This month (14 November to 20 December 2024) is UK Disability History Month, a month which focuses on promoting an understanding of disability issues and the history of disabled people's struggle for equality and human rights.
This year, UKDHM is looking at Disability Livelihood and Employment, and encourages us to consider what steps we can all take to ensure that disabled people are not experiencing additional barriers to fully accessing opportunities in the workplace.
History of Disability Activism in Manchester
In 2020, the Greater Manchester Coalition of Disabled People produced a series of short films showcasing examples of disability activism, protest, and celebration in Greater Manchester in the 80’s, 90’s and 00’s. The series, called From Manchester and Beyond, is available here:
What are we doing at Action Together?
At Action Together, our purpose is to enable positive social change and promote social justice. We also know that without disabled employees, we would be a less effective organisation. We have therefore been making tangible improvements to our recruitment process to ensure that we are an inclusive and accessible employer with a highly skilled workforce. Here are just some of our recent actions:
1. We use standardised language and formatting in our job adverts, person specifications, and interview questions.
This ensures that we give all candidates the opportunity to showcase their skills and experience, and that our recruitment materials work with assistive technology.
2. We offer a guaranteed interview to all disabled candidates who meet the essential criteria for a role.
We don’t want to miss out on the opportunity to interview excellent candidates, so we clearly signpost the essentials and any additional skills/experience are a bonus.
3. We have achieved the Disability Confident Leader charter mark, so we can support our member organisations in improving their practice and working towards their own accreditation.
Disability Confident is a government scheme which aims to support employers in making their workplaces supportive environments for disabled employees. Initiatives which are good for disabled people are good for everybody, and we are proud to now be a Disability Confident Leader.
4. We collect and monitor data on our employee demographics and role applicants to ensure we are representative of the communities we work in.
We currently have greater representation of disabled employees at Action Together than the third sector nationally, and disabled employees are equally represented in roles at coordinator level or above as in non-manager roles. However, the employment rate in the UK for disabled people remains significantly lower compared to non-disabled people, so we know we still have work to do both at Action Together, and in the sector as a whole.
5. We send all candidates accessibility guides to our interview venues to support with requests for access requirements.
We also send candidates examples of adjustments we can make to help reduce the mental load of asking for adjustments.
6. We ask for feedback from all unsuccessful candidates in order to constantly refine and improve our processes.
This includes asking about the accessibility of the venue, the interview questions, and any tasks involved in the recruitment process.
7. Our new induction
We are currently reviewing our induction process to offer greater support and structure, as well as a more person-centred approach.
How can you work towards being an inclusive organisation for disabled employees?
- Visit the website for more information about becoming Disability Confident.
- If you are a non-profit which provides services for disabled people, you can apply for VODG membership.
- If you are one of our member organisations, you can work towards achieving our Quality in Action Award.
- Visit the UK Disability History Month website for more information, ideas and resources.
- For information about inclusive language, check out the NCVO language guides for disability, neurodiversity, and learning disability.
- For guidance on good employment practices, read the GM Good Employment Disability Guide for Employers.