1 Disability
ACAS (no date) explains:
The Equality Act 2010 sets out when someone is considered to be disabled.
The law says someone is disabled if both of these apply:
- they have a ‘physical or mental impairment’
- the impairment ‘has a substantial and long-term adverse effect on their ability to carry out normal day-to-day activities’
A small number of conditions and impairments are automatically classed as a disability.
A significant number of people with disabilities are keen to work but remain unemployed. Following statistical analysis of data from over 100 countries, the UN’s 2024 Disability and Development report (UN, 2024) notes that only 27% of persons with disabilities are employed, compared to 56% of persons without disabilities.
Aichner (2021) explains that the problem is often the negative view of employers who assume that people with disabilities are not able to perform as efficiently, or are a burden rather than a source of added value. On the contrary, Aichner’s research summarises the characteristics and associated benefits as follows:
| Characteristics of people with disabilities | Advantages of hiring people with disabilities |
|---|---|
| Higher motivation to work | Lower absenteeism rates |
| Very loyal towards their employer | Lower employee turnover |
| Friendlier dealings with customers | Higher ROI in training and development |
| Score higher in job satisfaction | Overall more positive work environment |
| Perform more consistently | Increased productivity |
| Better able to identify creative solutions | Higher levels of innovation |
| Higher willingness to experiment | Increased business performance, market share and shareholder value |
| Superior problem-solving skills |
As you learn about each diversity characteristic in more detail – you’ll see two main sections – ‘exploring discrimination’ is intended to introduce some of the common issues and ‘enhancing your awareness’ aims to introduce ideas that you may be less familiar with.