10 October 2005
Disability Standard results reveal that disability is still perceived as just a human resources priority
Disability Standard results reveal that disability is still perceived as just a human resources priority
The Employers' Forum on Disability this week released the results of the world's first benchmarking exercise on disability for both public and private sector organisations. Eighty UK employers took part and the results reveal that the way organisations respond to disability, including customers and the wider community, is usually left to HR.
Disability Standard results show that disability action plans, policies and budgets appear concentrated in HR and property services departments with much less evidence of action plans and standards being set to ensure the accessibility of products and services.
However, most organisations would find they needed to engage departments other than HR and property were they to act on what they learn from consultations with disabled employees and customers.
- 36% or less set disability goals in departments outside human resources and property services.
- 26% of organisations use the results of consultation with disabled employees to help set disability goals and policies.
- 29% of organisations use the results of consultation with disabled customers to help set disability goals and policies.
Of the 80 organisations that participated in the Disability Standard Benchmark Survey, 26 also benchmarked their performance on race and gender over the past year. Thanks to information supplied by Race for Opportunity and Opportunity Now, the Forum has been able to compare their performance on disability with that on race and gender.
The resulting picture is one of organisations investing significantly less in disability, compared to race or gender. This pattern even holds true for those organisations that are outstanding in their commitment to self-improvement across all three diversity strands.
Forum chief executive, Susan Scott-Parker said:
“ It would seem disability and disability discrimination are still regarded as distinctly different to — and less important than — race and gender. The Forum will be launching an enquiry into this and stakeholders concerned with the various strands of diversity will be invited to consider the implications of these results on plans to create a single equality body.”
For further details of the results, including other trends and sector comparisons, copies of the Disability Standard 2005 Benchmark Report are available from the Employers' Forum on Disability on (020) 7403 3020.
Ends
For further information, please contact the Press Office
Employers' Forum on DisabilityTelephone: 020 7089 3020
Email: media@employers-forum.co.uk
Notes to editors
- The Employers' Forum on Disability is the authoritative employers' voice on disability as it affects business. Its members represent over 400 major organisations that currently employ more than 20 per cent of the UK workforce. The Forum works closely with disabled people, government and other stakeholders, sharing best practice to make it easier to employ disabled people and serve disabled customers.
- The Disability Standard, a comprehensive management tool, consists of:
- A self-completed Benchmark Survey, which requires the organisation to provide evidence to justify its ratings. The Survey is independently validated and addresses all aspects of policies and procedures relating to employment, customer care, IT, the built environment, new product development, e-commerce and e-recruitment, corporate responsibility, procurement, health and safety, occupational health, marketing and communications, consultations with disabled stakeholders and staff, management training and top team commitment.
- The Standard Directory, which links step-by-step to the Survey, lists all the relevant disability legislation, codes of practice, regulations, technical standards and best practice guidance from the Disability Rights Commission, the Forum and other recognised authorities.
- The Benchmark for Action Conference, at which overall results of the Survey and the key messages deduced from the results are fed back to the participating organisations. It is also an opportunity for organisations that took part to discuss their results with peers and share what works, what doesn't work, examples of best practice and barriers to improvement.