Recruiting and employing disabled people

Helping disabled employees in your business

Induction
Consider whether your induction training is accessible for disabled people. Ask new employees about access needs during the induction.

Training
Consider any needs of disabled people for training which might require special seating to be provided and breaks to be scheduled (to avoid sitting for long periods of time). For example, your training programme should take into account an individual's learning disability or other impairment, such as chronic backache.

Career development
Allow, and make reasonable adjustments for disabled employees to undergo all training on offer and to be fully involved in staff meetings. Don't overlook disabled employees for promotion because they cannot do a certain task - it might be reasonable to assign non-core tasks to other members of staff.

Disciplinary action
When you take disciplinary action against a disabled employee, ensure you've considered any reasons related to their disability, which may have contributed to the event that prompted the disciplinary action.

Assessing performance and capability
Consider whether disability may play a part when deciding whether a disabled person's attendance/performance meets the needs of the job and your business. Some employers might offer "disability leave" as a reasonable adjustment, ie where any absence necessitated by a disability is not counted as sick leave for the purposes of monitoring.

Redundancy
Apply the same arrangements and requirements for redundancy for disabled people as for others. Ensure your selection criteria for redundancies aren't discriminatory.

Safety
Take into account and prioritise the needs of disabled people when assessing your risks. Health and safety issues should not be used as an excuse to discriminate against disabled people.

Read guidance on employing people at the Disability Rights Commission (DRC) website.

Review guidance on specific needs for different disabilities on the Fast-Forward website.

Download the factsheet on workplace health and safety for employees with disabilities from the European Agency for Safety and Health at Work website (PDF).

Subjects covered in this guide

• Introduction
• The business case for employing disabled people
• Advice on disability and funding for employers
• Recruiting disabled people to work for your business
• Helping disabled employees in your business
• When an employee becomes disabled
• What the law says on employing disabled staff