The Supporting Disabled People in the Workplace Conference 2024

The Government’s recent Disability Action Plan highlighted that there are approximately 1.3 million more disabled people in employment today than in 2017. Despite this growing number, there still remains clear and significant gaps in educational level, pay, and prejudice against those with disabilities according research from Scope UK.

In response, the Government have  published the Transforming Support: Health and Disability White Paper, outlining new policies, guidance, and grants to support employers. Through collaborative approaches with colleagues, and utilising modern technology and data, HR professionals can build upon existing good work by sharing exemplary best practice and key insights into developing an inclusive workplace culture which can enable disabled employees to achieve their full potential.

• There remains a more than 25% gap between the employment rate of working age disabled people compared to non-disabled people, according to the Office of National Statistics (2022)
• While 1 in 3 disabled people agree that there is significant disability prejudice in Britain today, only 1 in 5 non-disabled people agree, as shown by research from Scope UK (2022)
• Analysis published by the TUC showcases that non-disabled workers earn on average 14.6% more than disabled workers (2023)
• The number of disabled workers reporting a mental health condition has increased by 97% in the last decade, according to a 2023 report by the Department for Work and Pensions

Join us at The Supporting Disabled People in the Workplace Conference 2024 to hear experts discuss the latest initiatives and approaches to help your organisation manage and support disabled employees.

Engage with best practice case studies addressing issues such as coproducing policies with disabled staff, adapting to the rise of hidden disabilities and implementing disability inclusive recruitment processes. You will also have the opportunity to network with other professionals from the public, private, and voluntary sectors to share common challenges and initiate support for disabled people in your workplace.

Why Attend:
✓  High-level keynotes on the latest initiatives on supporting disabled people in the workplace from policymakers and leading experts
✓  Case studies showing best practice in strategies that overcome stigma and create inclusive workplaces for disabled employees
✓  A wide range of topics including implementing reasonable adjustments, training management staff, flexible working and handling neurodivergent employees
✓  Network with senior colleagues from across the public, private and voluntary sectors
✓  Gain 8 hours of CPD points towards your yearly quota

For more information or to make a booking please call 0330 058 4285

• 09.00

  Online Registration

• 09.50

  Chair’s Opening Remarks

  Dr Maria Berghs, Associate Professor, De Montfort University (CONFIRMED)

  

   

• 10.00

  Taking Action to Tackle the Disability Employment Gap and Address Workplace Stigmas

  Dr Maria Berghs, Associate Professor, De Montfort University (CONFIRMED)

  Dr Meredith Wilkinson, Senior Lecturer in Psychology, De Montfort University (CONFIRMED)

  

   

• 10.20

  Case Study: Implementing a Whole Organisation Approach to Create a Disability-Inclusive Culture

  • Strategies for improving disability declaration rates to build a better picture of workforce needs
  • Tips on how to facilitate open communication with staff members to understand how best to allocate support funding
  • Raising the profile of EDI teams, highlighting them as points of contact and support for deaf, disabled and neurodivergent staff
  • Adapting messaging and communication around campaigns and initiatives to a maximise audience reach
  • Practical steps on gaining buy-in from senior leadership teams to produce effective disability-inclusive schemes

  Stuart Moore, Director, National Association of Disabled Staff Networks (CONFIRMED)

  

   

• 10.40

  Questions and Answers

• 11.00

  Comfort Break

• 11.20

  Keynote: Upskilling Line Managers to Effectively Support Disabled Members of Staff

  Angela Matthews, Head of Policy and Research, Business Disability Forum

• 11.40

  Case Study: Tailoring Working Environments to Employee Needs Through Implementing Reasonable Adjustments

  • Tips for tailoring reasonable adjustments through open dialogue with disabled staff members
  • Outlining challenges disabled employees can face during recruitment processes and key strategies for overcoming these
  • Streamlining onboarding: embedding a clear process for requesting reasonable adjustments
  • Tips for utilising Assistive Technology and Access to Work schemes

  Lizi Green, Digital Inclusion Consultant, AbilityNet (CONFIRMED)

  

   

• 12.00

  Questions and Answers

• 12.20

  Lunch Break

• 13.00

  Keynote: Evidence-Based Approaches for Making Hybrid Working Disability Friendly

  • Working with line managers to ensure they can adapt job roles in accordance with flexible working requests
  • Introducing workplace adjustments for all staff to help destigmatise the adjustment request process
  • Exploring the full spectrum of flexible work including job-sharing, flexitime and compressed hours and the impact of there for disabled staff
  • Tips on the best forms of consultation with disabled employees to develop remote working policies in accordance with staff preferences

  Rebecca Florisson, Principal Analyst, Work Foundation (CONFIRMED)

  

   

• 13.20

  Case Study: Adapting the Workplace to Improve the Experience of Neurodiverse Staff

  • Strategies for identifying and tackle barriers to performance faced by neurodiverse staff
  • Measures to support the wellbeing of neurodiverse staff and prevent work-related stress or
  • Providing additional coaching and training to help mitigate career development barriers for neurodiverse employees
  • Promoting neurodiverse champions to raise awareness of key challenges and provide a point of contact for staff

  John Nelson, Chair, National Police Autism Association (CONFIRMED)

  

   

• 13.40

  Case Study: A Spotlight on Intersectional Experiences: Supporting Disabled Employees from Minority Ethnic Backgrounds

  • Key insights into the unique challenges at the intersection of race and disability in the workplace
  • Tips for HR specialists to incorporate the reality of intersectional experiences into diversity and inclusion policies
  • Offering learning and development opportunities to enable for clear and attainable career progression paths
  • Creating open forums or discussion platforms to amplify the voices of disabled employees from minority ethnic backgrounds in the workplace

  Sami Dar, Co-Founder, 10,000 Able Interns (CONFIRMED)

  

   

• 14.00

  Questions and Answers

• 14.30

  Chair’s Closing Remarks

  Dr Maria Berghs, Associate Professor, De Montfort University (CONFIRMED)

  

   

• 14:40

  End of Day Breakout Networking: Building Towards a Disability-Friendly Workplace Culture

  This session will provide you with the opportunity to discuss the main challenges you face in building an inclusive workplace and overcoming barriers disabled employees face. Share your experiences and discuss key strategies with senior colleagues from a range of sectors to work towards improving support for disabled employees.

   

• 15.10

  Event End

  *programme subject to change without notice

Who Should Attend?

This Conference is open to HR professionals in the Public, Private and Third Sectors

For more information or to make a booking please call 0330 058 4285

Raise your Profile, Showcase Your Solutions, Generate New Business

If your products, services, and solutions can support our audiences in their roles, and you want to make connections and generate new business with key stakeholders, decision makers, and influencers, then please contact Chris today at sponsorship@governmentevents.co.uk or complete our enquiry form here and we will contact you.

Benefits of partnering with us include:

• Brand awareness: Be seen by a highly targeted and engaged audience before, during, and after the conference.
• Lead generation: Meet the decision-makers and influencers responsible for making purchasing decisions on cyber security and data protection.
• Thought leadership: Position your organisation and experts as thought leaders and the ‘go to’ experts.
• Networking: Make valuable connections with potential new customers and partners across government and the wider public sector
• Grow your business: Reach decision makers in a single event on just one day and in one location (with no travel/accommodation required), saving you time and money.
• Gain valuable insights: Hear the latest from key stakeholders in government, and across the public and voluntary sectors.

IMPORTANT: There are only a small number of sponsorship opportunities available to ensure maximum exposure and ROI – contact us today to secure your place.

All packages include:

• Extensive branding – before, during, after the conference
• 15-20 min morning speaking session with Q&A
• Virtual stand to showcase your organisation, products, services, and solutions
• Opportunities to network during the day
• Half to full page ad in the E-Guide
• Banner ad on the virtual events platform
• Announcement post on LinkedIn
• Announcement within delegate communication
• 1-3 delegate places (worth upto £1,947)
• Access to the delegate details after the event
• Ongoing exposure through OnDemand (coming soon)

For more information and discuss your specific objectives, please contact Chris at sponsorship@governmentevents.co.uk or complete our enquiry form here

Virtual vs F2F

Whilst F2F provide better options for networking, there are many distinct advantages of sponsoring our online conferences including:

• Wider geographical reach of delegates and a different audience who prefer online to f2f
• Lower sponsorship package costs
• No travel/accommodation
• Less time out of the office
• No stand materials required (lower costs)
• 1 of only 2 sponsors involved – less competition on the day
• Prime speaking slot in the morning of the conference including Q&A – less distractions and easier for delegates to hear/absorb information
• Receive all delegate data after the conference to follow-up directly with those who attend and don’t attend (small % but still key stakeholders)
• Ongoing exposure via OnDemand access (coming soon)

To find out more and discuss your specific objectives, please contact Chris at sponsorship@governmentevents.co.uk or complete our enquiry form here

• Private Sector Rate: £499.00+VAT
• Public Sector Rate: £360.00+VAT
• Voluntary Sector Rate: £330.00+VAT