Grant Shapps MP has called on businesses to consider employing more disabled people saying that employers who do “often tell [him] that they get a better level of work and greater loyalty.”
Speaking exclusively to HR Grapevine, at a Disability Confident meeting, the DWP scheme dedicated to getting employers to take steps to attract, recruit and retain disabled workers, the ex-Minister for International Development explained that, at a time when some employers cite problems with talent attraction, employers shouldn’t be discriminating against certain sections of the workforce.
He said: “The first thing, you wouldn’t lock out half the potential workforce, such as women, in days gone by, and then expect to be a successful business or a successful economy because that’s just arbitrarily taking people out of economy.
“On a smaller scale, why would you take people who happen to have a disability and remove them from the workforce and then expect to get the very best person for the job?”
“If you do that, you could be harming your business, as that person’s disability means you might be overlooking them even though their skills to do the job might be better than any able fit bodied or somebody with mental health issues.”
In addition, he told employers gathered at the event that during previous governmental roles he learnt that restricting your outlook in the search for talent could be damaging.
“In my role as overseas development minister,” Shapps said, “I visited countries who still don’t involve females in their workplace. Taking your working population and missing out a large chunk of them, saying they can’t do the jobs, makes no economic sense.”
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Shapps, who also used to hold the position of Chairman of the Conservative Party, also told HR Grapevine that employers who do employ disabled people often feel the benefits.
He added: “Businesses that I have been visiting, who do employ people with different disabilities, tell me they get the same level of work, often better and often with a greater sense of loyalty to the business.
“[The disabled employee] often appreciate adjustments being made if it’s a physical issue or flexibility if its working hours. Those things mean that people appreciate the jobs and the employers say that they’ve found people who are more committed to the business and that’s great for their business.”
Shapps has added his personal support to the Disability Confident campaign adding that many businesses he speakers to say that acquiring the right talent is one of the biggest challenges they face.
“If an employer is finding it difficult to employer people, then [looking at disabled talent] may help provide a significant chunk of the solution they’re looking for,” he explained.
The Hertfordshire-based MP’s words will tally with the experience, and frustrations, of many in HR, recruitment and talent acquisition.
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According to a recent survey from EY, boardrooms aren’t doing enough to put the issue front and centre of their talent discussions.
Yet, the Government wants to get one million more disabled people into work by 2027 with Sarah Newton, Minister for Disabled People, Health and Work adding “it’s crucial that we support disabled people who want to work to stay in or return to employment.”
Currently, the unemployment rate for people with disabilities in the UK (9.1%) is almost three times as high as the rate for people without a disability (3.6%).
What HR might not know is that over eight in 10 people acquire their disability whilst they are in employment. Yet, nearly three quarters of employers who made adjustments for their disabled employees, or disabled recruits, said it was easy to do so.
Additionally, figures from Disability Confident say that the average adjustment for a disabled employee costs just £70.
There are seven million disabled people in the UK.
Image Credit – Sportsfile (Web Summit)
