So just how difficult is it for disabled people to find work?

There has been much said about moving disabled people back into work and if words counted for anything then there would be no problems. However, words are just that, statements of intent, what you want to happen but how that translates on the ground is what really counts.

The reform of the benefit system, together with the new assessments for claiming disability allowances are meant to provide the impetus to make some disabled people hunt for work. Now I won’t go on about an assessment system run by a French IT company, ATOS, which fails to provide the most basic disabled access at its assessment centres as this is only one-side of the coin. But the other side is of course businesses themselves, those people who recruit. New research published by the Department of Work and Pensions shows that everything is not all that rosy in this area either. The research looked at the recruitment practices of employers in Small and Medium Enterprises (SMEs) as they related to disabled people.

Why that research is important is because SMEs are the political nirvana, the sector where the government expect employment growth to come from and, in truth, the business sector where 60% of private sector jobs already exist. So what did the research find?

Well the ideal employee is someone who “could do the job” and successful candidates were chosen on the employers’ perception of their ability to work flexibly and adapt to different roles; competence; reliability; stability in their private life; employment history; proximity to work; work ethic; personality; and honesty. However, the main uncertainties employers had around employing disabled people concerned their perception of the (un)suitability of the built environment, risks to productivity, negative impact on staff from any loss to productivity and the risk of harm to the disabled person, staff and/or customers.

So there is a disjoint here; what the government wants to happen, what employers say they want and what they actually do is a different thing.

The aim must be to allow disabled people the same chances, the same opportunities and the same ability to screw up just like the rest of us. Using an equality scheme that builds from the bottom up, changing attitudes and provides businesses and their employees with the skills and confidence to understand and apply practical solutions to inclusion in the workplace is the start. But the outcome is a more engaged and flexible workforce which connects with your customers, some of whom will be disabled – a plus for any business in the time of recession.

Enforcement – the people’s army

Interesting changes afoot and as usual ignored by just about everyone when it comes to the media.

Many businesses treat equality and diversity as an add-on, a bit like they sometimes treat health and safety. It is something you think about after the tender has gone in or you apply when you have finished putting the goods or services in place. It’s running the risk, because the chances of being caught out are perceived to be lower than the cost of actually doing something.

Your call – but lets look at the risk when it comes to equality and diversity.

Public Sector spending power is hugely important in this economic climate. Now you might not chase after those tenders yourself, you may be part of a supply chain or preferred partner that contributes to the fulfilment of a public sector contract….or hope to be one. The problem is that public bodies will be required, in some tenders to pass their equality duties down that chain. So if you want the work you may actually have to do something – or you may just run the risk and say you do….but don’t.

As a business you also have duties under the Equality Act so you have done something to address the issues – or you may just run the risk and do nothing.

After all what’s the chances of being caught!

Well the EHRC is ultimately responsible for enforcement and I know that name doesn’t make many businesses quake in their boots. It’s being restructured, transformed into a regulator so it’s not going to be looking at us – right! Well partially right, but it does have a cunning plan.

Lurking on the EHRC website is an enforcement toolkit which encourages individuals, pressure groups, charities and concerned bodies to hold the public sector to account and to challenge them on their equality and diversity duties. It even asks that if, having followed those steps; people are still concerned to report it to the EHRC for enforcement consideration.

Now a potential people’s army of potentially millions or several hundred motivated action groups challenging what is happening means that the odds just got worse. Those groups aren’t going to keep quiet. If they find something to worry about they will make a big thing about it and bad publicity sticks. That publicity is a reputational risk. It hurts commercially especially so if you want a public sector contract. People in the protected groups are also your customers so they may not be comfortable buying from you.

Maybe the risk isn’t worth it any more and it may be better business to do something about it.