Groundbreaking Partnership in the United Kingdom is Win-Win Situation for Employers and People With Disabilities
By Mark Richards, ILRU Program
In the U.K., a groundbreaking partnership among three diverse organizations--a government employment program, a non-profit organization on disability, and a leading income insurer--has been established to make significant reductions in the number of disabled people unnecessarily out of work.
The government employment program:
Jobcentre Plus (http://www.jobcentreplus.gov.uk) is a new strategy for the U.K. Department for Work and Pensions. It is an enhanced service to both employers and working-age people. The focus of this new strategy explicitly links claiming benefits with exposure to job opportunities.
The non-profit organization on disability:
Funded and managed by over 370 members, the Employers' Forum on Disability (http://www.employers-forum.co.uk) is recognized as the authoritative voice on disability as it affects business. It is also one of the world's leading publishing houses on disability in the workplace, making it easier for businesses to work with people with disabilities as employees, customers and partners. Forum members employ over 5 million people, or 22 percent of the UK workforce.
The leading income protection provider:
UnumProvident (http://www.unum.co.uk), UK's leading insurer of group income, hosted a New Beginnings Symposium in 2002 at which the benefits to employers and the wider community of employing people with disabilities were examined.
Best practices reference kit
In July 2002, the partnership formed of these organizations launched
The Knowledge--Disability Solutions for Employers, a 'best practice' reference kit that provides employers with the benefits of, and tools needed for, an inclusive approach to disabled employees. According to a JobCentre Plus press release dated July 30, 2002, there are currently over a million disabled people in the UK who want to work but cannot find employment
Challenging misconceptions about disability, the best practices kit highlights the case for positioning disability as a strategic business priority, reflecting the experience of the U.K. and international communities as well as findings from the latest academic research. Also explained is why many U.K. businesses have previously remained unconvinced of the importance of disability within the broader diversity perspective.
On a practical level, the kit will inform employers manage the Disability Discrimination Act (DDA); help employers make reasonable adjustments; and access government funds available to them for making adjustments that may be needed to help disabled people into jobs.
The Knowledge
kit also attempts to address employers' misconceptions about hiring people with disabilities, which contributes to the barriers faced by people with a disability who want to work. A recent survey of 200 senior directors by UnumProvident found that a third believe that when considering two candidates of equal experience, the majority of employers would opt for a non-disabled candidate in preference to a disabled applicant--even if the disability would not be a hindrance to performing the job. This is despite evidence indicating that organizations currently employing disabled people are keen to continue doing so.
Its role in the partnership marks a major shift in Jobcentre Plus' working practices. Previously focusing on unemployed persons, it now includes U.K. businesses among its clients.
Fresh approach praised by partners
Leigh Lewis, CEO of Jobcentre Plus, said: "When we start from a very different perspective; what the employer needs and what a person--who happens to be disabled--can do, the results are startlingly effective. I hope
The Knowledge
will stimulate more employers to want to work with us, enhancing their business with talent and opportunity."
Susan Scott-Parker, chief executive of the Employers' Forum on Disability said: "Currently, we have a situation where less than 50 percent of disabled adults are in a job and 2.3 million are on Incapacity Benefit. Shifting perceptions that prevent employers from accessing available talent is the key to improving this situation. I congratulate Jobcentre Plus on taking a fresh approach by building relationships with business to affect change in long-term unemployment."
Joanne Hindle, corporate services director of UnumProvident, said: "It is in everyone's interest to help those disabled people who want to work find jobs. Currently, 36 percent of U.K. employers complain of staff shortages. We also estimate that the government would benefit from an extra £5 billion a year if 500,000 people came off Incapacity Benefit into work--and this is 500,000 people who say they wish to work."
Jobcentre Plus' disability employment advisors will distribute the packs through their disability network as well as to other businesses.
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