We like to think that discrimination is falling, however a recent study has shown that job seekers with disabilities are actually suffering worse discrimination than a decade ago.The report commissioned by Capability Scotland found that disabled people who were able and willling to work fared much worse in the job market than the able bodied.
This charity which is heavily involved with the disabled is calling for modifications about how employers are operating their recruitment procedures. They have issues some guidelines and best practices to help employers with this situation.
The report was fairly comprehensive and looked at 100 different job application forms primarily in Scotland.One of the most obvious findings was that many employers were not complying with equality legislation in one important aspect. This was that the applicants were being asked to disclose too many details about their disability earlier in the process.
The report looked at the questions with regards health, disability and absence through sickness – all information that would be visible to short listing panels. This report is interesting because many will think employment practices have improved alongside legislation.
The problems seems to be that employers will frequently ignore the laws on employment and equality, this report seems to support this view.
According to Capability Scotland, over the period of the report from 1988. There is over a 5% difference in employment levels between the disabled and able-bodied individuals. The gap had previously been improving and in 2004 it had fallen to under 2.5% but it’s been rising steadily ever since.
It is important that we change these attitudes to both disabilities and also the legislation designed to protect disabled people.When employers start to realise that disabled people are capable and in many cases more capable than able bodied people – this difference will start to fall again. For the latest in news, information on disability, legislation the it’s worth checking out the resources on the BBC website. There are links there to all the relevent authorities and agencies too, if you have trouble watching any of the content from iPlayer because of location – this resource is worth checking – How to Watch UK TV Online.
Obviously the economic downturn is partly to blame for these figures, although it does seem to be unfairly affecting disabled candidates more than able bodied job seekers.