Websites 'should be made accessible for disabled employees'

11th March 2010

Businesses should make sure their websites are accessible to people with disabilities to ensure a fair recruitment process, it has been claimed.

Kevin Gibbons, posting on the Econsultancy blog, stated firms that choose not to do so could be opening themselves up to claims of prejudice.

He remarked: "If you're hiring, it’s potentially discrimination to make it difficult for applicants with sight impairments to access your recruitment pages."

Quoting figures from the Employers' Forum on Disability (EFD), Mr Gibbons said ten per cent of individuals in the UK are disabled in some way and businesses that fail to cater to this demographic risk losing talent and profits.

Customising a site to boost hits from disabled customers could potentially add to a firm's client base, he explained.

EFD created its Business Task Force on Accessible Technology to tackle issues such as this, with the unit aiming to develop cost-efficient commercial practices for barrier-free recruitment procedures, among other goals.

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