Disability Confident

We are run entirely by volunteers and have no paid staff, but we do plan to work towards becoming a registered charity in the future, and as such we are proud to be recognised as being committed to becoming a Disability Confident employer, under the government’s Disability Confident scheme.

We are committed to ensuring all applicants for volunteer  positions will be given equal opportunity in recruitment, as well as supporting existing volunteers.

The Government scheme is open to employers who have worked towards improving their recruitment process, including wider advertising, ensuring disabled people are offered an interview if they meet the minimum criteria for a role as well as anticipating and making reasonable adjustments for disabled employees, new or existing.

In the UK 7.7m working age people have a disability and 18,000 organisations have joined up to the scheme so far to ensure they are actively recruiting from the widest pool of talent available. The scheme also encourages employers to improve the morale and commitment of employees by demonstrating that they treat everyone fairly.

Disability Confident is a movement of change, encouraging all employers to think differently about disability and take action in how they recruit and train people with disabilities.

Definition of disability

Someone is disabled under the Equality Act 2010 if they have a physical or mental impairment that has a ‘substantial’ and ‘long-term’ adverse effect on their ability to carry out normal day-to-day activities. This means that, in general, the:

  • person must have an impairment that is either physical or mental
  • impairment must have adverse effects that are substantial
  • substantial adverse effects must be long-term, generally taken to mean for longer than 12 months
  • long-term substantial adverse effects must be effects on normal day-to-day activities, such as a breathing condition that impedes walking or moving around or a mental health condition that impedes interacting with other people. A condition that impeded participation in high level competitive sport, or that prevented playing a musical instrument to concert level performance but that still allowed normal day to day activities would generally not be seen as a disability under the Equality Act.

Long-term health conditions

Examples of long-term conditions include:

  • high blood pressure
  • depression
  • dementia
  • arthritis

Long-term conditions can affect many parts of a person’s life, from their ability to work and have relationships, to their housing needs and educational attainment.

Mental health conditions

A mental health condition is considered a disability if it has a long-term effect on your normal day-to-day activity. This is defined under the Equality Act 2010.

A condition is ‘long-term’ if it lasts, or is likely to last, 12 months.

‘Normal day-to-day activity’ is defined as something you do regularly in a normal day, such as using a computer, working set times or interacting with people.

If a mental health condition means they are disabled, they can get support at work from their employer. There are many different types of mental health condition, including:

  • depression
  • anxiety
  • bipolar disorder
  • obsessive compulsive disorder
  • schizophrenia
  • self-harm