with a client when they see what disability equality and inclusion can do for them.