Workers with disabilities facing inaccessibility, lack of support in workplaces

Ibrahim, who works in Belgium, often must take his personal laptop to work as his organisation doesn’t have the assistive technology necessary to do his job. Steven, a wheelchair user from the Netherlands, was told to be grateful for the accommodations he got.

These are just some of the problems revealed in the report “Digital Skills, Accommodation and Technological Assistance for Employment” released on 10 July 2024, which shows the pervasive problems still facing employees with disabilities across the EU and the UK– from inaccessible hiring processes and lack of accommodation through to lack of access to assistive technology and hostile workplace cultures.

The report, produced by the European Disability Forum and funded by Google.org, explores the causes of low employment of persons with disabilities. A report launched in 2023 by the European Disability Forum showed that only 51% of persons with disabilities are employed compared to 75% of persons without disabilities.

Other main findings include:

• Only 1 in 4 employers have developed accessible recruitment processes, an essential step in hiring people with disabilities.
• 81% of employers have no policy in place for the acquisition of assistive technology
• Only 25% of employers are aware of and use public support to provide reasonable accommodation to workers with disabilities.

Some recommendations of the report include:

• The need for employers to invest in accessible technology, regardless of employees’ disability status
• Public authorities should increase and publicise state aid available to employers to cover reasonable accommodation – and simplify the application process.
• That technology companies involve persons with disabilities when designing technological solutions.

Maureen Piggot, EDF Executive Committee Member, said: "The research makes clear that employers need more information and support, or persons with disabilities will remain excluded. It’s time for organisations, employers and policymakers to put in place policies that allow workers with disabilities to be employed and, more than that, to be valued!"

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