----- Original Message ----- From: "BlindNews Mailing List" <[EMAIL PROTECTED]> To: <[EMAIL PROTECTED]> Sent: Monday, December 10, 2007 8:10 AM Subject: Discrimination against disabled still rife, says report
> Personnel Today (UK) > Monday, December 03, 2007 > > Discrimination against disabled still rife, says report > > By Jo Faragher > > Shut out: Our exclusive online survey shows that employers are happy to > make practical changes to the way they work to open up access to the > disabled, but prejudice is still rife, as Jo Faragher reports > > Despite years of making changes to the way we work and several drafts of > legislation, prejudice around employing disabled people is still rife. In > our survey of just under 700 businesses, carried out in conjunction with > disability charity Leonard Cheshire, 86% agreed that employers would pick > a non-disabled candidate over a disabled candidate, while 92% said there > was still discrimination against disabled people in employment and > recruitment. > > Yet paradoxically, employers are more ready than they have ever been to > welcome the disabled into the workplace. When it came to the Disability > Discrimination Act (DDA), almost 80% of respondents felt their knowledge > of the legislation was either reasonable or good, although only 5% felt it > was 'excellent'. The majority of respondents employed more than 25 > disabled people in their organisation. > > Loyal workers > > The level of discrimination disabled people still face is all the more > surprising given the perception among most respondents that they are more > loyal workers. Almost 90% of respondents did not agree that the average > turnover rate for disabled workers would be higher than that for > non-disabled workers. And, 43% did not think that disabled people would be > more likely to be frequently absent - so the preconception that disabled > people take more time off does not necessarily hold true. > > Many employers have made adjustments to their work environments to > accommodate disabled employees. Three-quarters of those questioned in our > survey had been asked to make adjustments to the workplace, and almost all > were able to honour those requests. Of those that couldn't accommodate the > changes, the most common reason was because they were 'unreasonable'. > Other factors included cost (27% felt it was too expensive) and disruption > to other staff (a further 27%). > > Rights and obligations > > Some of the difficulties employers have in employing disabled workers seem > to lie in knowing their precise rights and obligations. While most > respondents felt they had a good grasp of the DDA, there was some > confusion about who it applies to. > > For example, when asked whether someone who'd been diagnosed with cancer, > but was not yet showing signs of the disease, would be covered by the DDA, > 79% agreed(this has been the case since December 2005). However, > respondents were split over whether someone who had recently been > diagnosed with depression would qualify - 41% said they would, while 50% > said they wouldn't. In fact, if a mental illness (including depression) > has a substantial, adverse and long-term effect on their ability to carry > out normal day-to-day activities, then the worker is covered by the DDA. > > There is also a need for clarity over how employers and workers gain > government assistance. Awareness of the government's Access to Work scheme > was high, with more than three-quarters of respondents conscious of it, > and more than half supporting disabled workers through the scheme. > However, almost one-quarter said they found the scheme, which offers > practical support to disabled people who are in or looking for paid > employment, 'not very easy' to use. > > Our survey suggests that awareness of the challenges facing disabled > employees, not to mention practical adjustments to accommodate them, are > high up on the corporate agenda. Where the real work needs to be done is > in overcoming the discrimination that continues to stifle the progress of > the disabled at work. > > Making adjustments > > Accommodating the needs of disabled workers extends way beyond installing > a ramp or adapting toilet facilities. Many of the respondents to our > survey had gone out of their way to make the jobs of disabled employees > easier and fit in more flexibly to the business. Some of the changes > included: > > Employing signers to enable deaf people to attend important meetings. > Identifying products by colour codes rather than numbers. > Flashing lights for deaf employees and vibrating alerts for blind workers. > Alterations to heavy doors for multiple sclerosis sufferers. > Assisting with costs for wheelchairs, hearing aids, etc. > Allowing dyslexic employees to dictate reports rather than write them > down. > Disabled car parking adjacent to the office. > Providing an appropriate environment for hearing dogs/guide dogs. > Painting doorways in bright colours for the visually impaired. > > Jo Faragher > > > http://www.personneltoday.com/articles/2007/12/03/43501/discrimination-against-disabled-still-rife-says-report.html > BlindNews Mailing List > Subscribe: [EMAIL PROTECTED] with "subscribe" as subject > > Unsubscribe: [EMAIL PROTECTED] with "unsubscribe" as subject > > Moderator: [EMAIL PROTECTED] > > Archive: http://GeoffAndWen.com/blind > > RSS: http://GeoffAndWen.com/BlindNewsRSS.asp > > More information about RSS feeds will be published shortly. 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