Experts warn of rise in unconscious discrimination – and urge industry to act
The memories of the London 2012 Paralympic Games are still fresh for many – but it seems high-profile sporting success has done nothing for business attitudes towards people with a disability.
New research from the Employers’ Network for Equality and Inclusion (enei) suggests that bias against people with disabilities has risen since 2010-11. The proportion of UK employees who hold a bias against the disabled at a level where it would affect their actions now stands at 39.5 per cent, almost 8 per cent higher than four years ago.
“We did see a slight dip in bias levels in the Paralympics year, but the effect was short-lived,” says Dr Pete Jones, who carried out the research with 566 people on behalf of enei. It’s a worrying trend for both employers and disabled people – who make up around 20 per cent of the working age population – and experts suggest the UK needs a serious shift if it is to plug the disability unemployment gap.
Jane Hatton, founder and director of evenbreak, a job site for people with impairments, says disabled candidates can offer creativity, innovation, determination and persistence.
“But it’s still incredibly difficult for disabled people to get anything close to a fair hearing with employers,” says Hatton, who points to a mountain of research suggesting people with disabilities have higher performance ratings, greater retention rates and better attendance.
Jones suggests that legislation is having an adverse affect on people’s perception of disability. Rather than creating a balanced playing field for disabled employees, “the effort required to make ‘reasonable adjustments’ and systems for grievance handling may lead to managers associating disability with additional effort or anxiety, which can trigger hidden bias.”
“The Disability Discrimination Act can be additionally onerous because it’s quite difficult to know what an employment tribunal would deem ‘reasonable,’” says Naomi Cunningham, barrister at Outer Temple Chambers. She says the possible legal ramifications of accidentally discriminating against someone with an impairment are enough to put employers off recruiting.
Launched in July 2013, the government’s Disability Confident campaign aims to help companies become more willing to employ disabled staff, by offering advice and breaking down unhelpful work-related myths. However, disability employment for those of working age remains low at around 50 per cent.
There are, of course, exemplary employers out there. Under its Marks & Start Logistics programme, Marks & Spencer has taken on more than 1,000 disabled people at its distribution centre at Castle Donington in Leicestershire. And since 2003, BT has provided sustainable opportunities for more than 300 disabled people through its award-winning Able to Work outplacement scheme.
Sandra Jackson, employee engagement specialist for the UK government, has changed roles five times in the last ten years, mostly due to her disability. “My current employers are really flexible, and let me work the hours I am able to, but that hasn’t always been the case in my previous experience.” Jackson says candidates who don’t suffer from an obviously physical impairment are often accused of “playing the system.”
The impact of negative stereotypes from an organisational perspective is “severe,” adds Dan Robertson, diversity and inclusion director at enei, who says there has always been a greater bias against disabled people than any other group. “Hiring managers are less likely to hire disabled people, to want them in their teams or to want to give them difficult pieces of work.”
Cunningham suggests a two-panel interview could rule out unconscious bias at the recruitment stage: “One panel conducts the interview, and a second reads an anonymised transcript of the first interview and makes the final decision,” she says, but she admits most employers would not commit to a lengthier, more expensive process.
Companies such as evenbreak and Remploy are doing their best to match disabled jobseekers with employers, but once past the recruitment stage, career progression still remains a huge hurdle.
“Even among those organisations who employ disabled people, it seems to be in mostly entry-level positions,” says Hatton. “Supermarkets, for example, are very good at welcoming disabled people but more than likely they are found unpacking boxes, rather than in HR, marketing or leadership.”
“With the economic upturn, there are more opportunities for jobseekers, but disabled people need more support,” says Jean Cabena, people director at Remploy. However, employers are now realising that helping people into work has a motivational factor for existing workers too, she says.
“It’s about providing greater education and understanding – it’s not just about employing disabled employees, but how companies can work with them to develop and support them in the workplace and build their career.”