Tuesday 06 February 2018
The States of Guernsey is committed to improving employment opportunities for disabled people, its Chief Executive has said after signing up to a new Employers' Disability Charter.
Paul Whitfield said the States, as the island's largest employer, needed to lead by example and he was delighted to be able to sign the Charter and formally confirm government's commitment.
The Guernsey Employment Trust developed and produced the Employers' Disability Charter to offer specific and realistic objectives that employers can work towards.
The Charter contains nine commitments employers have agreed to work towards, all of which aim to improve or enhance employment opportunities for disabled people; these include encouraging applications from disabled people, having staff act as ambassadors to other employers, encouraging managers and supervisors to undertake online disability awareness training, and consider 'reasonable adjustments' in the recruitment process and workplace.
Mr Whitfield said:
'I was delighted to be able to sign the Employers' Disability Charter on behalf of the States of Guernsey. As an organisation, we are determined to be inclusive and give everyone an equal opportunity to serve their community.
'The Guernsey Employment Trust has worked hard to develop the nine commitments that signed-up employers will seek to achieve. In our case, we will carry out a number of reviews in 2018 to support our commitment to the Charter. This includes reviewing our recruitment and selection processes and systems to ensure that our commitment to being an equal opportunities employer is clear in encouraging applications from, and the employment of, people with a disability.
'Likewise, disability awareness-raising and development activities will continue to be delivered to our employees across the States of Guernsey. We have trained managers in understanding the GET Good Practice Guide and we will continue to roll out online disability awareness training to our employees.
'At its core the Charter is about making relatively small changes to improve workplace practices. Signing up is not about the immediate fulfilment of the commitments but signalling your intention as an employer to taking a proactive approach. I would encourage as many employers as possible to join those already making that commitment.'
