Of the 14.6 million people living with a significant disability, over 7.7 million are of working age.
Historically there has been a large gap between the numbers of disabled people in work compared with people who do not have a disability. Things are changing, encouraging applications from disabled people is good for business.
It can help you to:
- increase the number of high-quality applicants available
- create a workforce that reflects the diverse range of customers it serves and its local community
- bring new skills to the business, such as the ability to use British Sign Language (BSL), which could result in large savings
- many reasonable adjustments involve little or no cost
The benefits of keeping an experienced, skilled employee who has developed an impairment are often, and usually much easier and cheaper to a business than recruiting and training new staff. It is also good for the individual.
Long COVID (post-COVID syndrome)
In the UK, approximately 1.9 million people continue to report symptoms at least 12 weeks after having a confirmed or suspected COVID infection (Office of National Statistics, March 2023).
Long COVID can have a significant impact on a person's quality of life. It can affect their ability to carry out their usual activities and roles. Returning to work, or staying in work, can be particularly challenging. With the right kind of support from healthcare services and their employers, they are more likely to be able to return to work successfully and continue to find work manageable.
The main symptoms are fatigue, cognitive difficulties or 'brain fog', shortness of breath, headaches, and muscle or joint pain. As well as these symptoms, it's common for a person struggling with long COVID to feel anxious or low in mood.
Healthcare professionals recommend that people with long COVID use a strategy called 'pacing' to help them manage their symptoms and make gradual progress. This means breaking activities into manageable chunks, with planned rest breaks across the day.
Activity can mean physical activity, mental activity, emotional activity, and social activity. Being able to put pacing into practice at work will make it more likely that the person can stay in work.
The Chartered Institute for Personnel and Development (CIPD) have guidance for managers about supporting employees with long COVID.
Always have an open discussion with your employee before agreeing what support is possible and will be most helpful to them.
Joined Up Care Derbyshire have more information on long COVID that you or your employees might find helpful.
If you're concerned that an employee is continuing to experience health problems following COVID, the post-COVID leaflet explains what long COVID is and how to seek a referral to Derbyshire's specialist NHS long COVID service.