If we recruit a disabled candidate for the role, will it be expensive?

Getting started

If we recruit a disabled candidate for the role, will it be expensive?

It’s a misconception that reasonable adjustments are expensive. According to a 2022 article by the Business Disability Forum, the average cost of a reasonable adjustment is just £75 per person.

In order to make roles and workplaces more accessible to disabled people and those with long-term health conditions, some adaptations may be needed. However, the reality is that, in many cases, these adjustments are simple and cost-neutral.

For example, a candidate may simply need the opportunity to work flexibly, which has no cost implications. This may include allowing a disabled employee to work from home on days when experiencing symptom flare-ups, or allowing those with energy-limiting conditions to start and finish later in the day.

Equally, adapting communication methods or ways of working are very common adjustments that can have a big impact for individuals, but often entail little expense. Even modifying or acquiring equipment to increase a role’s accessibility is often inexpensive.

However, where more sizeable adjustments are needed, government support is available. The Access to Work scheme is a publicly funded employment support programme that supports disabled people to start or stay in work, and can provide support ranging from specialist equipment, to travel to a support worker or BSL interpreter.

Alternatively, if you would like to learn more about reasonable adjustments, here are some resources that you may find helpful:

Employing disabled people makes business sense as well as social sense. To find out more, see Why should we use Patchwork Hub?