Recruiting disabled people

If you are looking to recruit the best person to fill your job vacancy, you may be missing out on talented potential employees because you are not engaging with disabled jobseekers.

The pool of talented disabled people is not a small one: over seven million people, or 18 per cent of the working-age population. Disabled people, as defined by the Equality Act 2010, include people with a wide range of impairments and challenges – from people with a visual impairment, to those with a mental health condition, cancer or learning disability. Around half the working-age disabled population – over 3.5 million people – are out of work – a significant waste of talent and potential productivity (Sayce Report 2011).

There are significant business benefits or employing disabled people and for example employers of disabled people have consistently found that:
•    disabled people are as productive and as reliable as any other employees.
•    disabled people in work tend to stay with employers longer and have fewer accidents at work. Most do not require adjustments at work.
•    disabled employees are well placed to identify, develop and deliver products and services targeted at this significant and growing market

Perhaps most telling is that company surveys consistently conclude that organisations, having successfully employed disabled people, are keen to employ more.

Find out more about the business benefits of being a disability confident organisation.