In collaboration with the Chartered Institute of Personnel and Development (CIPD), the Department for Work and Pensions (DWP) has recently published an updated version of its "Disability Confident" Guide for managers on recruiting, developing and managing disabled people. 

The new Guide is part of the government's £2.5 billion "Back to Work Plan" which focuses on helping disabled individuals and workers on long-term sickness absence come back to work.

In this piece, we will outline how this pragmatic advice aims to assist managers in enhancing their support for individuals with disabilities. This encompasses acknowledging the pivotal role managers play in fostering an inclusive workplace, retaining valued staff members, improving team spirit and productivity, and diminishing instances of sickness absence. 

The 42-page Guide offers a multitude of practical tips, covering areas such as employers' legal responsibilities when it comes to disabled candidates and/or staff and how to retain disabled employees. In addition, it provides advice on supporting those in the workplace with specific disabilities and long-term health conditions such as long Covid, neurodiversity, mental health, learning difficulties, and visual or sensory impairments. 

Our key takeaways from the Guide 

• When it comes to the language employers use and their communication style, they should not make assumptions about a person's ability based on their medical condition. Every employee/candidate is different.
• Managers should treat everyone with respect by speaking to a disabled person as they would anyone else, refraining from micro-management and by not assuming such individuals always need help when conducting a task.
• Attracting a wide range of applicants is crucial for a diverse and well-rounded workforce. The Guide encourages job descriptions to be clear about the skills, knowledge and experience required for the role. It also recommends that employers ensure they have in place recruitment processes that are suitable for everyone and/or that adjustments are available if needed. This is discussed further under our reasonable adjustments section below.
• Although it may seem straightforward, setting up regular check-ins with new starters and ensuring they have everything they need is indicative of a more successful and effective workforce.
• Employers should keep records of disability-related absence separate to other sickness absences so that bonuses or absence-related disciplinary action are not affected by disability.
• Employers must support the development of their disabled staff as they would anyone else by ensuring that all employees have equal access to training and career opportunities – this helps foster a productive and fulfilled workforce.

Reasonable adjustments 

Under the Equality Act 2010, employers must make reasonable adjustments in the workplace to ensure that disabled individuals are not significantly disadvantaged when compared to other workers. 

The Guide makes clear that including disabled individuals in the process of putting reasonable adjustments in place will almost certainly produce better results and sets out some reasonable adjustments that employers could consider. Those are:

• offering a flexible working arrangement, by allowing employees to work from home or have flexible working hours in order to prevent employees having to travel at busy times or at times which do not support their wellbeing;
• arranging private, direct supervision, mentorships, buddy schemes and/or further training;
• making the workplace more accessible by physically adapting employees' workplaces and workstations (such as desks and chairs) to support those with varying degrees of physical needs; and
• considering the business's assessment procedures and the current methods used to measure employees' progression. Providing employees with the option of face-to-face, virtual, group or private meetings, as well as extra time, assistive technology or offering a "trial" instead of a traditional formal interview may all be ways to make an employer's recruitment or promotion process more accessible to disabled employees.

"Disability Confident" Scheme

In addition to reading its new guide, DWP encourages employers to sign up to its "Disability Confident" Scheme in order to receive free guidance and further resources. As part of the Scheme, employers are able to gain "Disability Confident" status by measuring their workplace against a series of inclusion factors and committing to initiate positive workplace behaviours throughout their networks and communities. 

Please reach out to your team at Dentons if you would like to discuss any of the points mentioned in this article. We are here to help support and nurture inclusive and diverse workplaces and practices.

The full guidance can be read here.