Recruitment processes can be complex or challenging at the best of times, with employers always trying to make sure they find the right ways of attracting quality applications from the best candidates. Have you ever wondered if your processes are stopping some great people from applying simply because they have a disability?
There are a great many people in the Uk and beyond who find it difficult to get fair consideration for jobs because of certain disabilities that don’t actually impact their ability to do the jobs that are needing to be done. You could be missing out on some brilliant candidates by not doing enough to reach out to people in this situation.
UK and European Laws place a duty on organisations to ensure their recruitment practices allow for all suitable candidates to apply, regardless of any disability they may have. On that basis, there are some great tips you can follow (below) to ensure that you’re taking positive steps to encourage applications from everyone:
- First and foremost, it’s advisable to state in your job advert and company literature that you are an equal opportunities employer. This will give candidates some reassurance that you’ll take their application seriously. It is crucial to ensure that this isn’t only a case of paying lip service to the idea, though and that this is actually something that is embraced throughout your organisation. You should ideally have an equal opportunities policy document available for anyone to read that outlines the steps that are routinely taken to encourage this as a company culture.
- When writing your advert, or defining the ‘essential criteria’ for the job, make sure you’re not adding in qualifications/requirements that actually aren’t essential! We see examples where candidates are required to travel as part of a job and therefore expected to have a driving license when actually they could easily travel by train or other means rather than driving. This is important so as not to rule anyone out who could do the actual job, rather than how it appears from the criteria. Asking that candidates have a valid driving license is a significant way of putting the job beyond the reach of many people with physical disabilities. It may be seen as such if it doesn’t look from the job specification that it is necessary.
- Make sure that the initial application process is one which is relevant to the job you are recruiting for. We see examples of employers recruiting with long, complex application forms for jobs which simply don’t merit the length of time these can take to complete. Potential candidates can be put off right from the outset, especially those with even a low degree of learning disability, those with dyslexia or those with poor eyesight. We understand that, for many reasons, employers want information about their candidates which helps them carry out background checks or for safeguarding reasons. Still, this level of detail can be gathered later in the selection process.
- Offering a guaranteed interview scheme for candidates with disabilities can really work in your favour. Making it known to candidates that they’ll be interviewed if they meet the minimum criteria for a job can help encourage more applications from people who really want to work with you. They may have been put off applying otherwise, but the offer of a guaranteed interview means the job seems much more viable and offers a real possibility of success.
- Within your advert text, make it clear that candidates with disabilities can contact you should they require any assistance with the application process or need any adjustments to enable them to submit their application.
- Once you’ve been through the initial selection process and have decided who to invite for an interview, make sure that your interview invitations contain a statement along the lines of ‘If you require any reasonable adjustments or have any special requirements for your interview, please do let us know’. This then allows candidates with disabilities to confirm anything they need to be put in place for them personally and could include such things as an accessible interview room (taking into account wheelchair users) or a hearing loop.
- Offer video interviews. Nowadays, with more jobs than ever being done successfully from home, there is no good reason to force candidates to come to an in-person interview. Many disabled people will be able to perform better if they can do the interview from the comfort of their own home, without having to navigate the outside world and often poor public transport with their wheelchair etc.
Much of the time, disabled people get to interviews stressed out and harassed by the world that is poorly set up to accommodate them, and this can have a tangible impact on how well they do in an interview situation. It is essential to consider this as a factor and understand that they come into the interview at an immediate disadvantage because of this.
Make it clear during the application process that the interviews will be done remotely, which may encourage more disabled people to apply. This may also be worth mentioning if the job itself can be done remotely.
It may not be your first preference to have it done remotely, but if it can be done remotely by the right candidate, it may mean that it is suddenly a lot more possible for some disabled people to apply for it. During the pandemic, many disabled people applied for remote jobs and feel left out all over again now that so many are returning to being entirely office-based.
There are many more examples of things you can implement to ensure you are following best practices and taking positive action for candidates with disabilities. Personnel Today has a great article about making reasonable adjustments in the recruitment process. In addition, Disability Rights UK provides helpful information for employers and candidates with disabilities, should you wish to see further detail.
