Are Employers Missing Out?
Debra Burnett • June 8, 2021
Firms 'lose trillions' by ignoring disabled consumers - is your business missing out?
At Ways into Work we are so pleased to see that some of the world's biggest firms have signed up to the campaign 'The Valuable 500' which aims to tackle prejudice towards disabled people in the business world. All of them have made a public commitment to advancing disability inclusion within their organisations, either among staff, customers or their supply chains.
Here in the UK the 'Purple Pound' refers to the spending power of disabled households. More than 1 in 5 potential UK consumers have a disability and it's estimated that businesses lose over £20 billion a month by ignoring the needs of disabled people. That's over £250 billion a year! Mainly due to poor accessibility in store or on websites and lack of informed customer service.
Still not convinced? Here are some facts:
- There are really clear benefits to employers for recruiting people with a disability which ultimately positively impacts their bottom line and improves business performance.
- If people see themselves reflected in a company (and their workforce) they are more likely to shop there.
- There is an untapped workforce available; talented people with a disability who are really motivated to work.
- There are Supported Employment organisations, like us, who can help businesses access that untapped workforce.
Here's some reading about The Valuable 500
and facts regarding the Purple Pound. If you are an employer that wants support to embrace diversity read more here
and get in touch with us - we can help.
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Our Journey in Changing Lives One Job at a Time continues in our café, Barista & Beyond
An incredible good news story from one of our clients, who explains how the support from us has changed her life and helped her get her dream job!
When Rajpal first became a client at Ways into Work he had been struggling with looking for work and a good job match. Rajpal has a mild learning disability and mental health issues and had not worked for over ten years except to help now and then at his family’s supermarket. He had not worked for such a long time as he was not well enough to think about his career and life choices. When he joined Ways into Work as a Job Seeker and was assigned an Employment Coach who spent a long time getting to know him, doing a vocational profile and job matching. It was decided that the best first step was for Rajpal was to experience what different jobs and roles are like and what they would entail. Ways into Work then supported him in applying for various roles in retail and did mock interviews where he gained lots of practice. He secured a few interviews but was not offered any of the jobs. Rajpal had begun taking an interest in going to the gym and informed his Employment Coach that he would like a job at the gym. After approaching the employer, his Employment Coach secured an interview for him. He was so happy that at the interview when asked why he would like to work at the gym, he pulled out of his pocket a handwritten lengthy list of reasons why he liked the job and the skills he had to offer. This showed the employer his passion for the job and Rajpal was offered the job, working 3 days (24 hours) a week to begin with. As the leisure centre was 7 miles away, his Employment Coach supported him with applying for Access To Work transport to and from work. They also taught him and his parents how to claim his monthly ATW transport and supported him with the change of circumstances in his benefits. When Rajpal first started to work at the Leisure Centre he solely worked in the gym and his role included ensuring that all the equipment was working and clean, as well as dealing with lots of customer enquiries. This was quite a challenge for Rajpal to begin with, as it was a large premise and no two days were the same. With Job Coaching , Ways into Work was able to support Rajpal by helping to create a routine for him and also discussing with his supervisor a way of building new tasks into his days as the weeks progressed.
