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Disability in the work place
Monday, 04 June 2007

Last week, Kim Robinson embarked on the campaign trail to serve on his district health board. Kim stands out from the other campaigners in one significant way – he has a disability – he is deaf.

Kim is one of the many disabled people who are fighting for their rights to be judged by their abilities and not by their disabilities. Slowly employers are heeding the message and realising that hiring employees with disabilities offers tangible benefits to their businesses.

With one in five New Zealanders being classed as disabled – this is a talent pool that employers should ignore at their peril – but research suggests that many employers are still reluctant to look past a worker’s disability to embrace the unique skills they can offer.

Although businesses claim that skill shortage is one of the biggest barriers to success, a survey undertaken by the Equal Employment Opportunities (EEO) Trust in 2005 revealed that many disabled people are still experiencing barriers in the workplace and during the recruitment process.

Now, more than ever, human resources professionals should be looking at the abilities of this group of people that has been marginalised for so long.

The EEO survey found that disabled workers believed that they had developed leadership skills, strength of character, sensitivity, patience, a high level of intuition and the ability to think creatively. Indeed, the personal skills and qualities that disabled people have to acquire to manage living in a world that seldom takes their needs into consideration helps to develop a wealth of problem solving abilities. Research also suggests that disabled people have a lower or equivalent level of absenteeism, turnover and accident rate than those without a disability.

When asked how employers could be more supportive of people with a disability, over three-quarters of those surveyed said that employers should focus on the abilities and attributes of the potential employee rather than his or her disability.

Work placement schemes and the use of an EEO logo or statement in job advertisements were also seen as useful during the recruitment phase. In identifying the skills needed for the job, employers should be aware of sources of indirect discrimination such as the need to lift or for a driver’s licence if these are not strictly necessary or are a minimal part of the position.

Some employers express concern that employing a disabled person will be prohibitively expensive. Although Kim will have to pay for his own interpreting costs while campaigning, once in the job his interpreting needs will be met by the government. Financial assistance for the disabled in the workplace is becoming increasingly common and employers should not think that they have to go it alone. There are many means of support for employers who have disabled workers and the EEO Trust has a comprehensive list of where to access funding to make the workplace more accessible.

However, according to the EEO Trust only one in five disabled people in the workforce need some form of personal assistance, technical assistance or modifications to their work spaces.

Although employers won’t necessarily need to make special accommodation for disabled workers once they are in the job – employers will get the most from all workers if they provide a safe and effective working environment which encourages productivity and creativity. Flexibility around hours is the one most valuable initiative that work places could offer to enable disabled people to contribute to work. Just under half of respondents requested these flexible hours so that they could attend medical appointments during the day.

It is important to discuss any workplace requirements with new employees well before they start and ensuring that the new employee is able to participate in all aspects of the work environment – both social and work related.

This is one of the keys to having a motivated and happy work force – and to making the most of everybody’s talents and abilities.

The EEO Trust has put together a toolkit to help employers who have hired workers with a disability – and to help answer questions that an employer who is considering this move may have. Go to http://www.eeotrust.org.nz for more information.

• Beverley Main is chief executive of the Human Resource Institute of New Zealand.