How have we engaged?

As a Disability Confident Committed Employer, we have committed to:

• ensure our recruitment process is inclusive and accessible,
• communicating and promoting vacancies
• offering an interview to disabled people who meet the minimum criteria for the job
• anticipating and providing reasonable adjustments as required
• supporting any existing employee who acquires a disability or long term health condition, enabling them to stay in work
• at least one activity that will make a difference for disabled people.

“We are delighted to be a disability confident employer. We remove unnecessary barriers for our employees’ and candidates seeking opportunities within our company from our Recruitment through to training and development, promotion and succession planning,” said Sheetal Banggar – HR Manager for UK, Ireland and Central Europe

Being Disability Confident could help us discover who our business just can’t do without. Whether an employee has become disabled during their working life, or we’re looking for new recruits, being Disability Confident can help our people fulfil their potential and contribute fully to our team’s success.

By being Disability Confident, we will be leading the way in our business sector and beyond, helping to positively change attitudes, behaviours, and cultures.

What is the Disability Confident Scheme?

The Disability Confident scheme provides a framework and advice for employers to attract, recruit and retain most of the talents disabled people can bring to the workplace.

Disability Confident employers of all sizes are:

• challenging attitudes towards disability
• increasing understanding of disability
• removing barriers to disabled people and those with long-term health conditions
• ensuring that disabled people have the opportunities to fulfil their potential and realise their aspirations.

The scheme has 3 levels designed to support us at every step on our disability confident journey. We must complete each level before moving on to the next:

Level 1: Disability Confident Committed – As employers, we must: (a) ensure recruitment process is inclusive and accessible; (b) communicate and promote vacancies; (c) offer interviews to disabled applicants; (d) anticipate and provide reasonable adjustments as required; and (e) support any existing employee who acquires a disability or long-term health condition, enabling them to stay in work.

Level 2: Disability Confident Employer – Once registered at Level 1, we can advance to Level 2 by self-assessing our organisation around 2 themes: (a) getting the right people for the business and (b) keeping and developing our people. Disability Confident Employers are recognised as going the extra mile to make sure disabled people get a fair chance. Having confirmed we’ve completed our online self-assessment, we will be registered as a Disability Confident Employer for 3 years.

Level 3: Disability Confident Leader – By becoming a Disability Confident Leader, we will be acting as a champion within our local and business communities. To reach this level, we must: (a) have our self-assessment validated by someone outside of our business (not including DWP employees in jobcentres); (b) provide a short narrative to show what we have done or will be doing to support our status as a Disability Confident Leader; (c) confirm we are employing disabled people; and (d) report on disability, mental health, and wellbeing, by referring to the Voluntary Reporting Framework.

An exciting path to go

To be recognised as Disability Confident Committed, we must agree to the Disability Confident commitments and identify at least one action that we will carry out to make a difference for disabled people.

“At Linxon we want to get the best out of everyone who works with and for us. To do this, we need to be an inclusive employer creating an environment where everyone can thrive.  Part of that is being a disability confident employer and removing barriers, building trusting relationships and processes to ensure anyone can enjoy working for Linxon,” explained Robert Nuttall, General Manager – Linxon UK

Being a Disability Confident business will help us to:

• draw from the widest possible pool of talent
• secure and retain high-quality staff who are skilled, loyal and hard-working
• save time and money on the costs of recruitment and training by reducing staff turnover
• keep valuable skills and experience
• improve employee morale and commitment by demonstrating that they treat all employees fairly.

We aim to continue working on this type of long-term action to build on the work done so far.

You can read more information on how to sign up to the Disability Confident employer scheme here.