Our annual conference Back to the future: How should employers respond to “the new normal”? sponsored by NatWest is on Wednesday 28 June. In the run up to the event, Oliver Holbourn, CEO of RBS International talks to BDF CEO Diane Lightfoot about what NatWest is doing to recruit and retain disabled graduates, how businesses…
The Great Big Workplace Adjustments Survey 2023 results are in. And let us start by saying: we’ve got a lot to tell you, just as the research had a lot to tell us. Thanks to you – the 1,500 employees and 400 managers who shared their views with us, and those of you among our…
Business Disability Forum (BDF) has published one of the most comprehensive pieces of research ever conducted into the workplace experiences of disabled people and people with long term conditions in the UK today (20 June). The Great Big Workplace Adjustments Survey 2023 looks at the experiences of nearly 1,500 disabled employees and 400 managers around…
With the Carer’s Leave Act 2023 receiving Royal Assent, working carers will soon be entitled to one week’s unpaid leave per year for caring responsibilities. Employees can take this leave with some flexibility, using bits of their entitlement through the year when they need to, in increments of full or half days. These are intended…
Global Accessibility Awareness Day (GAAD) last month was an important reminder of the need to make digital products and services accessible to everyone, including disabled people. When designed with inclusion mind, technology can remove barriers and bring huge benefits for disabled people. When the needs of disabled people are not considered, however, tech can make…
BBC’s Panorama documentary about private ADHD (Attention Deficit Hyperactivity Disorder) clinics caused some controversy in recent weeks by looking at the issue of whether ADHD was over- or mis-diagnosed, prompting a storm of debate in the press and on social media. For some, it reinforced the misguided narrative that ADHD has become a kind of…
The popularity of chatbots has once again put artificial intelligence (AI) in the spotlight, not least because of the many challenges the technology poses for organisations. One aspect that is too often overlooked is the role AI can play in inclusion – or exclusion. How do we ensure that AI doesn’t replicate or intensify barriers…
Becky Elliott recently joined Business Disability Forum as a Disability Business Partner. Here’s her take on this year’s Disability Smart Awards ceremony, sponsored by Microlink and hosted by Freshfields. As the newest Disability Business Partner to join the BDF team, I felt incredibly fortunate to be sitting on the 22nd floor of Freshfields Bruckhaus Deringer…
The extra costs of being disabled are many and diverse. Scope calls this the Disability Price Tag, and their latest findings are that disabled people’s households need an additional £975 a month to have the same standard of living as non-disabled households. Earlier this year, Angela Matthews, Head of Policy and Research at Business Disability…
By Diane Lightfoot, CEO of Business Disability Forum I was recently asked to write for CEO Strategy Magazine on being a leader. I discussed the influential and unique role senior leaders can play in driving culture change around diversity and inclusion. I have summarised the 5 key areas I covered in the article below….
Tailored adjustments plans, disability plans, workplace adjustments plans – whatever you call them, they are a regular topic of discussion with our members across almost every sector. At our last Higher Education Network meeting, our Head of Policy and Research presented some findings about these types of plans and passports, along with five key common…
The Government has been putting more emphasis on access to employment – especially good quality, well-paid jobs. Encouragingly, the Government have acknowledged that making this happen for disabled people is crucial to building stronger economy overall. The proof of the government plans announced in the Budget and Health and Disability White Paper will very much…
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