How small businesses can become more inclusive
Now in its fifth year, Small Business Saturday celebrates the success of small businesses and encourages consumers to ‘shop local’. As we mark this year’s Small Business Saturday on 2 December, I’d like to encourage more small businesses to look at how they could have a more inclusive workforce and to sign up to the Disability Confident scheme.
Disability Confident provides the tools to help your business attract, recruit and retain disabled talent. It will not only help you build a workforce that is more representative of your community and consumer base, it will enable you to tap into a much broader pool of potential employees to find the skilled, loyal and productive people you need.
Nearly half of the 5,200 businesses already signed up to Disability Confident are small businesses. You could join them and realise the benefits.
Make simple changes to access a wider talent pool
The competition for good people is high and small businesses can struggle to find people with the right skills. There are around 7 million people of working age in the UK who have a disability or long-term health condition – a huge talent pool that shouldn’t be ignored. There are simple things small firms can do to attract this talent pool, such as showing commitment to inclusion and diversity when advertising vacancies. Using a variety of channels will also help you reach a broader group of applicants – local disability charities and Jobcentres can help you with this.
Retain disabled employees to help you reduce your costs and keep good people
The majority of people acquire their disability at work, so being an inclusive employer and providing the right support can help you keep vital skills and experience, and can also save you money on recruitment and training.
Make adjustments for disabled employees
Some small businesses may worry that employing disabled people will result in additional costs. However, the adjustments disabled people need often cost little or nothing – they may be as simple as offering a flexible working pattern so a person doesn’t travel during rush hour. Even if the adjustments are likely to result in additional costs, employees may be able to access financial support for these through the Government’s Access to Work scheme.
Signing up to Disability Confident can help you to do these things quickly and more easily.
We want all kinds of small businesses to get involved, so whether you are a family business, local shop, online business, wholesaler or small manufacturer, we can support you every step of the way.
The scheme is free and it is easy to sign up online. To find out more, click here
Sarah Newton, Minister for Disabled People, Health and Work