7 May 2007

UK companies have the same 'mental barriers' when it comes to hiring disabled people - Abacus

South African employers are emulating their UK counterparts when it comes to a reluctance, or fear, of hiring disabled people - even though there appears to be a consensus that there should be a change in the diversity of the workplace. But excuses abound.

This is according to Org Geldenhuys, a director of Pretoria-based IT recruitment company, Abacus Recruitment. "Interestingly, it seems SA employers - who are generally paying lip service to hiring disabled people - are suffering from the same 'mindset blockages' that UK companies are. Employers are often scared, or reluctant, to hire disabled people because they are put off by the politically correct 'language of disability."

Geldenhuys, citing a survey conducted by UK-based Remploy - the UK's leading provider of employment services for disabled people - said four out of five of Britain's employers believe they should make every effort to employ disabled people but many.

"The problem is that many are put off by politically correct 'language of disability'. "Indeed, the research reveals that more than three-quarters of companies canvassed believe firms and organisations, - independent of the government - should strive harder to create a diverse workplace, including a mix of disabled people."

However, the employers approached for the survey revealed that there exists a misunderstanding regarding the language used to describe disability, most notably around the desire to be politically correct and not to cause offence.

Employers interviewed in focus groups said they believed the issue was a barrier to employing disabled people.

One employer told researchers that the words are always changing. Currently one refers to someone who is blind as visually impaired. This is creating awkwardness, it would appear.

Geldenhuys said he "doubts" disabled people are "so sensitive". "I am sure disabled people would rather be in a good job then worry exactly how other staff, or employers, refer to them. In part, I believe it is perhaps just a convenient excuse not to pursue the employment of disabled people. If this language barrier is, according to the research conducted, a major reason for employers not hiring disabled staff, then there is really something wrong in the corporate world. It is not an unsurmountable problem by any means. It has arguably being blown out of proportion."