Link Seminar "Small and Medium Size Employers’ Experiences of Hiring and Retaining Disabled Workers"

In this Link Seminar, Dr Cara Molyneux (University of Leeds) will be presenting on: "Small and Medium Size Employers’ Experiences of Hiring and Retaining Disabled Workers".

Abstract:

Information, support and guidance for employers on issues such as developing an inclusive workplace culture, operationalising reasonable adjustments, encouraging early disability disclosure, responding to individual employee’s accessibility requirements and raising awareness of disabling working arrangements are all critical for the development of good quality jobs for disabled people. Therefore, if the UK Government is serious about its aim to help get more disabled people into paid work, it needs to understand the small and medium-sized enterprises (SME) employer experiences of hiring and retaining disabled people. This is necessary because around 15.6 million jobs, or sixty per cent of private sector employment, in the UK are now accounted for by SMEs.

These businesses are also an invaluable site for understanding the changing nature of work. I will present findings from a study that involved qualitative interviews with fifteen SMEs based in England during 2018. These employers’ range in size, industrial sectors, and prior experience of hiring disabled people. Four of the SME business owners interviewed identify as disabled, meaning the study also offers a comparative dimension between disabled and non-disabled small business owners’ attitudes, experience and motivations to recruit, retain and progress people with health conditions and impairments in their organisation. Findings suggest that the heterogeneity of SMEs attitudes, motivations and experiences interact with sectoral differences as well as familiarity and proximity to disabled people either in a private or professional capacity.

In particular, the study found that SME leaders are open to employing skilled and qualified physically disabled people with stable impairments because they are perceived to be easily managed. They are less likely to consider it viable to accommodate the needs of people with mental ill health, learning difficulties or impairments and health conditions that are less predictable in nature. Schemes such as Disability Confident and Access to Work are largely unknown to SMEs meaning that those employers who could benefit the most are missing out on essential Government guidance and support. Therefore, I proposes the further research is required in this area and that Government should undertake an urgent review of employment support programmes and business services to evaluate if they are meeting the specific needs of disabled people and SME employers.

To find out how to join the seminar, please email undefined linking.leeds@dwp.gov.uk