Lehman Brothers scores award-winning hat-trick on disability

29th May 2008

Global investment bank Lehman Brothers has today (27 May) been awarded the Disability Excellence Award from the Great Places to Work ® scheme for the third consecutive year.

The award is supported by Employers’ Forum on Disability (EFD), who recognised Lehman Brothers’ commitment in sustaining disability excellence through leadership, resources, creative thinking, energy and enthusiasm.

Examples of this commitment include:

• A groundbreaking Blackberry initiative: hearing impaired employees have a Blackberry to carry at work, which is activated via pre-set alert information in case of emergency evacuation from a lift or building.
• A long-standing arrangement with Scope’s Leadership Recruitment programme: thirteen Leadership Recruits are currently placement and three former Scope candidates were made full-time employees in the last year.
• Commitment to disability confidence from senior staff across Europe, the Middle East and Asia Pacific: working with several partnerships enables Lehman Brothers to be an employer of choice for talented disabled individuals.

Susan Scott-Parker, chief executive of EFD, said: “Many companies are becoming disability confident by understanding the business benefits and competitive advantage they achieve through creating a disability confident organisation.

“What really sets Lehman Brothers apart from the rest is that they are constantly striving to create an inclusive, supportive and dynamic environment that embraces all aspects of best practice in both accessibility and disability awareness.

“We congratulate Lehman Brothers on their continued success, and look forward to working with them as gold members of Employers’ Forum on Disability.”

Ends

Notes to editors

Media enquiries, please contact:

Brenda Otema, Communications & Marketing Officer
Employers' Forum on Disability
Email: brenda.otema@efd.org.uk
Telephone: 020 7403 3020

About Employers' Forum on Disability

Employers' Forum on Disability is the employers' organisation focused on disability as it affects employers and service providers. With over 300 members, EFD represents organisations that employ around 20 per cent of the UK workforce.Since its establishment in 1991, EFD has worked closely with government and other stakeholders, sharing best practice to make it easier to employ disabled people and serve disabled customers.

www.efd.org.uk