Business Disability Forum Annual Conference 2024

This event has passed. See the conference highlights.

Kindly hosted by BT Group.

We can work it out – reasonable adjustments in a modern world

We all like to do things our way, but living and working with other people often means working out what works for everyone and is reasonable. Our Annual Conference, which took place on 2 July 2024, was all about working it out together to make a more inclusive world for everyone.

Welcome and introduction

• Eleanor Hudson, Contract Management Director, BT Group,
• Diane Lightfoot, CEO, Business Disability Forum,
• Bela Gor, Director of Legal and Content, Business Disability Forum.

The clash of the adjustments

• Andy Garrett, Global Programme Director – Workplace Adjustments Service, GSK,
• Safia Kukaswadia, International Diversity, Equity & Inclusion Specialist, DLA Piper,
• Charles Clement, DEI Manager – Disability Lead, BT Group.

A panel of experienced DEI Professionals with experience of working in retail, emergency services, law firms, government departments and large telecommunications and pharmaceutical companies worked through scenarios based on real-life situations when adjustments needed by disabled people might clash. How do they, and we, work it out for everyone in the workplace?

What the world needs now: the skills DEI Professionals will need in 2024 and beyond

• Birgit Neu, Senior DEI Advisor.

The world is changing, and business needs to adapt to survive and thrive. Culture warriors are suggesting that Disability Equality and Inclusion departments and professionals are no longer needed but is that true or is disability inclusion “safe”?  Birgit Neu outlined the challenges ahead for businesses and DEI Professionals and considered disability in the context of geopolitical tension, the anti-woke agenda, data monitoring, the implications of AI and much more.

Who are we? Data Monitoring and Disability Workplace Reporting

• Angela Matthews, Director of Policy and Research, Business Disability Forum.

Disability monitoring and data collection is a hot topic for DEI Professionals. There are good intentions and reasons behind the desire for disability data monitoring and reporting, but what is the reality of trying to collect and analyse such data? Even more importantly, does it lead to greater disability inclusion? Angela trailed some of the themes from our ground-breaking data monitoring project that is looking at what data to capture and why – and what to do with the results!

Where are we? Where and how we work in today’s world

• Emily Jackson, Senior Disability Business Partner, Business Disability Forum,
• Vasiliki Arvaniti, Head of Asset Management and Executive Committee member, Derwent London plc.

We now live and work in a post-pandemic world and it seems we may never go back to the way we used to work. Where and how we work, and what we want from our lives, has changed.

Some CEOs and businesses (and government departments) want a full-time return to office working. Most employers are opting for a hybrid model and while some employees prefer office working for their physical and mental health, others simply do not want to return to the office, claiming greater productivity and work-life balance. Disabled employees may also have agreements to work from home as reasonable adjustments.

Then there is the new generation of workers who grew up with computers in their pockets, and who put great importance on meaningful work.

How can we get the balance right for everyone and work it out?

Disability Inclusion Stories

• Charlie Magadah-Williams, Head of Diversity & Inclusion, People and Culture, Primark,
• Kim Whippy, Enablement Manager, Inclusion, Culture and Wellbeing, PwC UK,
• Nainika Vyas, Brand Manager, Vanish, Reckitt,
• Caroline Curtis-Powell, Neurodiversity Champion & Disability ERG Lead, Reckitt.

As always, we like to bring you practical, real-world examples of disability inclusion in practice. 3 of our Disability Smart Awards 2024 winners shared why and how they implemented their inclusion initiatives and what they learned along the way.

British Sign Language interpretation was provided by Sorenson UK.

If you require this content in a different format, contact enquiries@businessdisabilityforum.org.uk.