Enough of politics, let’s honour terror victims
LAST Friday’s events are still hard to take in. Quite apart from the dramatic scenes in and outside Fishmongers’ Hall at London Bridge, where Usman Khan was felled by brave workers and members of the public, they raise important questions about justice and rehabilitation.
As we are in the midst of a bitter election battle, it’s unsurprising – if unedifying – that party politics would enter the fray.
For the moment, though, enough. Let us instead extol the fine young people whose lives were extinguished: Jack Merritt, 25, and Saskia Jones, 23.
Both were driven by fine principles, with Jack’s father saying his son “always took the side of the underdog”, while Saskia “was generous to the point of always wanting to see the best in all people”.
And amid all the pain, expressed so powerfully by Jack’s girlfriend, Leanne O’Brien, at a tearful Cambridge vigil, we should also recognise the best of humanity: grit, optimism, healing and love.
One can hardly do better than Toby Williamson, chief executive of Fishmongers’ Hall, who said of all those who faced down the attacker, that they were “extraordinary things done by ordinary people”.
From those appreciative words we should take heart.
IN THE UK, there are a million people who are ready to work but are not given the opportunity. They want to contribute to society like everyone else, but are facing barriers blocking them from the workplace.
In my experience, they are talented and determined, often with a creative mindset and a different way of thinking. Yet they are overlooked as they are seen as a “difficult” or “awkward” option.
And the reason why these valuable people are being sidelined and shut out of our offices, factories and shop floors? Because they are disabled.
It’s time to act.This is a workforce – the population size of Birmingham – that is too often ignored by employers, who are missing out on the opportunity to make their businesses truly representative of the communities and customers they serve.
Sadly the facts and figures speak for themselves. In a survey of HR decision makers, more than half believe it is easier to recruit a non-disabled person over a disabled person.
SHOCKINGLY more than a quarter say they have never interviewed a disabled candidate for a job, despite there being 7.6 million disabled people of working age in the UK – one in five working adults.
It is therefore unsurprising that the UK’s disability employment gap has not changed for more than a decade, with disabled people’s employment lagging about 30 percentage points behind their nondisabled peers.
This combination of outdated attitudes and a failure to encourage job applicants has meant disabled people continue to be left behind in society.
As a business leader, I’m frankly confused that they continue to be treated this way.We celebrate our athletes when they compete at the Paralympic Games, yet fail to welcome disabled people to the workplace.
We need to harness this national pride and channel it into addressing an issue that affects so many disabled people every day: the opportunity to get a job, earn a salary and realise their potential.
I believe that if companies come together and take simple steps, we can change lives. And today is the day to start.
Today is the UN’s International Day of Persons with Disabilities and also #PurpleLightUp day, when companies turn their buildings and logos purple to highlight the economic and social value of employing disabled people.
Virgin Media is proud to change colour, with our website, logo and box TV menu switching from red to purple.
But of course, there is more to recognising the value and worth of disabled people than showing your support for just a day. That is why I’m calling on my fellow business leaders to take action. I know some are uncomfortable talking about it, but with the right intent I believe we can get past the awkwardness and start to have open conversations about what disabled employees and customers need.
That is what we have done at Virgin Media, and after action we have taken over the past two years we are beginning to see positive results.
This includes better training for our 8,000 frontline staff and managers so they can offer the right support for our customers.
We now want to help other companies get started and that is why we have launched the #WorkWithMe pledge in partnership with the disability equality charity, Scope.
It’s a free plan to help businesses – large and small – receive practical advice on how to improve workplace policies, practices and culture for disabled people. To date more than 60 businesses have joined, including Centrica, JCB and Philips. This action plan is a set of five simple steps such as having a senior leader accountable for disability (I have this responsibility at Virgin Media), talking to your disabled employees about what they need, creating disability-aware managers, and tracking performance to check your progress.
THIS also makes business sense. If you don’t have disabled people as part of your workforce, you can’t represent your customers or know that you’re offering them the right services. I know from first-hand experience that disabled people bring a sense of resilience and determination as well as a different and innovative way of thinking.Why would you exclude these talented people from your workforce?
It’s unacceptable that a million disabled people might have to experience another decade of inertia. This is the moment for businesses to pull together, be bold and take the action that can transform the lives of disabled people. In turn, it will enrich our society.
‘We celebrate Paralympians but don’t employ disabled people’