Benefits of employing people with disabilities
Besides boosting equity figures, companies stand to gain loyal, productive employees
THERE are many and varied benefits attached to employing staff from the disabled communities.
Firstly, there are the formal statutory benefits whereby employment equity figures are boosted and the employment equity plans are more easily met.
Secondly, both the government and the large business sector are more inclined to do business with smaller firms who have fulfilled their requirements in terms of the equity legislation. Targets are set and more easily gained once each business has the desired quota of individuals from the disability sector.
One tends to think that the employing of people with certain disablements would be non-beneficial but in fact it is very much to the contrary.
Worldwide, businesses have understood that staff from the disability sector have proved to be more productive, more loyal and certainly beneficial to the morale of the rest of the staff.
Minister of Labour Mildred Oliphant has clearly stated that one of her goals would be to match the demographics of the number of disabled people within the society and within the workforce. At this stage we have approximately 1% of the workforce coming from the disabled community but figures in the demographics probably reflect more like 6%. Furthermore, despite the legislative imperative, these figures don’t seem to be moving and have been to a large degree static over the last few years.
We can expect the business community to have more pressure brought to bear upon them and they will certainly miss out on contractual opportunities because of the lack of progress.
It is commonly known that applications for employment provide applicants with certain rights and benefits. In terms of our labour legislation, an applicant for a job has the right not to be discriminated against and also has the right to ensure that the application is openly and honestly dealt with.
We also sometimes see adverts which are discriminatory, and which clearly hint at an applicant being able-bodied.
These adverts can be challenged and the individuals applying for the jobs have a right to approach the Commission for Conciliation, Mediation and Arbitration and the Equality Court if they so wish.
Applicants also have the right to know why they have been rejected. Furthermore, applicants who are disabled should be able to access the adverts for the position.
If a position is only in print it might discriminate against those who have issues with their sight. If the advertisement is done on the radio it would discriminate against those who have hearing disabilities.
Over and above this, if an interview for a position is to be conducted in a place where there is no access by a wheelchair, then it is certainly discriminatory. There are many other issues which can give rise to claims of discrimination in the employment of the disabled.
For instance, if the advert is structured in such a way that it demands a driver’s licence for a non-driving position, then it could be said to be discriminatory.
If a future employer states that unfortunately they are unable to accommodate a person’s disability and therefore they are not going to employ them, this could be said to be a problem and could be challenged. If the accommodation of the disability would not be too arduous or expensive for the business, then it could be said that the business is behaving in such a way so as to avoid employing people with disabilities.
Even if a person develops the disability during their tenure of employment it is incumbent upon the employer to try their utmost to either accommodate the person with the disability or to restructure that person’s position to enable them to be gainfully employed within the same employment arena.
Sadly, many businesses believe that only certain disabled employees are able to do certain jobs. For instance, you often find employers wanting to place those with visual challenges on a switchboard.
This is archaic thinking and must be challenged. I often hear from employers that they are either nervous or worried about employing people with disabilities. The real challenge is to ensure that employers are properly educated and fully understand the benefits of employing people with the various disabilities. These benefits will certainly change the mindset of the employers and the feedback I have received over the past decade has been fantastic.
Every time I have recommended a staff member with a disability to a client they have always given me positive feedback.
The disabled community must also make an effort to ensure that they stand together and that they have proper advice and access to law as a community. There has been a call for the disabled community to structure a legal advice office for their members across the different disabled communities. An advice office like this would help individuals gain access to justice.