The Department for Work and Pensions (DWP) in collaboration with the CIPD have produced and now published new guidance titled the Disability Confident Guide which has been created to help employers support disabled people.
The guide forms part of the DWP's £2.5 billion Back to Work plan; employment support to help up to 1,100,000 people with long-term health conditions, disabilities or long-term unemployment to look for and stay in work.
The Disability Confident Guide offers practical tips and advice for managers who engage and work with disabled individuals, including information on:
- managers' and employers' legal responsibilities
- relevant language and behaviour to use when communicating about disability at work
- explanations and examples of reasonable adjustments
- how to navigate the recruitment of individuals with a disability or health condition
- disclosure and confidentiality
- sickness absence
- tips for dealing with specific disabilities and long term health conditions including long covid, mental health, learning difficulties and neurodiversity
The DWP are also encouraging employers to sign up to its Disability Confident scheme to gain "disability confident" status by benchmarking their workplace against a checklist of inclusion factors. When measured in January 2024, the scheme had more than 19,000 members.
To obtain the first level of disability confident status, members need to change the behaviour and cultures in their businesses and communities and must identify at least one action in a pre-set list that they will carry out to make a difference for disabled people, such as offering work experience or apprenticeships.
You can read the full Disability Confident guide here.
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