(This blog has been adapted from the one written for Sport England on behalf of Sport For Confidence by our founder who also works for Sport for Confidence - the Sport England blog can be accessed here: https://www.sportengland.org/blogs/enabling-disabled-people-thrive-work)
Partnership between Sport for Confidence (SfC) & Activity Alliance (AA) creates roles for people with lived experience
We know that disabled people face significant challenges in participating, volunteering, and working in sports and physical activity for many reasons including financial, physical, psychological and structural barriers.
“In 2023 the employment rate of disabled people was 53%, compared to 82% of non-disabled people, representing a difference of over 2 million people”(Department for Work and Pensions).
Disabled people are almost twice as likely to be unemployed. Disabled jobseekers often face barriers at every stage of employment. However many businesses have not thought about how inclusive their workplaces are.
Some employers can have biases or negative attitudes about hiring disabled people. Many believe it’s too difficult, risky, or expensive.
These attitudes impact disabled jobseekers’ ability to apply and get into work every day. They can create inaccessible workplaces and this needs to change. For example:
“A failure to make reasonable adjustments meant my health constantly worsened and I would burn out, end up bed-bound or in hospital, recover and return only for it to happen again. The pressure to turn up every day despite the pain, fatigue, mental strain and sense of failure I would feel was intense and overwhelming. This negative cycle eventually reduced my capacity to stay in long-term stable employment despite all the years of training and dedication to my profession. My career was taken away”.
Often the lack of flexibility in certain professions can lead to difficulties in accessing the correct treatment and support networks, only amplified by the COVID-19 Pandemic and cost of living crisis.
“I was expected to use my planning and preparation time to attend hospital appointments and had to cancel many others because they didn’t ‘fit’ within the timetable. I missed treatments and my mental health spiralled leading to a 5-week hospital stay and recovery that meant I was unable to leave the house alone for 7 years let alone think about employment”.
Workplaces need to adapt to ensure equal opportunities and change attitudes. This includes making advertisements, application forms, interview venues, and interview questions accessible and appropriate for people with disabilities.
The Recover and Reinvent recruitment process managed jointly by SfC & AA aimed to do just that.
Successful applicants reported:
“I felt much safer than I have in previous job applications and interviews to be open and honest about my lived experience, knowing that these experiences would be considered an asset for this role, rather than a hindrance.”
Potential employers may offer reasonable adjustments for application and interview processes but are these being made explicit and understood by the 10 million working age disabled people in the UK?
They can be simple but effective:
“It was really helpful to be able to bring my personal assistant to the interview without feeling self-conscious about it, for her to have a place to wait and be welcomed by the interview panel and provided with drinks. This allowed me to focus on my interview with reduced anxiety levels”.
There are challenges to integrating disabled people into the workplace however this is not an excuse for employers. Lack of accessibility, reasonable adjustments, negative attitudes, biases in recruitment, lack of knowledge and difficulty accessing employment services are all barriers that can be overcome.
“The workplace is one of the best scenarios where these differences can engage, support, challenge, and inspire curiosity. Championing diversity in an organisation leads to better outcomes and greater success for individuals and teams” Chally - Inclusion Quote)
SfC & AA are working with many national disability sports partners, the voluntary and community sectors, leisure and health to maximise our collective knowledge, insight and impact to reduce inequalities for disabled people.
We aim to challenge and ask difficult questions of organisations, partners, employers and individuals to bring about lasting change in a society where negative attitudes toward disability disempower individuals with disabilities and lead to their social exclusion and isolation.
Empowered by their own lived experiences Occupational Therapists and Peer Support Workers will be crucial to the success of the Recover and Reinvent project, creating a network of people with lived experience to help enhance opportunities for disabled people to access physical activity, sports, volunteering and employment.
If you share our passion and values, then please get in touch. We want to hear from you - the good and the bad -we want to learn together - grow together - create more opportunities together and foster a sense of belonging among disabled people.
Please email: suzanne@sportforconfidence.com for further information.
Further Reading/Data & Statistics
UK Disability History Month 2024
Support For Employers
Support for Disabled People looking for employment
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