Lords committee hears from employers about support for young disabled people in the workplace
On Wednesday 20 March, the House of Lords Public Services Committee will hold an evidence session that will examine the perspective of employers and the support they may need to better include young disabled people in the workplace. The session will also explore what good practice looks like and how to spread it, and how the rights of disabled young people moving from education to employment might be better promoted or enforced.
The session will start at 3.00pm and can be watched live or on demand at Parliament TV, or in person in Committee Room 3, Palace of Westminster.
Giving evidence will be:
3.00pm
- Angela Matthews, Head of Policy and Research, Business Disability Forum;
- David Hale, Head of Public Affairs, Federation of Small Businesses (FSB); and
- Hector Minto, Director of Accessibility Evangelism, Microsoft.
Questions will include:
- Can you tell us about the impact of employing disabled people, including young disabled people, on businesses you have worked with?
- We have repeatedly heard of poor and discriminatory behaviour by employers towards young disabled people, alongside examples of excellent support and inclusion by employers. Why are the negative examples happening?
- How effective are the government programmes and resources designed to support employers to develop inclusive workplaces and employ disabled people? How could they be improved?
- We’ve heard that there is poor awareness of the rights of disabled people in the workplace, and that rights are often not respected. What impact would more stringent or proactive enforcement mechanisms have on employer behaviour? What kinds of enforcement would work?
- What recommendations should the Committee be making to central government?
