Employing Disabled People
Do you want to expand the pool of talent that’s available to you? Do you want to take positive steps to create an inclusive and diverse workforce? It’s easier than you think! Guidance is available to help you:
- understand how to make your recruitment and employment practices more inclusive
- make reasonable adjustments in the workplace and access financial support
- recruit a disabled Apprentice and access financial support
- support your existing workers in the event they become disabled or acquire a health impairment, whilst working for you
- understand the benefits of becoming a Disability Confident employer
- understand the Social Model of Disability
- understand your legal responsibilities.
Advice, Guidance and Support
The Welsh Government’s team of Disabled People’s Employment Champions are available to provide practical advice on all matters relating to the recruitment and retention of disabled workers. This includes information on financial support, advice on implementing reasonable adjustments, and guidance on how to become a Disability Confident Employer.
For more information contact: DPEC@gov.wales
The Disabled Peoples Employment Advisors provide practical advice and guidance to SME’s and business start-ups on the recruitment of disabled workers. They will be a point of referral for businesses and employers, helping businesses to formulate and adopt legally compliant processes and policies to ensure they attract, recruit, and retain disabled people in their business.
For more information contact: Catherine.Rowland@BusinessWales.org /
Access to Work is a UK Government scheme that can support you to:
- hire disabled people with the skills you need
- retain an employee who becomes disabled or acquires a health impairment, keeping their valuable skills and saving both time and money recruiting a replacement
- show that you value and will support your employees by having good employment policies and practices.
Your employee can get support with the extra costs of working they may have because they are disabled or have a health impairment, for example:
- aid and equipment in the workplace
- adapting equipment to make it easier for them to use
- money towards any extra travel costs to and from work if they can’t use available public transport
- money towards any extra travel costs for travel costs within work
- an interpreter or other support at a job interview where there are difficulties in communicating
- a wide variety of support workers
- the Access to Work Mental Health Support Service
- other practical help at work, such as a job coach or a sign language interpreter.
For more information see: Access to Work
Disability Confident is a UK Government scheme that encourages employers to think differently about disability and take action to improve how they recruit, retain and develop disabled people.
Being Disability Confident is a unique opportunity to lead the way in your community, and you might just discover someone your business cannot do without.
For more information see: Disability Confident
Recruiting an apprentice can help you expand your workforce and its skills base. Support is available towards the cost of training and assessments. You will work with an approved training provider who will manage the apprentice’s training and assessment programme.
For more information see: Apprenticeships
The Social Model of Disability helps us understand that people are not disabled by their impairment or health condition; they are disabled by the barriers they face, whether these exist in society, their physical environment, or through people’s attitudes and discriminatory behaviour. People with impairments and health conditions do not ‘have a disability’, they are ‘disabled’.
For more information see: Social Model – Disability Wales