A Tale of Inclusivity - Transforming The Employee Experience with Reasonable Accommodations
The WAM programme are delighted to have held an in-person employer event focused on Reasonable Accommodations in the Workplace.
Venue: publicjobs, Chapter House 26/30, Upper Abbey Street, Dublin 1. Eircode: D01 C7W6.
Date: Thursday, 5th December 2024
Introduction
According to the 2022 census, over 1.1 million people (22%) in Ireland reported having a disability or experiencing at least one long-standing condition. While approximately 346,000 (34%) individuals reported being employed, more than 303,500 also reported having difficulty working or accessing education. Founded in 2005, the Willing Able Mentoring (WAM) Programme was established to help increase access to employment for graduates with disabilities. Simultaneously, the WAM Programme supports employers on their journey to develop more inclusive working environments. The Programme is funded by the Department of Social Protection (DSP) and since its inception WAM has supported over 700 placements for graduates with disabilities across various employment sectors.
WAM Employer Events
In an aim to facilitate education for employers engaged with the WAM Programme (WAM Leaders) and help foster community inclusivity, WAM host a number of employer training events throughout the year related to disability and disability related supports within the workplace. In December 2024, as a part of WAM’s initiative to facilitate employer training and development, WAM, sponsored by publicjobs, hosted this in-person event for WAM Leaders.
Details are provided below as they pertain to each event speaker and the key learnings from the day. If you wish you learn more about previous WAM employer events you can read more on the WAM Events page. Furthermore, if you wish to learn more about the potential to partner with AHEAD and WAM in the future, you can review our WAM for Employers page.
A Tale of Inclusivity
Implementing reasonable accommodations is not only a legal obligation under Irish employment law but also a best practice that enhances productivity, fosters diversity, and ensures that employees with disabilities have the opportunity to thrive.
According to the WAM Programme Statistics, an in-depth analysis and key statistics from the programme (2005-2023), the majority (66%) of reasonable accommodations requested for WAM placements were related to work tasks, which included a range of practical and easy-to-implement changes to the workplace. The other most common accommodations requested were related to hardware, assistive technology, and time off for medical appointments. The report highlights the growing importance of remote working as a reasonable accommodation, which has become increasingly relevant and beneficial for employees with disabilities. The event was attended by forty-five employee representatives from 23 different organisations. The event not only provided employers with the opportunity for personal and career development but also encouraged networking between a number of different Irish employers.
The format of the event featured four expert speakers on the topic, click the drop down arrow to read more about each speaker;
publicjobs
Niall Leavy and Mark Whelan, ED&I at publicjobs presented on their Reasonable Accommodation Blueprint for Welcoming and Supporting Disabled Employees in the Civil and Public Sector. In partnership with Tilting the Lens this brought over 100 people, from 30 organisations across the civil and public sector together, as well as other stakeholders, to participate in a collaborative methodology.
The aim is to collaboratively co-design with clients, candidates and other key stakeholders, a universally accessible blueprint process for disabled candidates who require reasonable accommodations throughout the publicjobs recruitment process.
Click the link below to access the full resource;
cpl
Anthony Cummins, People Experience at Cpl shared Cpl’s initiative regarding understanding the reasons, background and need for a Disclosure and Support Process. Anthony demonstrated how this process works in Cpl by following five simple steps from disclosure to the implementation of these supports. Training is also provided to managers to ensure they are confident in facilitating a Disclosure and Support discussion and when to consult with the People Experience Team in cpl.
Further to this, cpl also have an initiative called ‘Be Proud Cafés’. This allows employees to be a part of cpl’s Diversity, Equity and Inclusion journey and have their ideas heard. These Cafés are held bi-weekly and are themed based on the topics raised by attendees. Some of the topics discussed to date include Cultural Awareness, LGBTQ+, Disability & Accessibility, Working Parents, Working Carers, and Menopause.
Click here to find out more about cpl’s Diversity, Equity and Inclusion initiatives
Bank of Ireland
Edward Leonard, People Services at Bank of Ireland showcased how Bank of Ireland are implementing an inclusion passport into their organisations disability policies and practice
The inclusion passport is a tool that aims to remove barriers that employees may face due to their personal circumstances, including but not limited to health conditions, disabilities, caring responsibilities, and other personal circumstances. It’s a living document that forms a framework for regular conversations about the employee’s needs with their manager. It belongs to the employee and moves with them as they move through the organisation, reducing the need to have repetitive conversations with different managers. The inclusion passport ensures that an employee and their manager have a living record of any agreed workplace accommodations for any reason.
Click here to find out more about Bank of Ireland’s Inclusion & Diversity Strategy
The WIDE Framework
Dara Ryder and Catherine Murray, AHEAD provided an update on the Widening Inclusion of Disability in Employment (WIDE) Framework. The framework is being developed in partnership with Employers For Change, to support employers in reducing barriers to hiring, retaining, and promoting more people with disabilities, and to create more inclusive working environments.
The framework is built on academic literature and significant consultation with disabled people, employers, and disability organisations. The framework will have its own web platform and allow users to self-assess their organisations inclusion practices through six key domains; Policy and Strategy, Environment, Training and Development, Recruitment and Selection, Workplace Supports, and Performance and Progression.
A Supplier Directory will also be available to ensure employers can access subject-specific resources to implement various aspects of the Framework and find the Suppliers they need to support them.
Click here to find out more about The WIDE Framework - AHEAD
Learnings & Future Initiatives
Attendees learned how implementing reasonable accommodations can transform their workplace for disabled employees. They learn about strategies and practical solutions that not only ensure legal compliance but also foster an inclusive culture and enhance employee satisfaction. We explored best practices, heard success stories, and collaborated on making our workplaces more accessible and supportive for all employees. All the above consolidated our corporate social responsibilities and drive towards creating a thriving and diverse working environment for all.
Breakout Room Discussions
Following the presentations, attendees participated in a collaborative feedback session designed to help attendees think about how their organisation can implement internal changes to ensure reasonable accommodations are provided to all.
Various themes emerged from the various breakout room discussions such as;
- An initiative to create a company centralised and anonymised database of reasonable accommodations availed by staff to date. This will allow for ease of onboarding of future staff who may have similar needs.
- Importance of appropriate tailored training being provided to managers to ensure that they can adequately support employees with disabilities.
- Attendees remarked on the BeProud Cafes set up by cpl to ensure that there is a space for those with disabilities to be accepted in their workplace and be proud of their identities. Attendees planned to set up similar initiatives in their own respective organisations.
- Attendees were impressed by Bank of Ireland’s initiative to create their Inclusion Passport. Additionally, the passport reduces the risk of assumptions being made about a person’s disability.
Moving Forward
AHEAD and the WAM team understand the need for increasing awareness, understanding of reasonable accommodations, and providing suitable and necessary reasonable accommodations in the workplace. As such this event was an incredible opportunity for all involved as it cultivated an environment of curiosity, innovation and shared passion ensuring reasonable accommodations for all those requiring them. By featuring experts in the field, the event empowered employers towards positive changes within their own organisations.
Hearing the passion shared by the keynote speakers and expanding our own knowledge of reasonable accommodations, the WAM team have a strong desire to continue our advocacy in this area. Our next in-person event in Spring 2026 will focus on organisation cultural change, which aims to build upon the fantastic learnings taken from the ‘A Tale of Inclusivity’ event.
For those interested in further developing your knowledge in this area, you may be interested in getting involved in The WIDE Framework - AHEAD by following this link or by reaching out to catherine.murray@ahead.ie for more information.
This event is kindly hosted and sponsored by publicjobs.
