Freeney Williams Ltd.
http://www.freeneywilliams.com
The Disability and Equality Agenda e-Bulletin – September 2015
For information about how Freeney Williams Ltd can help your organisation achieve the
disability and equality agenda please contact:
enquiries@freeneywilliams.com
Please forward this bulletin to a colleague so they can subscribe.
To keep up to date on the latest disability news, follow us on Twitter
Editor’s Note
Hi all,
I trust you all had a good summer although it probably seems a long time ago now.
Some of you may have noticed this edition of the DEA is being published a bit later than
usual but we decided to hold it back and make sure we included a higher number of items
than usual around mental health to highlight the issue following on from International mental
Health Day on 10 October
http://www.mentalhealth.org.uk/our-work/world-mental-health-day/world-mental-health-day2015/October
I mentioned in the last edition our partnership with a major international company to
undertake some unique research into the implications for business of not taking into account
the accessibility and usability issues of their websites. The preparation work for the launch of
this project is going well and we should be in a position to announce details in a month or
two. We will be publishing a bulletin alert when we launch as we would like our readers to
publicise this project and encourage disabled people to get involved. Watch this space.
For those of you who haven’t heard . . . Susan Scott-Parker has taken up a new role as the
CEO of Business Disability International
http://businessdisabilityforum.org.uk/about-us/news/press-release-a-new-role-for-susanscott-parker-obe-at-business-disability-forum-bdf/
Susan founded the then Employers Forum on Disability in 1991 and was the CEO. She has
now moved to being the CEO of the new Business Disability International, which will be
broadening the work started by BDF into the international arena. I’ve worked with Susan for
many years and can’t emphasise enough her major role in getting organisations to think
about disability differently. She was instrumental in the development of Freeney Williams Ltd
and will continue to play a major role in the whole area of ensuring organisations treat
disability as a ‘business as usual’ issue and not as a bolt on activity. I am looking forward to
supporting Susan using her expertise and influence in driving this agenda forward on the
international stage.
Susan will still be working with BDF and has become Honorary Vice-president and
ambassador. Good luck Susan.
That’s it for this month – you know where we are if you need us.
Rick
In this month’s edition:
1.
Government praises disabled Access to Work scheme just months after capping
funding
2.
Guidelines for contact centres dealing with vulnerable customer
3.
CQC recruits advisors to guide on how mental health and learning disability services
are inspected and regulated
4.
Hotel accessibility: making everyone welcome
5.
Caterers are losing out on potential profits by not paying enough attention to the
needs of customers with disabilities
6.
Adapted cutlery could earn millions
7.
Welfare to work programme failing disabled and ill jobseekers, say charities
8.
Jobs strategy for people with disabilities has ‘significant shortfalls’
9.
Changing Faces calls for disfigurement to be fully recognised in Equality
10.
Guidance on hiring people with learning disabilities
11.
Mental health
a. Technology can be a safety net for mental health
b. Home Office to issue mental health disclosure advice
c. Businesses must take action to tackle mental health stigma in the workplace
d. Men break taboo to talk more about mental health
e. 37% of absence due to mental health issues
12.
Legal News
a. Deaf community celebrates passing of British Sign Language Bill
b. Police firearms officer wins discrimination case after being removed from duties
c. Is paying a disabled person less because they work fewer hours unfavourable
treatment?
13.
Overseas news
a. Canberra school principal sacked over caging of a boy with special needs
b. USA: Employer outreach critical to disability inclusion, panelists say
c. BruinCast suspends public access to UCLA lectures to avoid legal issues
d. Welcome to Zapad-4, the blind district of Belarus
1. Government praises disabled Access to Work scheme just months after capping
funding
The Department for Work and Pensions (DWP) claims record numbers of people with
learning disabilities and mental health conditions are being helped into work by the Access to
Work scheme, however, the Government has announced it is capping the amount a person
can claim to £40,800 per year.
For more go to: http://www.homecare.co.uk/news/article.cfm/id/1570348/governmentdisabled-work-access-scheme
Back to top
2.
Guidelines for contact centres dealing with vulnerable customers
The DMA’s Contact Centres & Telemarketing Council has published a set of guidelines for
contact centres and companies engaged with telemarketing on how to identify and manage a
call with someone they believe is unable to make an informed decision, such as people with
dementia or mental health issues.
For more go to: http://ow.ly/QNJFt
Back to top
3.
CQC recruits advisors to guide on how mental health and learning disability
services are inspected and regulated
The Care Quality Commission has recruited 9 national advisors to provide advice and
leadership on how the regulator inspects mental health and learning disability services
across England.
For more go to: http://ow.ly/R5pMH
Back to top
4.
Hotel accessibility: making everyone welcome
The number of people with disabilities requiring accommodation when travelling for both
business and leisure is growing, albeit more in the regions than in London where some of the
best provision is to be found.
For more go to: http://ow.ly/RurUG
Back to top
5.
Caterers are losing out on potential profits by not paying enough attention to the
needs of customers with disabilities
A new study has revealed that 3.6 million people are leaving restaurants and pubs because
of poor disability awareness. The study, conducted by the Extra Costs Commission with
Business Disability Forum (BDF), was based on experiences, including eating out, of 2,500
people who have wide ranging disabilities,
physical, visual and mental impairments.
For more go to: http://www.takestockmagazine.com/disability-awareness-boosts-business/
Back to top
6.
Adapted cutlery could earn millions
British eateries are losing very significant revenues because they don’t provide adapted
cutlery or utensils that would make eating easier for people with tremors, arthritis,
Parkinson’s or cerebral palsy.
For more go to: http://ow.ly/SSFan
Back to top
7.
Welfare to work programme failing disabled and ill jobseekers, say charities
Government urged to overhaul Work Programme and refocus on offering support to mentally
ill people instead of putting pressure on them to find jobs.
For more go to: http://www.theguardian.com/politics/2015/sep/17/welfare-to-workprogramme-failing-disabled-and-ill-jobseekers-say-charities
Back to top
8.
Jobs strategy for people with disabilities has ‘significant shortfalls’
The Government’s strategy aiming to increase employment of disabled people by 15%
criticised by disability advocacy groups.
For more go to: http://ow.ly/SK41b
Back to top
9.
Changing Faces calls for disfigurement to be fully recognised in Equality Act
The Equality Act, which came into effect in 2010, considers severe disfigurement within its
disability protections but the charity claims this is insufficient and confusing, with shockingly
low awareness of the protections available.
For more go to: http://ow.ly/Snpa7
Back to top
10.
Guidance on hiring people with learning disabilities
Guidance from NHS England has been recently launched to help NHS employers give more
jobs to people with learning disabilities.
For more go to: http://ow.ly/SBYzi
Back to top
11.
Mental Health
a.
Technology can be a safety net for mental health
Technology can help treat mild to severe mental health issues at a fraction of the
cost of traditional therapy services.
For more go to: http://www.theguardian.com/healthcarenetwork/2015/aug/07/technology-can-be-a-safety-net-for-mental-health
Back to top
b.
Home Office to issue mental health disclosure advice
New guidelines will list factors that must be considered before people's mental
health crises are disclosed to employers in background checks. Police will have to
examine issues such as how long ago a detention under the Mental Health Act
occurred, when assessing whether it is disclosed
For more go to: http://ow.ly/QNJck
Back to top
c.
Businesses must take action to tackle mental health stigma in the
workplace
According to the Chartered Institute of Personnel and Development (CIPD), over
two fifths of employers have seen an increase in the number of staff reporting
mental health problems.
For more go to: http://ow.ly/SSFt9
Back to top
d.
Men break taboo to talk more about mental health
It has been a long held belief that men do not always find it easy to talk about
mental health issues, however new figures from health and wellbeing consultancy,
Health Assured, suggest that this is changing.
For more go to: http://ow.ly/T4eTO
Back to top
e.
37% of absence due to mental health issues
The Legal and General figures, based on employee absence notifications received
last year, also revealed that 80% of staff who had mental health-related absences
could return to work within the deferred period.
For more go to: http://ow.ly/T4fPf
Back to top
12.
Legal news
a. Deaf community celebrates passing of British Sign Language Bill
A British Sign Language Bill was passed in the Scottish Parliament last week. The
new bill protects BSL as a first language in its own right, putting it on an equal
footing with Gaelic in Scotland.
For more go to: http://ow.ly/SnoYZ
Back to top
b. Police firearms officer wins discrimination case after being removed from
duties
A distinguished Surrey and Sussex police firearms officer who was removed from his
post after failing a hearing test has won a discrimination claim. PC Bruce Shields, 39,
had suffered high frequency hearing loss during his career as a marksman. An
employment tribunal heard his hearing impairment had never caused operational
difficulty during his "distinguished" 12 years of firearms service.
For more go to:
http://m.theargus.co.uk/news/13797758.Police_firearms_officer_wins_discrimination_
case_after_being_removed_from_duties/
Back to top
c. Is paying a disabled person less because they work fewer hours unfavourable
treatment?
The Equality Act 2010 says that it is unlawful to treat a disabled person “unfavourably
because of something arising as a consequence” of their disability. Remarkably few
decisions in the last five years have considered what “unfavourably” actually means.
For more go to: https://www.disabilitystandard.com/newsletter/legal-update/august2015/
Back to top
13.
Overseas news
a. Canberra school principal sacked over caging of a boy with special needs
The principal of a Canberra public school has been sacked after an investigation
found a boy with special needs was locked inside a small, metal enclosure in an
attempt to calm him down.
For more go to: http://www.theguardian.com/australia-news/2015/sep/08/canberraschool-principal-sacked-over-caging-of-special-needs-boy
Back to top
b. USA: Employer outreach critical to disability inclusion, panelists say
Despite strides toward equal opportunity, the unemployment rate is 11 percent for
workers with disabilities, more than double the national average of other workers.
For more go to: http://ow.ly/QHjiz
Back to top
c. BruinCast suspends public access to UCLA lectures to avoid legal issues
BruinCast, which provides video and audio recordings of some lectures, no longer
allows students who are not enrolled in a class to access the recordings. BruinCast
officials stopped allowing the public to view UCLA lectures because not all videos can
offer closed captioning. Offering such information to the public without
accommodations for people who have disabilities could violate laws, said Robert
Gibson, interim co-director of the Office of Instructional Development, which oversees
BruinCast’s services.
For more go to: http://dailybruin.com/2015/10/05/bruincast-suspends-public-accessto-ucla-lectures-to-avoid-legal-issues/
Back to top
d. Welcome to Zapad-4, the blind district of Belarus
Because of a Soviet-era law, 4,000 visually impaired people live in a small area of
Minsk, fighting for recognition – and better facilities.
For more go to: http://www.theguardian.com/world/2015/oct/05/belarus-blind-districtzapad-4
Back to top
To subscribe or unsubscribe click
http://www.freeneywilliams.com/dea-e-bulletin.asp
© Freeney Williams Ltd 2014
37 Buckingham Road
Brighton
East Sussex
BN1 3RP
T 01273 327715
F 01273 327715
mailto:enquiries@freeneywilliams.com
Back to top