Blog

Celebrating Ingeus’s disability confidence

2 Nov 2021

Julie Graham, CEO of Ingeus’ Employment Services, celebrates the fifth anniversary of the Disability Confident scheme and Ingeus' achievements as a Disability Confident Leader.

Huge congratulations to the Disability Confident scheme as it celebrates its fifth anniversary this month. And I think it’s absolutely fitting that Ingeus joins these celebrations and recognises our achievements as a Disability Confident Leader, both within our own workforce and in helping the wider scheme to grow.
 
We haven’t looked back since joining the scheme five years ago. More than six percent of our workforce is registered with disabilities, and this continues to grow, with every individual treated equally as an integral part of the Ingeus team.
 
APM UK was the first in its sector to achieve Leader status, and Ingeus quickly followed achieving the same level to become a Disability Confident Leader. Employers progress at their own pace through the first two levels – Disability Confident Committed and Disability Confident Employer – and provide firm evidence at each stage to justify the title.
 
In the last 18 months alone, we have introduced several tools to support our employees, including the use of a Workplace Adjustment Passport, an initiative which ensures that we fully support anyone with a disability to do their job well. This week, on the 2^nd November, our People and Culture team have organised a wide range of events for all our staff to get involved in celebrating 5 years of this important campaign, with workshops from guest speakers such as Corie Brown, Co-Chair of 4 Purple.
 
We have many employee stories to celebrate, a recent one being our new Restart Scheme colleague, Jayne Garvey, who needs additional support following a tragic horse-riding accident. The support we are offering her extends to so much more than just an adapted chair, as Jayne will have access to many different resources. 
 
But what’s vital as a Disability Confident Leader is encouraging other employers to give those opportunities to people with disabilities people too. With a staggering 20,000 employers throughout the UK registered on the scheme, I am incredibly proud to say that Ingeus is one of the go-to employers for those setting out on their Disability Confident journey.
 
We have outwardly promoted the scheme to reach thousands of employers and if a company isn’t Disability Confident then we make sure we offer a validation for them. We’ve completed validations for organisations as high profile as GSK and Channel 4, as well as many government departments.
 
Feedback for the guidance and support we’ve given other businesses in introducing inclusive systems and processes has been outstanding. In fact, DWP described us as passionate and committed in the support we provide to employers as they work through the assessment process giving robust and thorough validation of Disability Confident Leader status.
 
Being a Disability Confident employer is the right thing to do for your business and for your employees. We can help your business to work through the scheme – simply register here.