Industry News | May 04, 2025 | 5 Comments |
Disability Confident Awards
Disability Confident Awards
Large and small businesses who have carried out exceptional work in hiring, retaining and supporting disabled people in the workplace have been recognised in the annual Disability Confident Awards in London.
Judged by DWP’s Disability Confident team, winners were chosen from a wide selection of strong nominations ranging from tech companies developing accessible equipment to a heritage trust breaking down barriers for disabled people.
Winners, large and small
The two winners, chosen for their work in the travel industry and fitness sector, were:
• Small organisation winner (less than 250 employees) – Seable, a bespoke travel agent who provide experiences for people who are visually impaired. The company hires blind and partially sighted people who share their lived experiences, so holidays reflect the needs of their customers.
• Big organisation winner (More than 250 employees) – The Gym Group, who run schemes such as the Inclusive Traineeship which helps disabled people in the workplace with dedicated support staff and programmes to help them break into the fitness industry.
What is the Disability Confident scheme?
The Disability Confident scheme is a Government initiative designed to encourage employers to recruit, retain, and develop disabled people. It has more than 19,000 members, with more than 12 million employees working in their businesses.
To become a Disability Confident employer, organisations must provide accessible and inclusive recruitment practices and a public commitment to supporting employees with a disability. These also signal to disabled jobseekers which companies may be suitable for their needs.
Minister for Social Security and Disabled People, Sir Stephen Timms, said:
“It has been great to see so many organisations leading by example to support disabled employees in the workplace. I congratulate everyone who has been nominated.
“The standard of the nominations for each category have been outstanding and it was difficult to select the finalists and winners who have all showed inspiring best practice to help other employers to start their Disability Confident journey.”
A Seable spokesperson said:
“We’re incredibly proud to win the Disability Confident Award.
“We are dedicated to creating inclusive and accessible travel experiences for the visually impaired community and reinforces our mission to break down barriers within the travel industry and champion true inclusivity in everything we do.”
First steps towards inclusive workplaces
The Disability Confident scheme helps businesses make a first step towards making their workplaces more suitable for disabled employees. These start with companies making commitments to support disabled people in the workplace which can include making sure recruitment processes are accessible, offering work experience, and providing reasonable adjustments for existing employees.
Article ends – click to return to top or check out related resources below
Further reading and resources
Short-term free occupational health training for SMEs
Government recruiting disability and access ambassadors
What are the employment chances for someone with a disability?
Access to Work is the scheme which helps cover additional costs of employing a disabled person.
The Equality and Human Rights Commission wants large employers to publish their disability and ethnicity pay gaps – more here
5 Replies to “Disability Confident Awards”
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I’ve started a new job as a job coach in preston and leyland. Where is the best place I can start contacting companies who are on the scheme. Thanks Simon
Hello Simon
The DWP maintains a list of employers who have signed up for the scheme, which they update monthly. You can download the list here: https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/disability-confident-employers-that-have-signed-up (external link will open in a new browser tab or window)
Best wishes, Frances
Is there any way to “call out” employers that say they are “Disability Confident, but aren’t? I just had a job offer withdrawn because of a disability. They offered no reasonable adjustments or even a meeting with me to discuss adjustments. I had declared it at interview and completed the training, but when I declared it again when I completed the ridiculously named Equal Opportunities form, they withdrew the offer. They admit this. They simply say that they should have screened me out at interview and their only mistake was to let me get through the training.
Hello Jullie
Apologies for the delay in this reply. It is certainly illegal to withdraw a job offer because of a disability. You had a contract with them once the offer of employment was made and accepted. There is a useful narrative account here which you might like to read: https://wlegal.co.uk/can-an-employer-withdraw-a-job-offer/ (external links will open in a new browser tab or window)
How you proceed to call them out on it is another question. The EHRC has advice and a helpline which should give you guidance on steps you can take: https://www.equalityhumanrights.com/en/advice-and-guidance/disability-discrimination
It seems particularly poor behaviour from an employer who claims to be Disability Confident.
Good luck and best wishes, Frances
I am described as disabled according to my Occupational Health reports. I have tried to use my employer’s disability confident status for specialist roles ( brain good but my stroke makes delivery poor). The company decided not to apply the scheme.
Scheme rubbish.