The flexibility, effective line management and investment in reasonable adjustments that disabled people need in order to do the job, is shown to be increasingly necessary for the wider labour force to be able to work productively and to their capabilities.

90% of employers interviewed by Investors in People agree that more effective use of employees is key to future success, but 56% believe that widespread substandard management means UK business won't achieve increased productivity [i]. Virtually all HR managers say that managers needed training in order to be able to effectively manage flexible working - yet only 1 in 8 provide this. [ii]

Effective training and support for line managers can have a real impact on the experience of disabled colleagues, reducing sickness absence and increasing productivity.

104 Supervisors in 7 US employers were trained in the following areas: immediate contact; no blame/ inquiry; positive and empathic; 'want you back'; ergonomics and safety; problem solving; regular follow-up; accommodations; workplace update; functional inquiry.

The study found the high cost of negative supervisory response to individual's experiencing disability. Following basic training supervisor satisfaction rose from 68% to 83%; employee satisfaction from 67% to 87%. [iii]

In the UK, a survey of 800 personnel managers, found that 8 out of 10 said that making the changes required by the DDA was easy.

• However, only 36% had changed supervisory methods - the lowest response for any type of adjustment. This is in comparison to 77% who had made existing facilities accessible to disabled people and 83% who had been flexible in the application of HR policies. [iv]
• Lack of supervisor knowledge was identified as the most significant barrier to employing disabled people by 32% of HR managers in the US and 23% in the UK [v]

Disability confident employers will have the skills needed to manage flexibility in the workforce and provide an individualised approach to employees with different needs.

Sources

1. [i] IiP, November 2004
2. [ii] IFF research, 2005.
3. [iii] Glenn Pransky, Liberty Center for Disability Research.
4. [iv] CiPD, 'Adapting to Disability, It wasn't so difficult after all', 2001.
5. [v] Bruyere, Erickson, VanLooy, Comparative study of workplace policy and practices contributing to disability non-discrimination, Cornell, ILR, 2004.