News

Reports from top UK and global companies suggest that just one fifth consider disabled people to be valued employees, customers and members of the community according to research from the Employers' Forum on Disability, writes Katie Leason.

The Employers' Forum on Disability Global Inclusion Benchmark is an annual exercise to audit companies' policies towards people with disabilities. Fifty corporate responsibility reports from UK and global companies were analysed.

Only a tenth of 50 companies surveyed included any mention of disability as part of their corporate responsibility strategy.

And just 12 per cent make a public commitment to employees who become disabled.

"For far too many companies disability is simply not on their radar screen. This puts them at serious legal, financial, reputational and competitive risk," said Susan Scott-Parker, chief executive of the Employers' Forum on Disability.

BT, The Co-operative Bank, and B&Q came out as the top three companies for addressing disability issues.

Report from http://www.employers-forum.co.uk/www/pdf/globalreport.pdf