Retaining disabled employees
Many people who are disabled acquire their disability during their working life. It generally costs less to retain a staff member than to recruit a new one, and it keeps valuable skills and knowledge within your business.
Having invested time and money recruiting the right people to work for your organisation, retaining staff members who have become ill or disabled is important.
Induction
- Induction should cover: geographical information - about the building and the local area; company rules and procedures; "Who's who" in the company, and how to contact them; health and safety aspects of work; reasonable adjustments; and supported employment
- You might consider having a "buddy scheme" to help a new member of staff to settle into their job
Training and Development
- Everyone should have equal access to opportunities for development.
- You may need to make adjustments during your training. It is important to talk to your disabled staff to find out how you can meet their specific needs in terms of training and development.
Flexible Working
- Flexible working enables staff to achieve a better work-life balance and can also increase the competitiveness and profitability of the business.
- Flexible working can be achieved by thinking about when, where and how work is done. Examples of flexible working arrangements include: part-time working; flexi-time; working from home; job sharing; and job carving
You possibly already employ people with disabilities and health conditions - you may not think of them as 'disabled', they may not choose to describe themselves in this way - but around one in five of the adult population fall into this category. Having a positive attitude about making any necessary changes for them is an important part of getting the best out of people.
Reasonable Adjustments
- You may be eligible for financial assistance to help pay for equipment, travel and other forms of support for a disabled employee.
Support for staff
- You will need to be sure that managers and work colleagues are properly briefed about a disabled person's needs and ensure that they do not discriminate against your new member of staff.
- However some disabled people may not want their disability to be widely known; this should be respected.
- Other staff may be worried about causing embarrassment to a disabled person, or to themselves, because of their own lack of understanding and knowledge about others. Helping to raise awareness of issues for your staff can be effective in preventing this.
Absence Management
- To effectively manage attendance, your business should have policies to both monitor and reduce sickness absences.
- Any policies you develop should apply equally to all staff - including disabled staff.
- Conduct return to work interviews for all staff who have been absent
- Avoid making assumptions about the reasons for an employee's absence
