What Does Being Disability Confident Really Mean?

The Disability Confident Scheme for employers is a U.K. government scheme that is, “creating a movement of change, encouraging employers to think differently about disability and take action to improve how they recruit, retain and develop disabled people.” 

The voluntary scheme has three levels of membership, which include:

• Level 1: Disability Confident Committed
• Level 2: Disability Confident Employer
• Level 3: Disability Confident Leader

When signed up for the scheme, employers can display their membership status to show the general public their commitment to disability-friendly recruitment and employment. It is used as a symbol that disabled people are welcome to apply to jobs posted by the company and that they will be treated well throughout their time in employment too.

Major components of support that Disability Confident employers offer to disabled applicants and employees include 

• Inclusive and accessible recruitment practices
• Reducing potential bias and discrimination in recruitment
• Combatting discrimination in employment
• Reasonable adjustments in recruitment and employment
• General support throughout all stages of employment 

These aspects of support intend to allow disabled people to enter employment without unnecessary barriers and challenges they may have experienced in the past. They intend to level out the playing field for both disabled and non-disabled applicants and, as a result, reduce the disability employment gap that we continue to experience in the U.K. 

The Levels in More Detail

The three levels of the Disability Confident Scheme can be summarised as follows…

Level 1: Disability Confident Committed 

Many employers will be at Level 1 of the scheme without realising and simply need to be accredited for what they already do. To get the status of Disability Confident Committed, employers need to agree to the associated commitments and identify at least one activity to provide that will positively influence disabled applicants.

The commitments are:

• Inclusive and accessible recruitment
• Communicating vacancies accessibly 
• Offering an appropriate interview to disabled people
• Providing reasonable adjustments
• Supporting existing disabled employees

The activities include:

• Work experience
• Paid employment
• Apprenticeships
• Job shadowing
• Traineeships
• Internships
• Student placements

By registering with the Disability Confident scheme and gaining recognition for Level 1 offerings, a certificate will be provided as well as a three-year badge for your website and job listings. 

Level 2: Disability Confident Employer 

Next up, we move to Level 2. At this level, Disability Confident Employers take extra steps to ensure disabled people get fair and equal opportunities at employment.

Employers can progress from Disability Confident Committed to Disability Confident Employer via self-assessment. The assessment focuses on two themes which are…

“Getting the right people for your business” 

To fill available positions in your company, you must actively recruit and attract disabled people, including a fully inclusive and accessible recruitment process. An employer could guarantee an interview to disabled applicants who meet the minimum requirements. They can also offer reasonable adjustments for job interviews. 

And…

“Retaining and developing your employees”

Managers should also support employees who are ill or absent from work by providing support, ensuring no barriers prevent disabled employees from developing and progressing, and ensuring their development and progression are not hindered.

Same as above, employers will receive a certificate and badge for use on their website related to this level and status, as well as information on how to move up to Level 3 and become a Disability Confident Leader. 

Level 3: Disability Confident Leader 

Finally, Level 3 is the highest level of this scheme for employers. Disability Confident Leaders are champions for local businesses and communities. As part of their supply chain or network, these businesses play an important role in promoting and supporting disability confidence in other businesses around them. This requires a higher level of commitment and dedication to the cause and so, naturally, is the highest status an employer can achieve in this arena.

To become a Disability Confident Leader, a company needs to:

• Have their previous self-assessment validated by an external source and be audited
• Tell a short story about what the business has done or will do to support its Disability Confident Leadership status
• Confirm they are actively recruiting and employing disabled people

If you see a company with Level 3 status, you know that they are committed to being disability-friendly. 

Why Does This Scheme Matter?

As we have touched upon in our previous section, disabled people have a challenging time in the world of work. They are often the victims of bias, exclusion and discrimination both in recruitment and employment. This leads to not only individual problems including stress and financial problems, but it leads to more systemic problems such as the disability employment gap and general economic problems. Not valuing disabled workers is a huge societal failure and it causes problems for everyone involved. 

Some employers may think that they aren’t part of this problem and they do value disabled workers. But there needs to be a tangible and visible aspect of this that is uniform across the board. We need to know how employers value disabled workers and what they do to combat known problems in employment. Without this evidence and consistency, it could be all talk and no action.

It is also critical that disabled job candidates are privy to this information. It is all well and good for an employer to know they are disability-friendly, but if the general public can’t access that information, how will disabled people know what jobs are best for them to apply for? When this information is readily available, disabled people can avoid uncomfortable and unsafe scenarios and instead head straight for the employers that will treat them appropriately. This cuts down on problems for everyone on each side.

How We Use Disability-Confident Labels

At Careers with Disabilities, we use Disability Confident Scheme levels as a critical part of our disability-friendly job board and directory of profiles. When you search through the profiles of the employers posting jobs on our board, you can see their status within this Disability Confident Scheme. 

For example, if you check out the page for the East Cheshire NHS Trust you can see that they are at Level 3, a Disability Confident Leader. This means that if you see a job posted by this employer, you already know their attitude towards disability and disabled candidates before you apply. 

We know how hard it is for disabled applicants to find accessible job interviews, recruitment practices and eventual employment environments. This can be disheartening over time and can lead to mental health consequences. So, we also know how important it is for disabled job seekers to know in advance whether the job they are applying for is likely to give them what they need. Otherwise, what is the point of applying?

With our resources, it is easier than ever to find a disability-friendly job with a Disability Confident employer you really want to work for. You can also use our support and guidance to learn more about topics such as applying for jobs and finding financial help in your area. 

For everything you need for an accessible, inclusive career, we have it right here at Careers with Disabilities. 

And if you have any questions, always give us a shout.