We are a Disability Confident Leader

As a Disability Confident Leader we are committed to encouraging applications from people with disabilities. We will offer an interview to any applicant who declares to have a disability, if the person meets the minimum criteria defined by us (for example, sometimes shown as desirable skills). 

As a Disability Confident Leader, we have agreed to the following commitments:

1. Inclusive and accessible recruitment 

We apply and promote an inclusive and accessible recruitment policy. We work to increase the understanding among employers about disability and the benefits that disabled people can bring to their businesses.

2. Communicating vacancies to disabled people

We design our job adverts in order for them to be accessible to all those who can do the job, whether or not they are disabled. When writing job adverts:

• We use a font that is easy to read and large enough to read
• We make sure that they don’t exclude any section of the community
• We state clearly that we welcome applications from all sections of the community and that we have an equal opportunities policy
• We do not set criteria which automatically exclude certain groups, for example stating that applicants must have a driving licence when there is no requirement for travel within the role
• We provide the contact details of someone in the organisation who can provide further information and discuss any reasonable adjustments that the applicant may need
• We offer alternative formats for applications, for example if the application is to be made online, we can provide a paper-based form as an alternative

3. Offering an interview to disabled people 

We ask applicants if they need an adjustment to the interview process to allow them to be considered for the job. We will make any adjustments if they are reasonable, for example:

• use premises that are fully accessible
• change lighting or room layout
• show a visually impaired applicant to their seat
• offer an alternative to a standard interview, for example a working interview, or allow extra time
• allow applicants to complete a written test using a computer

When interviewing a disabled applicant, we help them to perform to the best of their ability by:

• speaking directly to them rather than through a support worker
• telling them about any flexible working patterns that may be available to them
• making sure that each applicant is asked the same questions as non-disabled applicants

4. Providing reasonable adjustments

This means ensuring disabled people can overcome any substantial disadvantages they may have doing their jobs and progressing in work (Equality Act 2010). These adjustments include:

• making changes to a disabled person’s working pattern
• providing training or mentoring
• making alterations to premises
• ensuring that information is provided in accessible formats
• modifying or acquiring equipment
• allowing extra time during selection ‘tests’

5. Help with the extra costs disabled people face in work

We can obtain help from Access to Work towards some costs where an individual requires support or adaptations. Access to Work usually provides a grant to pay for the cost of the support. For example, it can provide funds towards:

• special aids and equipment
• adaptations to equipment
• travel to and from work
• communication support at interview
• a wide variety of support workers

6. Offering disabled people work experience or work trials

We are committed to offering work experience or job trials to people with a disability in order to promote future employment and job retention.

 

Exceptions

We reserve the right to make exceptions in some circumstances. In compliance with the guidance for level 1 (Level 1: Disability Confident Committed (gov.uk) there may be occasions where it is not practicable or appropriate to interview all disabled people that meet the minimum criteria for the job. For example, in certain recruitment situations involving a high number of applications, we may wish to limit the overall numbers of interviews offered to both disabled and non-disabled people.

In these circumstances, we could select the disabled candidates who best meet the minimum criteria for the job, as we would do for non-disabled applicants, rather than selecting all of those that meet the minimum criteria.