Published at 11:36, Wednesday, 21 May 2008

EMPLOYERS are being urged to challenge their assumptions about disabled people in the workplace as a new advertising campaign is launched in Cumbria today.

The campaign promotes the message that employers need to make sure they judge disabled employees on their ability to do the work, rather than assumptions about what they can’t do.

Minister for Disabled People Anne McGuire said: “Almost 50 per cent of disabled people of working age in Britain are not in work. It is in the interests of everyone; individuals, businesses and society as a whole, that the number of disabled people in the workplace increases.”

“For individuals, being in work is important for their health, well-being and standard of living.

“For businesses, it’s vital that they find the right person for the job. For the economy, the more people in work the better.

“I want to encourage employers in Cumbria to make sure they recruit the right person for the job – you could lose out on the ideal candidate because you make false assumptions based on their disability.

“I hope they will find this campaign helps them challenge some of their views to help their business thrive.”

The campaign will include advertising in newspapers and business press, and on poster sites, in Cumbria, Lancashire, Cheshire and Warrington. By explaining individuals’ experiences, the campaign aims to change perceptions and give out the message that disabled people are just as likely to be the right person for the job as anyone else.

Ms McGuire added: “The vast majority of employers are probably not consciously discriminating against disabled people or people with a health condition, but perhaps unintentionally their recruitment processes prevent disabled people applying. “The campaign aims to encourage them to think about making it easier for disabled people to work for them. “All employers have a legal responsibility under the Disability Discrimination Act to make reasonable adjustments for disabled applicants and employees. “This may sound onerous but in many cases it costs nothing or very little. For example, the most common adjustment is to allow flexible working. “The campaign messages, although aimed at employers, are relevant to everyone. Most people will either know someone affected by disability or serious illness, or will be affected themselves, at some point in their lives.”

Published by http://www.newsandstar.co.uk