Trailblazer or Trailing Behind?

Scope Commissioned Report Shows that it’s Time for Churches to Address Disability Rights at Work

by Mark Bainbridge Solicitor at didlaw Ltd

The findings of an Opinium survey commissioned by Scope show that a person with a disability needs to apply for 60 per cent more jobs than a non-disabled job applicant before they are successful Follow this link to read the survey

The Government was criticised by the United Nations recently for failing to uphold the rights of disabled people through a succession of austerity policies that have impacted access to areas such as healthcare, education, and work. The report from the UN committee on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities, together with the Scope-commissioned survey, show the UK – once regarded as a global trail blazer in disability rights – now sadly trailing far behind.

Disability rights apply to all stages of employment, including recruitment, but mistaken assumptions about different disabilities and the capability of a person with a disability to undertake certain work, is leaving over a million disabled people in the UK unable to secure employment. For a developed nation such as ours, that is unacceptable. Disability discrimination in recruitment devastates lives, often exacerbating the effect of a disability, and deeply impairs self-esteem. Disability discrimination in recruitment also means that employers lose out on talented and skilled workers, and are left exposed to legal claims.

SCOPE have launched a campaign called “Work With Me”, to support more disabled people to get into and stay in work, follow this link to find out more about Work With Me. They’re rightly calling on employers, the Government and the public generally to tackle this issue. If you’re reading this blog, please sign up to support their campaign.

Churches have an important role to play in tackling disability discrimination in all areas of life. Through the Roof can provide training and resources to help your church to become a Roofbreaker, providing training and resources to enabled disabled people to be involved in church life and grow closer to Jesus.

Mark Bainbridge, a Christian lawyer who works for specialist disability rights firm didlaw Ltd, can be contacted for a free initial chat about disability rights.

For more information, please contact:
Tim Wood on 01372 749955 or by following this link to email Tim;
Mark Bainbridge at didlaw Ltd follow this link for more about Mark on 020 7099 7508, or by following this link to email Mark.