Winners of Disability Standard awards announced

29th October 2009

• Top disability employers celebrated

The winners of the Disability Standard 2009 awards were announced last night at an event attended by over 50 private and public sector organisations who are all striving to ensure disabled people are treated fairly both as employees and customers.

Over 100 organisations took part in the Disability Standard 2009, which is run by Employers' Forum on Disability (EFD). It is the only business-led benchmark that measures an organisation's performance on every aspect of disability as it affects a business.

The Disability Standard 2009 award winners are:

• Disability Champion Award 2009: 
• Carleigh Chadwick, InterContinental Hotels Group.
  
• Disability Standard Most Improved Award 2009:
• Bradford and Airedale Teaching Primary Care Trust.
  
• Disability Confidence Award 2009:
• British Library and BT (joint winners).
  
• Disability Standard Public Sector Employer Award 2009
• British Library.
  
• Disability Standard Private Sector Employer Award 2009
• BT.
  
• Disability Standard Innovation Award 2009
• Motability Operations: the Rough Guide to Accessible Britain. 

EFD’s Chief Executive Susan Scott-Parker said: “The Disability Standard Awards matter because they celebrate the people and organisations that are getting it right on disability. Their hard work and good practice reminds all employers that there is a clear business case for disability.”

There are nearly seven million disabled people of working age in the UK. Despite the difficulties disabled people face in getting work, one in eight UK workers has a disability.

Susan Scott-Parker continued: “I congratulate all this year’s winners and shortlisted entries. The wide range of award-winning sectors shows that getting it right on disability makes sense for all organisations.”

Ends

Notes to editors

The Disability Standard is an online, bi-annual, self-assessment with around 150 questions and supporting evidence. For media enquiries and photos of award nominees, please contact:

- Liz Nightingale, Communications Manager, Employers' Forum on Disability (details follow below), or
- Ann Stirling, Furner Communications, tel: 01273-202980, email: ann@furnercommunications.co.uk

Media enquiries, please contact:

Liz Nightingale, Communications Manager
Employers' Forum on Disability
Email: liz.nightingale@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 400 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