Disability confident employers benefit from access to a wider talent pool. Improved reputation with disabled candidates helps to build the employer brand.

One in five disabled people in the UK are unemployed but want to work; this compares to one in 15 of non-disabled people.[i]

Disabled workers have long been an untapped source of talent, and are expected to play an increasingly vital role in the workplace in coming years. The massive wave of retiring older workers is expected to leave companies scrambling for new employees, especially hard-to-fill positions like precision machinist and computer programmer. Also, companies that coax older employees to stay on or to return to work will have to accommodate conditions such as poorer vision, hearing loss and mobility problems. As we have an aging workforce, we are going to see more people with disabilities.

Workforce Management, June 2004.

• Case study: British Council
• Case study: British Energy
• Case study: Channel 4 and ITN
• Case study: Goldman Sachs
• Case study: Kent County Council
• Stakeholder factbox: potential employees

Sources

[i] Labour Force Survey, September 2005.