Applicants fear being denied jobs due to disability

Employment Law & HR update 11/11/2011

New had prior experience of declaring their disability and felt that they had subsequenresearch has revealed that many disabled job applicants are reluctant to make their disability public in case it affects their chances of being recruited.

The survey carried out by inclusive recruitment practice auditor The Clear Company, found that 74.1 per cent do not declare their disability at the recruitment stage, citing their ‘fear of not being offered a job’ as the reason.

A further 32.8 per cent said that they tly not been offered the position.

Whilst just 13.2 per cent said that they received support as regards their disability at the recruitment stage, and just 11.9 per cent saying they did so at interview, 89.5 per cent of employers said that they felt they were offering support.

Almost half of all disabled applicants reported that they had never been offered any form of support at all.

Development director at The Clear Company, Kate Headley, said, “The reality is that disabled people are experiencing unacceptable levels of poor treatment and discrimination resulting from a lack of recruiter knowledge, confidence and capability.

“Knowledge and skills are relatively easy to acquire and to implement. It is up to the leadership of the industry to do more than tick a box that says you’re doing it right. They have to provide support for the people dealing with disabled candidates to improve this appalling situation,” Ms Headley added.

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