Dorset County Council has been recognised for its commitment to employing disabled people

The local authority has been recognised as a Disability Confident Employer.

The scheme supports employers to make the most of the talents that disabled people can bring to their workplace by removing barriers and ensuring people have the opportunities to fulfil their potential.

The council recently achieved the Level 2 Disability Confident Employer status by proving its commitment to actively employ, retain and support disabled people.

Cllr Peter Wharf, Cabinet member for workforce at the council, said: “There are nearly seven million working age disabled people in the UK but less than 50 per cent are currently in work. There’s a lot of unused talent and potential out there.

“As one of the largest employer in the county, we have an obligation to lead by example and this is just one of the ways we do that.

“We are committed to ensuring disabled people have the opportunity to fulfil their potential and we are proud to have been recognised as a Disability Confident Employer. Part of this commitment is to offer a guaranteed job interview for all applicants with a disability who meet the essential requirements for a job vacancy, and for applicants to be considered for their abilities.

“Disabled people can face many challenges in finding work, and we strongly encourage other local employers to follow our lead.”

As a Disability Confident Employer the council says it is committed to the following actions:

• Actively looking to attract and retain disabled people

• Providing a fully inclusive and accessible recruitment process

• Offering an interview to disabled people who meet the minimum criteria for a job

• Flexibility when assessing people so disabled job applicants have the best opportunity to demonstrate that they can do the job

• Proactively offering and making reasonable adjustments as required

• Encouraging our suppliers and partner firms to be Disability Confident

• Ensuring employees have appropriate disability equality awareness

• Promoting a culture of being disability confident

• Supporting employees to manage their disabilities or health conditions

• Ensuring managers are aware of how they can support staff who are sick or absent from work

• Valuing and listening to feedback from disabled people.

For more information about the accreditation, visit www.gov.uk/guidance/disability-confident-how-to-sign-up-to-the-employer-scheme