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Inclusive Recruitment and Employment

Inclusive recruitment and employment means that your firm's recruitment, selection processes and employment are more likely to help you attract and
employ individuals who are from a wider range of backgrounds and who have a wider range of experiences and skills. There is a range of guidance and support available to help employers be an inclusive employer.

 

Employing people who have a medical condition or disability

24% of the working-age population reported to have a condition or disability and businesses need to do more than just meet the legal obligations relating to disability and employment. Below are a range of resources and support to help your business be an inclusive employer for people with a disability or health condition.

DWP and JobCentre Plus offer a range of services to help employers with the recruitment and support of employees who have a condition/disability, across Cheshire and Warrington there is a team of Disability Employment Advisers, who can be reached at: cheshiredea.partnershipteam@dwp.gov.uk Some of the support available is shown below:

        • Access To Work- Access to Work is a publicly funded employment support grant scheme that aims to support disabled people start or stay in work. It can provide practical and financial support for people who have a disability or physical or mental health condition. Support can be provided where someone needs support or adaptations beyond reasonable adjustments.

          An Access to Work grant can pay for practical support to enable your employee to start or stay in work, or to support you if you are self-employed. Grants of up to £66,000 per person per year are available to help towards the extra costs of working faced by disabled people and those with a health condition that are beyond reasonable adjustments. It does not replace an employer’s duty under the Equality Act to make reasonable adjustments. This DWP funding is now available through the GOV.UK website.

        • Disability Confident- The Disability Confident scheme supports employers to employ and keep disabled people in work. The scheme gives you free guidance and advice to help you do this. The scheme encourages employers to think about how they can employ disabled people. It does this by providing free guidance and resources to employers. This includes helping employers improve: how they get disabled people into work and how they keep disabled people in work. Becoming Disability Confident can help your people fulfil their potential and increase your team’s success.
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        • The scheme has 3 levels to support you at each part of your Disability Confident journey. You must complete each level before you can move onto the next. 

Other support is available locally through the DWP Job Centres and through the local authorities, some of this support includes:

  • Supported Internships are a programme that helps to bridge the gap from education into paid work. A supported internship is a study programme which is delivered by local further education colleges and training providers based primarily at an employer. They enable young people aged 16-24 with an Education, Health and Care plan to achieve sustainable paid employment by equipping them with the skills they need for work, through learning in the workplace. Alongside their time at the employer, young people complete a personalised study programme which includes the chance to study for relevant substantial qualifications, if appropriate, and English and maths. Supported internships were designed especially to help young people with an EHC Plan that want to move into employment and need extra support to do so. The main goal of an internship is to help a young person with learning difficulties to develop the skills they need to be able to gain paid work.



  • Cheshire West and Chester Council will soon be running a scheme that provides training for employers to enable them to become more inclusive in their approach to recruitment of staff and support current employees to thrive.

There a range of guides and online resources that may be helpful for you as you look at improving the inclusivity of your recruitment and employment of disabled people/people with a condition. Some of these are:

 

Organisations that are focused on a specific disability or condition, also have specific and useful guidance for employers too: 


Employing people who are neurodivergent

It is estimated that at least 20% of the UK’s adult population are neurodivergent. Being neurodivergent simply means that your brain processes information than others who are seen as ‘neurotypical’ and as a result your behaviours and understanding may be different than other people who are neurotypical. The term neurodivergent can refer to numerous neurological conditions and differences, including: attention deficit disorder (ADD)/ attention deficit hyperactivity disorder (ADHD), autism spectrum condition (ASC),cognitive functioning difficulties, downs syndrome, dyscalculia, dyslexia, dyspraxia and tourettes syndrome.

The DWP and supported intermship support listed above for people who have medical condition or disability can also be accessed to support neurodivergent employees.

There a range of guides and online resources that may be helpful for you as you look at improving the inclusivity of your recruitment and employment of neurodivergent people. Some of these are:

Organisations that are focused on a specific type of neurodiversity, also have specific and useful guidance for employers too: 


Attracting and Supporting a diverse and workforce

A diverse workforce acknowledges that each individual brings unique attributes, both visible and non-visible. These include, but are not limited to, ethnicity, abilities, age, gender, beliefs, interests, socioeconomic status, marital or partnership status, sexual orientation, geographic location, academic and professional backgrounds, opinions, thinking styles, experiences, and many other characteristics. To cultivate and support an inclusive workplace, it is essential to recognize, respect, promote, and celebrate these differences.

An inclusive employer ensures that every employee feels a sense of belonging. This means creating an inclusive environment where everyone feels safe to be themselves, their contributions are valued, policies and practices are fair, and a diverse range of individuals are supported to collaborate effectively.

The resources below are intended to be a useful starting point to help firms and managers as they try to improve inclusivity in the workplace. 


Employing people from a range of backgrounds

For further information on support to recruit people who been in long-term unemployment click here