Feature Article

Prejudice against the Disabled at Work
Despite many years of making changes to the way we work, prejudice around employing disabled people is still common.

A study conducted has revealed that 4 out of 10 disabled workers has been prejudged or discriminated at work. The report by the charity Leonard Cheshire Disability also found that 1 out of 5 disabled worker believed that they have not been promoted because of their disability.

The report also revealed that a fifth believed they were over-qualified for their job, and 1 in 10 respondents who required a workplace change to do their job weren’t paid by the company.

John Knight, Leonard Cheshire Disability's head of policy and campaigns, said that the levels of prejudice and discrimination in the workplace reported in our survey are extremely high.

Prejudice is less common for the younger group

However, the report did find that only half as many 18- to
24-year-olds as 45- to 54- year-olds have experienced workplace discrimination or prejudice.

This shows that the discrimination against the unimpaired is getting better for younger people. But the survey provides a clear indication that disabled people can still face many barriers in the workplace.

Acts like, for example, if a business only has a staircase entrance and people with wheelchairs cannot enter, this is prejudiced or discriminatory towards disabled people.

The level of discrimination disabled people still face is surprising given the fact that among most respondents, it is agreed that they are more loyal workers.

Almost 90% of respondents did not agree that the turnover rate for disabled workers would be higher than that for non-disabled workers. Also, 43% did not think that disabled people would be more likely to be frequently absent. So the preconception that the disabled take more time off is not true.

There are people who will still be prejudiced towards disabled people as they don’t understand disability that the world is full of many different people. Some of these prejudiced people will target people on the sole basis that they are in a wheelchair, some because the people have learning difficulties and some because they look different from others.


Solutions

"If the government really wants to support disabled people back to work then tackling discrimination and removing barriers to work must be a top priority."

For example, a job interview consisted of something needing to be read, and a blind person was interviewed, the company should have a tape recording of the question for him to hear.

Finding solutions to the challenges faced by disabled employees are among the top priorities. Where the work needs to be done is in overwhelming prejudice that is still a problem the disabled face at work.