Adjustments for disabled staff were easy, say small firms

The research, published yesterday by the Department of Work and Pensions (DWP), assessed employers’ awareness of and responses to their new obligations under the Disability Discrimination Act (DDA).

The DWP surveyed 1,002 organisations across the UK, each with between three and 14 employees. It follows a legal change of October 2004 which extended certain duties of the 1995 Act to small organisations. The DWP had last asked these questions in 2003 – at a time when small firms were exempt.

Small employers now have the same duties towards disabled staff and job applicants as larger firms. This means not discriminating against employees or potential employees because of their disability and making reasonable adjustments to the workplace.

The research found that awareness of the Act has risen amongst small employers from 58% to 63%, with 17% of respondents being aware of the DDA by name and 74% of being generally aware of the legislation. In 2003 only 4% of respondents knew of the DDA by name, and 59% were generally aware of legislation relating to employment and disability.

The proportion of negative responses to statements about barriers to employing disabled people also decreased, indicating a softening of attitude towards the employment of disabled people, said the DWP.

Employers with disabled employees were more likely to say they had made an adjustment, with costs seeming to be less of a deterrent. In fact, employers generally were less likely to say they had not made any changes because they could not afford to. Sixty-one percent of those that had made adjustments had made them at additional cost and 82% because it was the right thing to do for the disabled person.

The survey also found that 25% of small businesses now have a written policy for disabled people. But when explored in more depth, the policy isn't always fully worked through in practice and detail.