Disability in the Charity Sector - Survey Findings

At Prospectus we are clear on our responsibility and the leading role we have as recruiters and advisors in building diverse and inclusive organisations, and challenge and champion diversity and inclusion at all levels both externally and internally.

Prospectus recently completed an online survey of our community of clients and candidates to learn more about disability in the workplace and received 100 responses.

The findings of the survey will over time support our efforts to drive increased employment for disabled people and those with long-term health conditions and impairments in the wider charity sector.

Whilst the specific employment data for disabled people in the charity sector are unclear, government data shows that across the UK economy 52.3% of disabled people were in employment last year compared to 82.2% for those who are not disabled, an employment gap of nearly 30%.

Of our respondents, 38% told us they are disabled. Interestingly, 30% of the respondents who are disabled also told us that they have not declared this to their employer. Nearly a quarter of all respondents said they were not aware of any disabled people in their organisations, whilst half said they are.

Of those who told us they are disabled, just over 50% confirmed they were supported with reasonable adjustments, and 33% confirmed they were supported in the recruitment process leading to their employment. However, more than 75% of all respondents believe their organisations do provide this support.

Only 45% responded positively to our question about whether disabled people receive reasonable adjustments, with more than half not being aware of what support their organisation might provide, and 55% of our respondents are not aware of the Disability Confident scheme.

When asked how employing disabled people benefited organisations, the most common responses said that it ensured wider and more diverse perspectives, enabling them to build more inclusive workforces and serve their communities better, for example:

“It is beneficial for us because we generally want to create a diverse workforce and give everyone an opportunity; even more so because it helps our service users identify with the organisation more”.

On a positive note, 60% of respondents to the survey, said that their employer was actively supporting them to work confidently with disabled colleagues, and it seems organisations are becoming better at providing training to managers on how to be more disability inclusive.

When asked what more could be done, responses included ensuring accessible and adapted workspaces, through to having disability champions, and better utilising hybrid working solutions, and 51% felt that the pandemic has shifted this in a positive direction.

“We clearly have a lot of work to do before the charity sector is fully inclusive for disabled people and those with long term health conditions and impairments. It is particularly disappointing that so many people didn’t receive reasonable adjustments in the recruitment process, as this is both a legal requirement and something that is quite easy to achieve” says Emma Bradman, Managing Director Talent at Prospectus.

To better support our clients and candidates, Prospectus now actively promotes the Disability Confident scheme and has put in place additional measures to support disabled candidates in the recruitment process.

“When a client is Disability Confident this will now be communicated in the recruitment, and we actively encourage candidates to declare any disability. This means anyone who is disabled and meets the minimum criteria, will be offered an interview”, says Emma Bradman, who continues “but we do work really hard to ensure that every recruitment is fully inclusive, regardless of the client status on this”.

If you are an organisation that is interested in learning more about how to implement more inclusive recruitment processes, please do not hesitate to get in touch with the Prospectus team

More of our findings from the survey

• 38% declared they have a disability, impairment or health condition

How this was broken down by job seniority:

• Board?? 6%
• Delivery 6%
• Entry Level 3%
• Executive 28%
• Expert/ Specialist 22%
• Management 33%
• Other 2%

For those that declared they had a disability or health impairment, answered the following when asked did their employer make reasonable adjustments to support them in the recruitment process if required:

• 19% no
• 33% yes
• 47% Could not answer?

When no disability was declared, respondents were asked if they were aware of employees in their organisation that have a disability, impairment or health condition:

• 16% were not aware of anyone with disabilities at their company
• 10% said their organisation doesn't currently have any employees with disabilities
• 72% said they were aware of employees in their organisation that have a disability, impairment or health condition
• 2% could not answer

Do you consider your employer/ organisation to actively support disabled people or people with impairments or health conditions to thrive:

• 75% Yes
• 25% No

Does your employer/ organisation celebrate and promote the advantages of employing people with impairments or health conditions or disabled people:

• 55% No
• 45% Yes

Are you aware of the Disability Confident Scheme:

• 55% No
• 45% Yes

Thank you to everyone that completed our survey and provided us with a lot of information to consider and reflect on. We will be releasing more on our findings soon, including more detail on how we are currently actively promoting the Disability Confident Scheme and what this means for our clients and candidates.