A collaborative commitment for change
A group of Gloucestershire employers partnered together to form the Empowered Employers campaign. These employers have now been awarded accreditation on their action plans to make change happen.
The Empowered Employers campaign recognises the range of barriers that disabled people, neurodivergent people and people with mental health conditions experience to accessing meaningful employment. This includes the attitudes, policies, and practices of employers.
In 2023, the 7 partner organisations supporting the campaign participated in a learning programme with disability recruitment expert Jane Hatton, CEO of Evenbreak. Through a series of workshops, the employers learned about different disabling barriers and explored how they could be overcome within their organisations.
The focus of this learning programme was shaped by Experts by Lived Experience of disability, mental health, and neurodivergence from Barnwood Circle. This input influenced not only the content of individual workshops but also the strategies for holding employers accountable for translating learning into action. The 6 areas that Barnwood Circle members asked employers to consider in their plans were:
- Recruitment
- Workplace adjustments
- Flexible working
- Disability awareness training
- Career development
- Sharing their learning
During April 2024, a series of sessions took place where Barnwood Circle members and employers met to peer-review the action plans created by each organisation. The goal was to ensure that each plan included meaningful commitments and tangible actions to make change happen in different areas. Some examples included developing inclusive recruitment processes, ensuring career development opportunities for disabled staff, and providing organisation-wide disability awareness training.
Following final updates, each action plan has now been confirmed by Evenbreak as meeting the accreditation standard.
Get in touch
To find out more about the Empowered Employers campaign Josh Jones, Learning Manager at joshjones@barnwoodtrust.org
