Camphill Scotland responds to public sector employment of disabled people consultation

Camphill Scotland has worked with Camphill Newton Dee to submit a response to the Scottish Government’s consultation on its proposals to increase the employment of disabled people in the public sector.

A key part of the Scottish Government’s disability strategy, A Fairer Scotland for Disabled People, focuses on reducing barriers to employment for disabled people. This strategy seeks to reduce

at least by half, the employment gap between disabled people and the rest of the working age population

This consultation focused “specifically on what more can be done to support more disabled people into work in the public sector”, and “on related issues, such as recruitment processes, and what further actions are needed to help close the disability employment gap”.

Camphill Scotland’s recommendations

1. Our response highlighted that levels of self-reporting by people with a disability working in the public sector, and the quality of data collected, would be significantly improved if public sector bodies take a people centered approach, and focus on the support needs of their employees.  In this respect, we recommended that public sector bodies use inclusive communication in engaging with their employees in relation to their support needs.
2. We underlined that public sector bodies could increase the levels of disabled people employed in the public sector by undertaking recruitment campaigns specifically focusing on the recruitment of disabled people, and that such campaigns should be supported by advertising, and by the use of use inclusive communication.
3. We also recommended that public sector bodies should support disabled people to remain in employment in the public sector by appointing a person within their organisation to co-ordinate support for employees with a disability. This would ensure that disabled people are provided with support within each public body, and that their support needs are met.
4. We emphasised that the use of inclusive communication within public bodies would also help to support disabled people to remain in employment.

Our response to the consultation on reducing barriers to employment for disabled people highlighted that the measures noted above could make a significant contribution to the retention of disabled people in employment in the public sector.

Read our consultation response