[South Africa] Promoting workplace disability inclusion

[South Africa] Promoting workplace disability inclusion
15 Jun 2021

The South African Depression and Anxiety Group (Sadag) revealed that 39 per cent of people diagnosed with a mental disability do not disclose their condition to their employer because many fear being discriminated against. Normalising disabilities at work demands a change of culture, Boksburg Advertiser shares five positive steps to take towards a more inclusive workplace.

According to Rajan Naidoo - MD of EduPower Skills Academy - the topic of disability continues to be linked with stigma and shame, particularly in the workplace. He believes companies have to work towards changing this mindset, beginning by creating a culture that embraces diversity and promotes disability inclusion.

“Disability inclusion is about far more than hiring people with disabilities. An inclusive workplace values all employees for their strengths and abilities. It offers employees with disabilities an equal opportunity to succeed, to learn, to be compensated fairly and to advance. True inclusion is about embracing difference,” Rajan explained.

EduPower is a leader and enabler of skills development for people with disabilities (PWDs). More than 80 per cent of its learners are PWDs.

Based on practical experiences, Rajan shared five actions that companies can take to create a truly inclusive workforce:

Commitment from the top

For it to become a company norm, disability inclusion requires top-level backing. Prove your commitment to disability inclusion by making it a company policy. This can be a specific policy or the inclusion of disability as part of more general policies on anti-discrimination, diversity or human rights.

Skills development

By recruiting PWDs, employers will not only gain real skills but they will also be able to support national policy and legislation such as Employment Equity and B-BBEE targets. In the skills development space, employers may use learnerships to train PWDs in the skills required by the business, preparing them for the world of work while also using the 12-month learnership as a screening process. 

Employers will be able to claim back the majority of their costs through the higher tax rebates for PWD learnerships and - as long as they are paying their skills development levy - be able to claim the mandatory grant too. In many cases, the rebates available mean employers can upskill future PWDs at zero cost.

Think flexibly about individual needs

Companies will need to prepare the work environment by making reasonable adjustments to accommodate PWD’s needs. These could include modifying floor plans and equipment or the demands of the job itself. You may also need to adjust working hours, work organisation and the work environment.

Remove recruitment barriers

Analyse every step of the recruitment process to make sure there are no barriers for PWDs. Adverts for jobs and learnerships should make it clear employers will provide reasonable accommodations for interviews and the job itself if needed. When it comes to the interview process, remember that PWD candidates bring creativity, innovation, problem-solving and commitment to the workplace so give them the opportunity to demonstrate these strengths.

Make other employees champions of change

The most effective way for employers to promote inclusivity within a company is to empower and encourage their people to champion the change. The more awareness and teamwork there is in supporting policy, the better the morale, wellbeing and productivity of all employees will be. 

People might be apprehensive about someone in a wheelchair or a person who is partially sighted in the office simply because they have not encountered these limitations before. However, once employees start working together and understanding one another such barriers to understanding will not be an issue. Employees will accept each other as people who have a job to do and see that it is all about ability, not disability.

Including PWDs and accommodating their disability-related needs are important considerations for companies in terms of talent resourcing and compliance with legislation. Inclusion is everyone’s responsibility and with your team’s commitment to eliminating the misconceptions and biases that hold PWDs back, everything is possible.



Source: Boksburg Advertiser

The South African Depression and Anxiety Group (Sadag) revealed that 39 per cent of people diagnosed with a mental disability do not disclose their condition to their employer because many fear being discriminated against. Normalising disabilities at work demands a change of culture, Boksburg Advertiser shares five positive steps to take towards a more inclusive workplace.

According to Rajan Naidoo - MD of EduPower Skills Academy - the topic of disability continues to be linked with stigma and shame, particularly in the workplace. He believes companies have to work towards changing this mindset, beginning by creating a culture that embraces diversity and promotes disability inclusion.

“Disability inclusion is about far more than hiring people with disabilities. An inclusive workplace values all employees for their strengths and abilities. It offers employees with disabilities an equal opportunity to succeed, to learn, to be compensated fairly and to advance. True inclusion is about embracing difference,” Rajan explained.

EduPower is a leader and enabler of skills development for people with disabilities (PWDs). More than 80 per cent of its learners are PWDs.

Based on practical experiences, Rajan shared five actions that companies can take to create a truly inclusive workforce:

Commitment from the top

For it to become a company norm, disability inclusion requires top-level backing. Prove your commitment to disability inclusion by making it a company policy. This can be a specific policy or the inclusion of disability as part of more general policies on anti-discrimination, diversity or human rights.

Skills development

By recruiting PWDs, employers will not only gain real skills but they will also be able to support national policy and legislation such as Employment Equity and B-BBEE targets. In the skills development space, employers may use learnerships to train PWDs in the skills required by the business, preparing them for the world of work while also using the 12-month learnership as a screening process. 

Employers will be able to claim back the majority of their costs through the higher tax rebates for PWD learnerships and - as long as they are paying their skills development levy - be able to claim the mandatory grant too. In many cases, the rebates available mean employers can upskill future PWDs at zero cost.

Think flexibly about individual needs

Companies will need to prepare the work environment by making reasonable adjustments to accommodate PWD’s needs. These could include modifying floor plans and equipment or the demands of the job itself. You may also need to adjust working hours, work organisation and the work environment.

Remove recruitment barriers

Analyse every step of the recruitment process to make sure there are no barriers for PWDs. Adverts for jobs and learnerships should make it clear employers will provide reasonable accommodations for interviews and the job itself if needed. When it comes to the interview process, remember that PWD candidates bring creativity, innovation, problem-solving and commitment to the workplace so give them the opportunity to demonstrate these strengths.

Make other employees champions of change

The most effective way for employers to promote inclusivity within a company is to empower and encourage their people to champion the change. The more awareness and teamwork there is in supporting policy, the better the morale, wellbeing and productivity of all employees will be. 

People might be apprehensive about someone in a wheelchair or a person who is partially sighted in the office simply because they have not encountered these limitations before. However, once employees start working together and understanding one another such barriers to understanding will not be an issue. Employees will accept each other as people who have a job to do and see that it is all about ability, not disability.

Including PWDs and accommodating their disability-related needs are important considerations for companies in terms of talent resourcing and compliance with legislation. Inclusion is everyone’s responsibility and with your team’s commitment to eliminating the misconceptions and biases that hold PWDs back, everything is possible.



Source: Boksburg Advertiser

Leave a Reply

All blog comments are checked prior to publishing