Last reviewed: 22 June 2022
- In order to welcome disabled new starters, you will need to take some steps before their first day.
- Communicate regularly with successful candidates after making the job offer to ask if they need adjustments and to prepare for their first day.
- Offer to introduce them to their new colleagues if possible to help to prepare them to join the team.
- Make sure remote workers know how to start on their first day and have all the equipment they need to start on their first day.
What to do before a new starter’s first day
In order to welcome disabled new starters, you will need to take some steps before their first day:
- Stay in contact with successful candidates before their first day. After making the job offer, ask if they need any adjustments or want to discuss the way they work and work with them to identify what they need. Wherever possible, make sure adjustments are in place before they start. For more advice, see our resource ‘Communicating with candidates post-job offer’.
- When asking about adjustments, make sure to use the right language. See our resource ‘Asking about adjustments – Language’.
- If they do need adjustments, make sure to agree next steps and timelines (for example, will you need to procure equipment or alter working patterns?) and put these in writing to the new starter. See our resource ‘Adjustments and onboarding new starters’ for more information.
- Outline what their duties will be in their new role. This will help them know what adjustments they will need and help them prepare for their first day.
- Prepare any training they will need to get started in their new role, including adjustments to training. Work with the new starter before their first day so any training they need can go smoothly as soon as they arrive. Our resource ‘Training new starters’ has more information.
- Provide them with an organisation plan so they know who’s who in the organisation and schedule induction meetings with relevant colleagues. Who will they be working closely with and need to know how to work with? Well-planned and early inductions can help disabled new starters establish their new working routines and help their new colleagues understand how best to work with them.
- Colleagues might need to know about adjustments the new starter needs but be sure not to reveal any personal details about a disability without explicit permission. It is a good idea to talk to the new starter beforehand to agree who needs to know what and why.
- Prepare for them on your IT systems. This includes creating their email account, adding them to the relevant channels (Teams, Slack, Outlook, etc), giving their account access to the necessary file locations (though don’t share this with them before they start) and any other steps so that they can get started remotely on their first day.
- Offer to let them meet their new team. This can help ease any anxieties the new starter may have about their new team and is a vital opportunity for the new starter to discuss any adjustments they may have that could impact on the rest of the team – for example, different working patterns or if they have preferred ways of communicating.
- Share information about the different employee resource groups (ERGs) or staff networks that your organisation has. Disabled employees may want to join a disability-related ERG, and sharing their details may help make them feel more welcomed in the runup to their first day.
- Tell the new starter where and when to arrive on their first day. This can be daunting, especially for disabled new starters who may be wary of unfamiliar or inaccessible premises. Don’t just say the address – tell them which entrance to use (if there’s more than one), who to ask for at reception, which room on which floor they should go to, and anything else they may need to know. Tell them if there are any accessibility features (such as accessible lifts or doorways) that they may need to know about when arriving for the first time.
Remote and hybrid new starters
- If they are remote, tell them how to prepare for their first day. For example, do they need to install any software (Teams, Outlook, Slack, etc). What time should they log in, and what should they log into? Offer to arrange support installing and using remote software if they need it. Make sure they are sent any technology – such as a laptop and any assistive software they are using – with enough time to set it up and familiarise themselves with it before their first day.
- Explain to them how they are expected to work remotely – for example, what systems should they log into on their first day, and how should they do that? Ask if they need any extra equipment to be able to do this, such as computer hardware or a desk chair.
- If they are going to be a hybrid worker, tell them where and when they are expected to be working in-person and when to work remotely.
Further information
For tailored guidance, contact our Advice Service.
Read next
- Welcoming new starters
- Communicating with candidates post-job offer
- Asking about adjustments – Language
- Adjustments and onboarding new starters.
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