November marks the first anniversary of the launch of the revamped Disability Confident scheme.
Regular Able Magazine contributor and Minister for Disabled People, Health and Work, Penny Mordaunt, said: “Disability Confident status sends a powerful message to potential employees that they will get the support they need to thrive in the workplace. One year on from the launch of the scheme, we’re already helping more than 5,000 companies to create a more inclusive workforce.
By demonstrating the benefits these employers have seen, simply by recognising disabled people for their skills and talents, we can help transform attitudes among businesses across the country.”
According to the Department for Work and Pensions (DWP) almost a fifth of the working age population is disabled, which represents a large proportion of the potential workforce.
Diageo, ITV and BT are three of the most well-known of the 24 FTSE 100 companies that have already signed up to the scheme. On the first anniversary, the Minister has written to the remaining companies, reinforcing her recent challenge to them to sign up to the scheme and to encourage more influential businesses to set the standard on Disability Confident status.
In a similar expression of support, towards the end of October, an expert led review into mental health in the workplace, commissioned by the Government, recommended that employers adopt six ‘mental health core standards’ that lay the basic foundations for an approach to workplace mental health.
Disability Confident offers employers a simple first step to creating a more supportive workplace. The Government’s full response will be published this autumn as part of the next steps following the Work, Health and Disability Green Paper.
