1. General provisions
1.1. Objective
1.2. Principles
1.3. Application
1.4. Definitions
2. General duties, rights and responsibilities of employers, competent authorities and workers' representatives
2.1. General duties and rights of employers
2.2. General duties of competent authorities
2.3. General duties and rights of workers' representatives
3. Framework for the management of disability issues in the workplace
3.1. Developing a workplace strategy on disability management
3.2. Communication and awareness-raising
3.3. Monitoring progress
4. Recruitment
4.1. Preparing for recruitment
4.2. Interviewing and testing
4.3. Employee orientation to jobs
4.4. On-the-job training
4.5. Work trials and supported employment placements
4.6. Progress review
5. Promotion
5.1. Career development
5.2. Employer-sponsored training opportunities, manuals and courses
5.3. External vocational training
5.4. Review and appraisal
6. Job retention
6.1. Policy on acquired disabilities
6.2. Assessment and rehabilitation
7. Adjustments
7.1. Accessibility
7.2. Adaptations
7.3. Incentives and support services
Appendices
1. Adjustment, accommodation
2. Relevant ILO Conventions and Recommendations
Terms used
Throughout the text of this code of practice, the terms "people with disabilities", "disabled persons" and "disabled people" are used interchangeably. In using these terms, the intention is to reflect accepted usage in different parts of the world.
A diverse group
People with disabilities are not a homogenous group. They may have a physical disability, a hearing or visual impairment, an intellectual disability or a severe mental health difficulty. They may have had a disability from birth, or acquired this in their childhood, teenage years or later in life, during further education or while in employment. Their disability may have little impact on their ability to work and take part in society, or it may have a major impact, requiring considerable support and assistance, with many variations in between. The social context is significant - people with disabilities who are considered unemployable in some societies are valuable members of the active workforce in others.
Gender is an important factor which affects the opportunities open to people with disabilities. Irrespective of their working abilities, women with disabilities generally face greater difficulties than women in general, and than disabled men, in finding jobs and generating an income.
From the International Labour Organization's perspective, the term "disabled person" means an individual whose prospects of securing, retaining and advancing in suitable employment are substantially reduced as a result of a duly recognized physical or mental impairment. (1)
Untapped potential
Throughout the world, people with disabilities are participating and contributing in the world of work. Both women and men with disabilities are working: in low-skilled and professional jobs, in management and in decision-making positions. Many are working in informal sector jobs. Yet many persons with disabilities do not have the opportunity to work. What prevents them from taking part in the active workforce? Many of the obstacles which they face in their search for jobs and at work arise as much, if not more, from social barriers, than from the disability itself. Examples include barriers arising from:
Advocating "a society for all'
Organizations of people with disabilities
In recent decades, organizations of people with disabilities and their advocates have worked to make disability an issue of equal rights, rather than social welfare, and to generate change in opportunities for participation in employment and society. They have effectively challenged what is termed the "medical" model of disability, which focuses on the individual's impairment and inability to perform certain everyday activities, including work activities, and sees solutions in individualized rehabilitation programmes. In its place, they have promoted the "social" model of disability, in which the focus is on the constraints arising from social, political, economic and cultural factors, as well as barriers in the built environment, and on solutions through measures to remove these constraints and barriers.
International organizations
Organizations of and for people with disabilities have been supported in this work by international organizations, including the United Nations, the International Labour Organization, UNESCO, UNICEF and the World Health Organization. International initiatives include:
These initiatives aim to promote the full participation of disabled persons in all aspects and sectors of society. The 1995 Copenhagen Declaration views disability as a form of social diversity and points to the need for an inclusive response which strives to build a "society for all".
ILO Convention No. 159 views disability as a condition of occupational disadvantage which can and should be overcome through a variety of policy measures, regulations, programmes and services. It calls upon countries to base their national policies on the principles of:
ILO Recommendations Nos. 168 and 99 outline specific measures which might be introduced at the national level to promote employment opportunities for disabled people and call for these to conform to the employment and salary standards applicable to workers generally.
The costs of exclusion
Many people with disabilities can and want to work, yet they are frequently excluded. Unemployment among the world's 386 million disabled people of working age (2) is far higher than for other working age individuals, with rates of up to 80 per cent reported in some countries. (3) As a result, many disabled people live in poverty, and their potential contribution is lost - to their families, to employers and to society as a whole.
The problem is likely to increase in scope in the future, with the growing incidence of disability arising from such factors as: the increase in the proportion of older people in the population; armed conflict and its legacy in the form of unexploded ordnance, such as landmines; the persistence of malnutrition and disease in developing countries; and the spread of HIV/AIDS. (4) Disabilities resulting from the HIV/AIDS epidemic have already given rise to major problems of employment and income generation which are felt at every level - by individuals, communities, employers and governments.
In addition to the strong advocacy campaign involving organizations of people with disabilities and international organizations, further impetus for change has come from the widespread problem of having so many people out of work and the associated high and spiralling costs this involves to the public purse in many countries, both in the form of benefit payments and productivity loss.
These factors in combination have resulted in a growing awareness among governments and social partners alike of the economic and social benefits of integrating disabled people into the active workforce.
Moving forward
The last decades of the twentieth century witnessed significant changes in the legal and policy frameworks concerning disability in countries around the world. Many governments have adopted policies which aim to promote the rights of people with disabilities to participate as fully as possible in society. These include policies to improve employment opportunities for people with disabilities which are frequently backed by legislation.
In some countries, this comprises legislation or regulations which require employers to reserve a certain proportion of jobs for people with recognized disabilities - generally referred to as quota legislation. If employers do not fulfil this obligation, many countries require them to pay a contribution into a central fund to be used to promote the accessibility of workplaces or for vocational rehabilitation purposes. Countries with this type of legislation include many European and several Asian countries.
Other countries have introduced anti-discrimination or employment equity laws which make it unlawful for employers to discriminate on the basis of disability in recruitment, promotion, dismissal and other aspects of employment. Countries with this type of legislation include Australia, Canada, New Zealand, the Scandinavian countries, South Africa, the United Kingdom and the United States.
Many governments have introduced a range of measures to support the implementation of these policies and laws. These include financial supports to employers, to serve as an incentive or to ensure that the employment of the person does not cause any additional cost or other problems to the employer, and support services to ensure that the relevant technical advice is provided and any problems are quickly resolved.
Rights and opportunities
Against the background of these changes in policy and laws, employment opportunities for people with disabilities have evolved dramatically over the past ten to 20 years. Far more emphasis is now placed on integrating jobseekers with disabilities into competitive employment, rather than providing them with work in special centres. Some employers have recruited candidates with disabilities directly, while other have been more cautious in their approach, preferring to offer a work trial or a period of on-the-job training before committing themselves to recruitment. And many employers now retain employees and workers who acquire a disability while in their employment, sometimes because they are required by law to do so, as well as facilitating the return to work of those who have dropped out of employment due to their disability. Valuable lessons have been learned about the abilities of people with disabilities, which should be borne in mind by employers and others providing employment-related supports to ensure that they can perform their jobs effectively.
Integrating jobseekers with disabilities
Gains to employers
It is increasingly apparent that there is a strong business case for employing people with disabilities. Many employers have employed disabled people, either on the basis that they were the best qualified for the job because of their company's employment equity policy or because of a quota obligation. Disabled people are generally capable, reliable employees whose attendance rates are high, accident rates low and who often stay in the job longer than other employees. (5) They contribute to workplace productivity, to staff morale and to team spirit in the workplace as a whole. In addition, they can attract a wider customer base - comprising people with disabilities, their families, friends or supporters. Given that people with disabilities comprise around 10 per cent of the population, this additional customer base can be quite significant for an individual enterprise or service.
Employers also gain through continuing to employ people who acquire a disability while in their employment. They retain the valuable expertise acquired through on-the-job experience and work-related training and they save on lost time, the associated health care and insurance costs, and the costs of recruiting and training replacement staff.
Gains to the State
Gains to the public at large from the employment of people with disabilities include:
Role of the social partners
Employers' organizations and networks are now contributing to the change process in many countries. They are beginning to play an active role in providing their members with information and advice about employing disabled persons or retaining workers who have acquired a disability. Some employers' organizations have developed a policy statement on disability and, in some cases, have adopted a promotional role at national level.
Workers' organizations are also beginning to facilitate the promotion of employment, job retention and return-to-work opportunities for disabled persons. They do this by advocating the interests of disabled workers in the workplace. They develop policy statements on disabled persons' rights to equal opportunity and equal treatment at work. And they contribute by representing the interests of disabled persons in national consultation and negotiation processes and in the development of good practices.
Code of practice - Target audience
The present code looks at the design and establishment of recruitment and work practices which will effectively enable people with disabilities to integrate into the workplace. Together with its accompanying technical materials which focus on specific aspects of the process of managing disability in the workplace, it is designed to provide guidance in managing disability issues which may arise in recruitment, employment, advancement, job retention and return to work for people with disabilities.
Employers
The code is relevant to private and public sector employers in countries which have already developed policies for the management of disability issues in the workplace and those which are embarking on policy formation in this field for the first time. These may be employers who have already employed disabled persons or those who have not yet done so, because of reservations about their working capacity, or for some other reason.
The code is oriented to employers in urban and rural areas, which operate in open market economies as well as those in transition to a market economy. It is hoped that all employers - large, medium and small - will find the code useful. It is acknowledged that their approach to its implementation may vary depending on available resources: some may establish formal procedures, others may take a less formal approach.
The code does not address the specific circumstances of the informal economy, sheltered employment or self-employment.
Social partners
The code is also intended for employers' and workers' organizations in their role as advocates, and to governments as shapers of the legislative and policy framework, providers of employment-related services and coordinators of relevant services provided by other agencies.
Countries
The code is not a legally binding instrument and is not intended to supersede or replace national legislation. Rather, it is intended to be read in the context of national conditions, as an additional guidance in the field of employment to that contained in ILO Conventions and Recommendations. It is intended to be of benefit to all countries, whether or not they have ratified ILO Vocational Rehabilitation and Employment (Disabled Persons) Convention, 1983 (No. 159).
Key points
The following are the main points underlying the code:
It is increasingly recognized that disabled people have a valuable contribution to make to the performance of their employers' enterprises and to the national economy. The support of employers is central in making it possible for them to do so. Having a positive strategy on managing disability in the workplace enables employers to benefit from the potential of disabled workers in a variety of ways. This code is intended to assist employers in developing such a strategy.
1.1.1. The objective of this code is to provide practical guidance on the management of disability issues in the workplace with a view to:
(a) ensuring that employers benefit from the contribution disabled persons can make at work;
(b) improving employment opportunities for disabled jobseekers in the open labour market;
(c) ensuring that people with disabilities are treated equally and have equal opportunities in the workplace;
(d) promoting a safe and healthy workplace;
(e) assuring that employer costs associated with disability among employees are minimized - including health care and insurance payments;
(f) facilitating job retention by people who acquire a disability while employed;
(g) encouraging the introduction of return-to-work measures aimed at those who have left employment due to disability.
1.2.1. The principles which inform the code are those underlying international labour standards, including the Vocational Rehabilitation and Employment (Disabled Persons) Convention, 1983 (No. 159), and Recommendation (No. 168), 1983, as regards equality of opportunity and treatment, employment, conditions of work and social security.
1.2.2. The code is based on the conviction that employers benefit from the employment of people with disabilities, who can make a significant contribution at their place of employment, in jobs matched to their skills and abilities, if disability-related issues are appropriately managed. It is also based on evidence that enterprises can gain from the retention of experienced workers who become disabled, and on indications that significant savings can be made in terms of health costs, insurance payments and time lost, if an effective disability management strategy is in place.
1.2.3. In accordance with ILO standards, special positive measures aimed at effective equality of opportunity for and treatment of disabled people at work are not regarded as discriminating against other workers. Examples of such measures include wage subsidies to compensate for reduced productivity, quota obligations to employ disabled persons, workplace adaptation grants. These are important in the case of disabled people whose productivity is lower than expected of employees, at least at the start of their employment.
1.3.1. The code is intended to be of benefit to:
(i) private and public sector employers of different sizes, located in urban and rural areas of industrialized countries, developing countries and countries in transition;
(ii) employers' organizations in their role as providers of information, advisory and other services to their members, as well as advocates of employment opportunities for disabled persons;
(iii) workers' organizations in their role of representing the interests of workers, including those with disabilities, in the workplace and in national consultation and negotiation processes; and
(iv) public sector agencies with responsibility for national policy concerning the promotion of employment opportunities for people with disabilities and its implementation.
1.3.2. The provisions of the code should be considered as basic ingredients for the effective management of disability issues in the workplace. They can assist employers in maximizing the benefits to be gained through employing or retaining workers with disabilities. They can contribute to ensuring that workers with disabilities can make a valued contribution, and that they have equal opportunity, are treated equally and are not subject to discrimination, within the legal framework set by national legislation.
Adjustment or accommodation
Adaptation of the job, including adjustment and modification of machinery and equipment and/or modification of the job content, work organization and working time to facilitate the employment of individuals with disabilities.
Competent authority
A minister, government department or other public authority having the power to issue regulations, orders or other instructions having the force of law.
Disability management
A process in the workplace designed to facilitate the employment of persons with a disability through a coordinated effort addressing individual needs, work environment, enterprise needs and legal responsibilities.
Disabled person
An individual whose prospects of securing, retaining and advancing in suitable employment are substantially reduced as a result of duly recognized physical or mental impairment.
Discrimination
Any distinction, exclusion or preference based on certain grounds which nullifies or impairs equality of opportunity or treatment in employment or occupation. General standards that establish distinctions based on prohibited grounds constitute discrimination in law. The specific attitude of a public authority or a private individual that treats unequally persons or members of a group on a prohibited ground constitutes discrimination in practice. Indirect discrimination refers to apparently neutral situations, regulations or practices which in fact result in unequal treatment of persons with certain characteristics. Distinction or preferences that may result from application of special measures of protection and assistance taken to meet the particular requirements of disabled persons are not considered discriminatory.
Employer
A person or organization employing workers under a written or verbal contract of employment which establishes the rights and duties of both parties, in accordance with national law and practice. Governments, public authorities and private companies as well as individuals may be employers.
Employee assistance programme
A programme - either jointly operated by an employer and a workers' organization, or by an employer alone, or a workers' organization alone - that offers assistance to workers and frequently also to their family members, with problems liable to cause personal distress, which affect or could eventually affect job productivity.
Employers' organization
An organization whose membership consists of individual employers, other associations of employers or both, formed primarily to protect and promote the interests of members and to provide services to its members in employment-related matters.
Equality of opportunity and treatment
in employment and occupation
Equal terms and conditions of employment and equal access for all persons to employment, vocational training and particular occupations, without discrimination.
Impairment
Any loss or abnormality of a psychological, physiological or physical function, including the systems of mental function.
Intellectual disability
This disability is defined by a person's capacity to learn and by what they can or cannot do for themselves. People with intellectual disabilities are identified by scoring low in tests of intelligence and by their poor social competence. They frequently need people to look after their basic needs and protect them from common dangers. Intellectual disability is sometimes referred to as mental handicap, mental retardation or learning disability.
International labour standards
Principles and norms in all labour-related matters which are adopted by the tripartite International Labour Conference (governments, employers and workers). These standards take the form of international labour Conventions and Recommendations. Through ratifications by member States, Conventions create binding obligations to implement their provisions. Recommendations are non-binding instruments which provide guidance on policy, legislation and practice.
Job adaptation
The adaptation or redesign of tools, machines, workstations and the work environment to an individual's needs. It can also include adjustments in work schedules, sequences of work and in breaking down work tasks to their basic elements.
Job analysis
Making a detailed list of the duties that a particular job involves and the skills required. This indicates what the worker has to do, how he or she has to do it, why he or she has to do it and what skill is involved in doing it. The analysis can also include facts about tools used and machines operated. A job analysis is usually the first step in the placement process.
Job retention
Remaining with the same employer, with the same or different duties or conditions of employment, including return after a period of paid or unpaid absence.
Mainstreaming
Including people with disabilities in education, training or other services available to the population at large.
Occupational health services (OHS)
Health services which have essentially a preventive function and which are responsible for advising the employer, as well as the workers and their representatives, on the requirements for establishing and maintaining a safe and healthy working environment to facilitate optimal physical and mental health in relation to work. The OHS also provide advice on the adaptation of work to the capacities of workers in light of their physical and mental health.
Organizations of persons with disabilities
Organizations which represent persons with disabilities and advocate their rights, frequently in dialogue with governments.
Return to work
Resumption of employment by a worker who has crossed from a continued employment relationship into non-employed status.
Supported employment
Supported employment involves on-the-job training combined with personal supports, leading to job placement or work experience. It may take the form of: individual supported jobs; enclaves of disabled workers forming a production unit within a regular business or industrial setting; small businesses which may have a contract from an existing industry or operate as a cooperative or cottage industry; and mobile work crews which undertake contract work for customers in regular work settings.
Vocational rehabilitation
A process which enables disabled persons to secure, retain and advance in suitable employment and thereby furthers their integration or reintegration into society.
Work analysis
Analysing all work carried out in an enterprise or in one department or section, to see whether tasks can be reorganized to create new jobs.
Works council/workplace committee
A committee of workers within the enterprise with which the employer cooperates and which is consulted by the employer on matters of mutual concern outside the scope of collective bargaining machinery.
Worker/employee
Any person who works for a wage or salary and performs services for an employer. Employment is governed by a written or verbal contract of service. This is different from the contract for services which an independent contractor might have.
Workers' representatives
Persons who are recognized as such under national law or practice, in accordance with the Workers' Representatives Convention, 1971 (No. 135), whether they are: (a) trade union representatives, namely representatives designated or elected by trade unions; or (b) elected representatives, namely representatives who are freely elected by workers of the undertaking in accordance with provisions of national laws or regulations or of collective agreements and whose functions do not include activities which are recognized as the exclusive prerogative of trade unions in the country concerned.
Working conditions
The factors determining the circumstances in which the worker works. These include hours of work, work organization, job content, welfare services and the measures taken to protect the occupational safety and health of the worker.
Working environment
The facilities and circumstances in which work takes place and the environmental factors which may affect workers' health.
Workplace
All the places where people in employment need to be or to go to carry out their work and which are under the direct or indirect control of the employer. Examples include offices, factories, plantations, construction sites, ships and private residences.
Workstation
The part of the office or factory where an individual works, including desk or work surface used, chair, equipment and other items.
Work trial
Work activity to provide experience in or test suitability for a particular job.
2.1.1. To manage disability-related issues in the workplace, employers should adopt a strategy for managing disability as an integral part of their overall employment policy and specifically as part of the human resource development strategy. This strategy may be linked to employee assistance programmes, where they exist.
2.1.2. The disability management strategy should include provision for:
(a) recruiting jobseekers with disabilities, including those who have not worked before and those who wish to return to work after a period of non-employment;
(b) equal opportunity for and treatment of employees with disabilities;
(c) job retention by employees who acquire a disability.
2.1.3. The disability management strategy should be linked to a workplace-level policy on promoting a safe and healthy workplace, including provision for occupational safety and health measures, early intervention and referral to treatment and rehabilitation of those who acquire a disability while in employment and a mentoring system to ensure that integration of new employees is fostered.
2.1.4. The strategy should be in accordance with national policy and legislation and incorporate the principles of equal opportunity, equal treatment and mainstreaming, in line with ILO Conventions and in particular Convention No. 159.
2.1.5. The programme should be formulated in cooperation with workers' representatives, in consultation with individual disabled employees and, where possible, with organizations of persons with disabilities. In developing the programme, employers may also benefit from consultation with the competent authorities and expert agencies with specialist knowledge regarding disability-related issues.
2.1.6. The disability management strategy within the workplace should be coordinated by existing representational structures within the organization, such as a works council, safety committee or other workplace committee, or, in their absence, by a new structure established for the purpose. Representatives of management, workers and, where possible, workers with disabilities should be involved in the coordination.
2.1.7. Employers should seek to cooperate with the employment services in matching jobseekers with disabilities to jobs suited to their ability, work capacity and interest, and in redeploying workers whose work capacity has changed to other jobs or to alternative working schedules.
2.1.8. Employers should ensure that people with disabilities in their employment are treated equally with non-disabled workers in terms of benefits in kind.
2.1.9. Employers' organizations should act as advocates, among their members, for the promotion of employment opportunities for disabled persons and job retention of those who acquire a disability while in employment. They may do this, for example, by providing practical information and advisory services, particularly to small companies, publicizing the advantages to business of managing disability in the workplace, promoting partnerships between employers in relation to disability management and by advocating disability management strategies in consultation processes at national and international levels.
2.1.10. To promote the introduction of disability management strategies in the workplace, employers' organizations should introduce and implement such a strategy for their own employees.
2.2.1. The competent authorities should advocate the adoption of workplace disability management strategies by employers, as part of a national policy to promote employment opportunities for people with disabilities in the private and public sectors.
2.2.2. The competent authorities should include disability-related issues in the general framework of economic and social regulations, taking into account national conditions and practice.
2.2.3. The competent authorities should review all rules and regulations governing employment, job retention and return to work in the public and private sectors, to ensure that they do not contain elements of discrimination against people with disabilities.
2.2.4. The competent authorities should undertake periodic reviews of their systems of social protection, including employee compensation, to ensure that no undue obstacles are inadvertently placed in the way of persons with disabilities in entering employment, retaining their job or occupation, or returning to the open labour market and paid employment.
2.2.5. The competent authorities should facilitate employers in the management of disability issues in the workplace, and in the recruitment, retention or return to work of people with disabilities, by assisting them to identify high-quality placement, technical advisory, rehabilitation and other support services, both public and private. On-site safety and health committees, employee assistance programmes, industrial relations units and equality committees may also be suggested according to national circumstances and national legislation.
2.2.6. The competent authorities should play a central role in ensuring that the services of the different agencies required by employers are of high quality and provided in a coordinated and timely manner.
2.2.7. The competent authorities should make available technical supports, wage subsidies and other incentives to promote or facilitate employment opportunities and job retention for people with disabilities and inform employers of these incentives.
2.2.8. The competent authorities should seek to involve employers' organizations in providing advice to and also working with the employment service and other relevant services, to ensure that they are adequate and effective. They should also invite employers' organizations to participate in or sponsor awareness-raising campaigns on disability and employment.
2.2.9. The competent authorities should facilitate contacts between employers' and workers' representatives, and with relevant professional agencies and service providers, to exchange information regarding disability management in the workplace, including:
(a) developments in techniques and technology for the adaptation of workplaces;
(b) systems of work placement and work experience for workers with a disability;
(c) adjustments in systems of advertising and interviewing for recruitment and promotion of workers with disabilities;
(d) practice in relation to ethical issues relating to disclosure of information on workers with disabilities and awareness-raising in the field of disability.
2.2.10. The competent authorities should monitor and periodically evaluate the effectiveness of any incentives, sanctions or technical advisory services on employment-related disability matters, in promoting opportunities for the employment, job retention and return to work of workers with a disability, as well as the disabled person's advancement within the workplace.
2.2.11. To promote the introduction of disability management strategies in the workplace, competent authorities should introduce and implement such a strategy for their own employees, and become model employers in relation to the recruitment of women and men with disabilities, equal opportunity and treatment of workers with disabilities, provision for job retention and return-to-work measures.
2.3.1. In promoting policies of equality of employment opportunity and treatment for workers in general, both at the level of the individual employer and in the national consultation and negotiation processes, workers' organizations should actively advocate employment and training opportunities for persons with disabilities, including job retention and return-to-work measures.
2.3.2. Workers' organizations should actively encourage workers with disabilities to join their organizations as members and to assume leadership roles.
2.3.3. Workers' organizations should actively represent the interests of workers with disabilities to management and in any works council, safety committee or other workplace committee, and should promote positive action aiming to foster their inclusion in the workplace, including awareness-raising among managers and staff, and any required adjustments or adaptations.
2.3.4. Workers' organizations should sensitize and train their members concerning disability through awareness-raising events and union publications featuring disability equality issues.
2.3.5. To promote a healthy and safe workplace, workers' organizations should:
(a) strongly advocate adherence to existing occupational safety and health standards, and the introduction of early intervention and referral procedures;
(b) cooperate with and participate in disability information and prevention programmes offered by the employer for the benefit of the workers.
2.3.6. To promote the introduction of disability management strategies in the workplace, workers' organizations should introduce and implement such a strategy for their own employees.
3.1.1. Employers should consider the management of disability issues in the workplace a priority task which contributes to business success, and regard it as an integral part of the workplace human resource development strategy.
3.1.2. The disability management strategy should be formulated in accordance with national legislation, policy and practice, taking account of national institutions and organizations in the field.
3.1.3. In formulating a strategy for managing disability issues in the workplace, employers should collaborate with worker representatives and consult with disabled workers or their representatives.
3.1.4. The strategy at workplace level should complement the human resource development strategy in its aim to maximize the contributions and abilities of all staff, including those with disabilities - managers and workers, women and men - and support adherence to occupational safety and health standards and related early intervention and referral procedures, so that work-related injury or disease can be minimized.
3.1.5. Measures to promote employment, job retention and return-to-work opportunities for people with disabilities should incorporate specific actions for women with disabilities.
3.1.6. The disability management strategy should include provision for workers who hold family responsibility for a disabled person or persons.
3.1.7. Responsibility for disability issues in the workplace should be assigned to a person, a unit, a works council, safety committee or other workplace committee. In doing this, employers should build on or link to existing designated responsibilities or structures, rather than establishing a separate structure or designating a new representative.
3.1.8. The workplace disability management strategy should include provision for consultation from the employment service or other specialist agencies, where necessary, to ensure that the individual with a disability is well matched to the job in terms of ability, work capacity and interest, as is usual in recruitment procedures. Provision should also be made for adjustments to the job, work schedule, workstation or workplace, and for other supports to the disabled worker, where necessary, to ensure that she or he can perform the job effectively.
3.1.9. Employers' and workers' organizations should advocate strategies for the management of workplace disability issues in consultation and negotiation processes at national and international level.
3.1.10. In promoting strategies on managing disability in the workplace, groups of employers and employer organizations should consider arranging exchanges of information and training on the subject with relevant public sector agencies, expert agencies and other firms.
3.2.1. The workplace disability management strategy should be brought to the attention of all employees, in language which can be easily understood, in close cooperation with worker representatives.
3.2.2. General information should be provided to all employees on disability in the workplace and in society in general, along with specific information about the enterprise strategy, and about any adaptations which may be needed in a working environment, workstation and work schedules to enable workers with disabilities to optimize their effectiveness. This could form part of the general induction to employment for supervisors and staff or of a disability awareness session. In conjunction, an opportunity should be given to all employees to raise any questions which they may have about the prospect of working with a disabled co-worker.
3.2.3. Inputs from specialist agencies should be sought, if necessary, in planning these information and awareness-raising sessions in the workplace.
3.2.4. Employers should signal their commitment to the disability management strategy, through such measures as special logos or mission statements, and concrete proposals regarding the recruitment of people with disabilities and the retention of employees who acquire a disability.
3.2.5. Groups of employers, employer organizations, organizations representing workers or non-governmental organizations should consider collaboratively publicizing strategies on disability issues and information on the implementation of these policies.
3.2.6. Employers should inform their suppliers and sources of procurement of their strategies on disability management, with a view to encouraging good practice.
3.3.1. Employers should keep a record of the number of people with disabilities employed in the workplace, either as new recruits or as job retainees, the type and level of their job, and the number and nature of measures taken to facilitate their employment or retention. This information could form part of the regular publicizing of the workplace disability management strategy.
3.3.2. Regular appraisals should be made of this information, in order to evaluate the effectiveness of workplace strategy on the management of disability and to make improvements where required.
4.1.1. The principle of non-discrimination should be respected throughout the recruitment process, to ensure maximal benefit to the employer and equitable opportunities for candidates with and without disabilities. Employers could, for example, include a statement about commitment to equal opportunity in their recruitment procedures and in job advertisements, using a logo to signal that such a policy is in force within the enterprise, specifically invite applications from people with disabilities, and state that candidates will be considered solely on the basis of their abilities.
4.1.2. Employers should ensure that the recruitment process attracts applications from as many qualified women and men as possible. They could do this, for example, by consulting with the employment service for disabled persons, or other special agencies by ensuring that job vacancies are publicized in a format which is accessible to people with different disabilities - in print, on radio, on the Internet - by providing job application materials in a range of formats.
4.1.3. In preparing job descriptions, employers should focus on the specific job(s) to be filled and the core competencies, qualifications and experience required. The opinions of current or previous jobholders or their supervisors or worker representatives could be sought in identifying essential and non-essential job functions.
4.1.4. Where employers are considering the recruitment of a disabled person, either because of corporate policy, company commitment or due to a legal obligation, and do not know which job would be suitable, they should consider examining all work carried out in the workplace, with support from the employment services or training service providers if necessary, to identify:
4.1.5. Where employers rely on agencies for the management of recruitment, the competent authorities could collaborate with employers' organizations and advertising associations to develop advertising practices which attract applications from jobseekers with disabilities.
4.1.6. Competent authorities should facilitate employers in the process of recruiting disabled persons by ensuring that they can avail of high-quality job placement services for assistance in matching people with disabilities to jobs suited to their capacity and interest, and for related advice. The competent authorities should also facilitate the arrangement of technical advice, wage subsidies and other incentives as appropriate.
4.1.7. Organizations of employers and workers could prepare guidelines to assist in the employment of women and men with disabilities in urban and rural areas. These guidelines should reflect national and sector circumstances.
4.1.8. Employers' organizations could support the recruitment of workers with disabilities by working with service agencies, employment services and organizations of and for persons with disabilities to ensure that the services provided effectively meet employer needs.
4.1.9. In considering a candidate with a disability for a specific job, employers should be open to making adjustments, if required, in the workplace, workstation and work conditions, to maximize the ability of this candidate to perform the job. Advice and guidance on appropriate adjustments may be obtained from employment services or specialist agencies, including organizations of or for people with disabilities. Adjustments, where required, should be planned in consultation with disabled and non-disabled workers, and be made with the agreement of workers' representatives and the disabled worker or workers involved (see also section 7).
4.2.1. Pre-employment tests and screening should focus on the specific skills, knowledge and abilities regarded as essential to the functions of the vacant job. Care should be taken in selecting the tests to ensure that they are in a format which is accessible to disabled applicants. Similarly, screening criteria should be carefully examined to ensure that they do not inadvertently exclude persons with disabilities.
4.2.2. In selecting interview panels, employers should nominate people with an awareness of disability issues and how these might be managed in the workplace. If possible, a disabled person should be included in the panel. This could be a disabled person already employed in the workplace.
4.2.3. Members of interview panels in the private and public sectors should be provided with guidance on the interview and selection process of persons with disabilities, in particular where they are being considered on an equal basis with other candidates.
4.2.4. Employers should consider ways of enabling candidates with sensory or mobility impairments, or intellectual disability to participate and perform at interviews on an equal basis with other candidates, for example by permitting a sign language interpreter or an advocate to be present.
4.2.5. In issuing invitations to interview, employers could encourage candidates to state in advance any special arrangements they may require in order to participate in the interview.
4.2.6. Adjustments in the recruitment process to take account of the special needs of disabled jobseekers, and the rationale for such adjustments, should be communicated to disabled candidates and employees.
4.3.1. Employers should arrange an orientation to the company or service, the working environment and the job for each newly recruited worker with a disability, in the same way as for non-disabled workers.
4.3.2. Employers should ensure that information essential to the job and workplace, such as job instructions, works manuals, information on staff rules, grievance procedures or health and safety procedures are communicated to employees with disabilities in a format which assures that they are fully informed.
4.3.3. In offering a job to a disabled candidate, the employer should indicate any disability-related adjustments to the working environment, workstation or work schedules which are proposed and consult with the candidate further on the subject.
4.3.4. Workers' representatives should be informed of any substantial adjustments made or planned, to take account of specific needs of an employee with a disability.
4.3.5. Employers should take steps to integrate workers with disabilities into work breaks, training and social activities and other aspects of the working environment in cooperation with workers' representatives. They could do this, for example, through a mentoring system in which designated experienced colleagues advise and support co-workers.
4.3.6. Employers should cooperate with the competent authorities or other relevant agencies in facilitating courses for management, supervisors, or co-workers who wish to learn sign language, to better communicate with hearing-impaired colleagues.
4.3.7. Once the recruitment of a person with a disability has taken place, follow-up services may be important in ensuring that any problems which may arise are swiftly identified and resolved. In this context, employers and the employee with a disability could benefit from continued contact with the employment services and other relevant agencies. Employers should consult these services and agencies directly, if necessary, and facilitate workers with disabilities in also maintaining contact, with a view to promoting their satisfactory integration into the workplace.
4.4.1. Where employers are not immediately in a position to employ a disabled worker, they could consider providing on-the-job training opportunities to jobseekers with disabilities, to enable them to acquire the skills, knowledge and work attitude required for specific jobs in the workplace. Such workplace-based training can help make the jobseeker's skills more relevant to the employer's requirements. It also provides the opportunity for an employer to gauge a disabled worker's abilities and capacity, and perhaps to consider recruitment once the training period has been completed.
4.4.2. Where on-the-job training is provided, employers may assign a supervisor or senior worker to carry this out. Alternatively, the services of a job coach may be provided through the employment services.
4.5.1. As an alternative to immediate recruitment or the provision of on-the-job training opportunities, employers could consider giving a disabled person a work trial or a supported employment placement. As with on-the-job training, these will provide the employer the opportunity to assess ability and capacity. In some cases, recruitment may follow. Even where this does not result, a work trial or a supported employment placement provides disabled jobseekers with valuable work experience which increases their subsequent employability.
4.5.2. The competent authorities should facilitate work trials and supported employment by providing employers with technical advice, as required, and by informing them of incentive schemes available to subsidize any costs involved, such as wage costs or costs of adaptations to premises, tools or equipment.
4.5.3. In the case of supported employment, the competent authorities could ensure the provision of job-coach services and ongoing follow-up throughout the placement, either directly through the public employment services, or through other specialist agencies.
4.5.4. On completion of work trials, the competent authorities or other specialist agencies could follow up with the employer, to review the trial's success and make other arrangements, if necessary. These could include the transfer of the work trial to a different job within the company or elsewhere, or the organization of additional training or other supports for the disabled person.
4.6.1. Employers should keep their recruitment process under review, in order to ensure that it is accessible to people with different types of disability.
4.6.2. The competent authorities should undertake regular reviews of the effectiveness of measures to promote employment opportunities for disabled persons, and take steps to improve the effectiveness of these measures, where necessary. These reviews should be carried out in consultation with employers and worker representatives, as well as representatives of disabled persons.
5.1.1. Workers with disabilities should be afforded, to the greatest extent possible, the opportunities to acquire the skills and experience necessary to advance in their careers.
5.1.2. Information about career development and promotional opportunities should be made available and communicated in a range of formats accessible to workers with different disabilities in the enterprise. Particular attention should be paid to accessibility, where such information is provided electronically.
5.1.3. Workers with disabilities should be encouraged to apply for promotion, particularly where it appears that they may be reluctant to do so, because of an impairment or other obstacle arising from their disability, or perceived obstacles in their working environment.
5.1.4. In considering workers for promotion, employers should take account of their prior experience and competencies, in addition to formal qualifications.
5.2.1. Opportunities for workers with disabilities to avail of in-service training programmes should be developed and publicized. The use of readers, interpreters and adapted materials should be facilitated, where required, by the competent authorities, or by organizations of or for people with disabilities.
5.2.2. Employers should consider adjusting time schedules, venues and programmes to facilitate and maximize the participation of persons with disabilities in measures intended for the career development of all employees.
5.2.3. In developing training opportunities, employers or groups of employers should ensure that these are inclusive of disabled persons, by consulting, if necessary, with specialized vocational rehabilitation and training services, and availing of technological and other supports.
5.2.4. Workplace training handbooks and materials should be accessible to persons with communication impairments and intellectual disabilities, including alternative formats for printed materials and use of visual illustrations in place of text when the need arises.
5.3.1. A policy of equal opportunity should be implemented in workplace-based enrolment for vocational training by making courses available and accessible to all employees, including those with disabilities and modifying course manuals and materials, where necessary.
5.3.2. The competent authorities should provide the necessary educational and training structures to enable workers with disabilities to advance in open employment.
5.3.3. In selecting external training services and opportunities, enterprises should take account of the venue accessibility for workers with physical or sensory impairments.
5.4.1. The performance appraisal of workers with disabilities should take place under the same terms and conditions as those of the same or similar jobholders.
5.4.2. Employers should monitor the career path of workers with disabilities with a view to ensuring that any obstacles to their advancement in the workplace are removed.
6.1.1. Where existing employees acquire a disability while in employment, employers can continue to benefit from their accumulated expertise and experience by taking steps to enable them to retain their employment. In developing a strategy for managing disability in the workplace, employers should include measures for job retention including:
(a) early intervention and referral to rehabilitation services;
(b) measures for a gradual resumption of work;
(c) opportunities for workers with disabilities to test work or obtain experience in an alternative job if they are unable to resume their previous jobs;
(d) the use of support and technical advice to identify any opportunities and adjustments which might be required.
6.1.2. In seeking to facilitate job retention by a disabled employee, employers should be aware of the range of possible options. In some cases, the employee may be able to return to the same job as before, with no changes. In other cases, some adjustments may be required to the job itself, to the workstation or the working environment. In yet other cases, it may be necessary for the person to move to a different job in the workplace. The disability management strategy should include measures to promote job retention in each of these forms. These may include training or retraining for the person concerned, the provision of information to supervisors and co-workers, the use of devices and appliances, as well as modifications or alternative options in the procedures needed to perform the job.
6.1.3. In developing measures for the redeployment of workers with disabilities, employers and worker representatives should take into account the occupational preferences of workers.
6.1.4. The competent authorities should provide guidance, services and incentives to employers, groups of employers and employers' organizations, in order to maximize opportunities for women and men with disabilities to retain their employment, and to resume work speedily following an accident, injury, disease, changed capacity or disabling condition. These could include measures which allow for individual rehabilitation plans or job retention programmes, aiming to promote opportunities for these workers in their current or another occupation in which they can make use of their talents and experience, as far as possible without loss of earnings. Such measures should be developed in consultation with the social partners, relevant professionals and disabled persons' representatives.
6.2.1. The competent authorities should facilitate employers to assess the abilities and work experience of workers who have acquired a disability or reduced capacity for their job, with a view to their continuing in the same job, if necessary with some modification of their job tasks, the working environment or work schedule, or through retraining.
6.2.2. The competent authorities should promote the availability of opportunities for workers who become disabled, experience work-related injuries, or develop occupational diseases in the course of their working life to remain economically active through:
(a) vocational retraining opportunities including those suited to a variety of sectors on the open labour market;
(b) the promotion and support of information and advisory services relating to job retention and return to work;
(c) the development of materials, if possible in the form of an electronic database, illustrating examples of successful job-retention practices and experiences suited to women and to men, to older and younger workers and to urban and rural areas, and appropriate to national conditions;
(d) specific programmes of work reintegration of persons with disabilities;
(e) monitoring the compatibility of social security systems supporting workers with disabilities with the goals of job retention and return to work.
6.2.3. The competent authorities should ensure that the appropriate services required by people who acquire a disability while in employment are available promptly, are of high quality and are well coordinated.
6.2.4. The competent authorities could bring to the attention of all employees the range and scope of provisions, both in cash and in kind, within their social security schemes which are intended to have a preventative, compensatory or rehabilitative function in relation to disability.
6.2.5. The competent authorities should establish model practices and procedures for job retention in the public sector.
6.2.6. Workers' representatives should establish policies for job retention by persons with disabilities in their own organizations and in their proposals for collective bargaining.
In recruiting or retaining workers with disabilities, employers may need to make an adjustment or adjustments in some cases to enable the individual to perform the job effectively. For the sake of convenience, provisions regarding the different types of possible adjustments are grouped together in this section. It is emphasized, however, in many cases, such adjustments are not required.
7.1.1. To facilitate the recruitment of persons with disabilities and job retention by workers who acquire a disability, employers should take any necessary steps to improve the accessibility of the work premises to people with different types of disability. This should include consideration of entrance to and movement around the premises and of toilet and washroom facilities.
7.1.2. Accessibility should also be understood to include signage in use, manuals, workplace instructions and electronic information. These should be reviewed for accessibility to people with visual impairment and for people with intellectual disability in particular.
7.1.3. Accessibility for people with hearing impairment includes access to information frequently conveyed by sound - such as the ringing of a bell, a fire alarm, whistle or siren. Such facilities should be reviewed and complemented, where necessary, with alternative devices such as flashing lights.
7.1.4. In planning to improve accessibility, employers should consult with disabled persons and with specialist technical advisory services, to ensure that the proposed adjustments are appropriate and cost-effective.
7.2.1. Adaptations may be required to the workstation to enable the worker with a disability to perform the job effectively. In planning adaptations, employers should consult with the disabled worker involved and with worker representatives.
7.2.2. Similarly, adaptations may be required to tools and equipment to facilitate optimal job performance. These, too, should be planned in consultation with the disabled worker and worker representatives.
7.2.3. For some workers with disabilities, it may be necessary to review the job description and make changes - for example by deleting a part of the job which the person is unable to perform and replacing this with another task or tasks.
7.2.4. Flexibility of work schedules can be a significant factor in enabling some individuals with disabilities to perform a job satisfactorily. This should be considered, once again in consultation with the workers concerned and their representatives.
7.2.5. Performance requirements may need to be reviewed, in consultation with the disabled workers and their representatives, particularly at an early stage after recruitment, or after an existing employee has acquired a disability.
7.3.1. The competent authorities should make available to employers incentives for workplace adjustments, as well as a technical advisory service which provides up-to-date advice and information on adjustments to the workplace or the organization of job tasks, as required.
8.1. With their consent, information concerning persons with disabilities, reduced function or impaired health status should be assembled and kept by employers.
8.2. Employers should take account of the right to individual privacy in seeking disclosure of information on a range of disability issues in the workplace.
8.3. Employers should maintain the confidentiality of information disclosed by a job applicant or worker in relation to an actual or potential impairment or health status in accordance with national laws and regulations.
Adjustment, accommodation
Many of the obstacles which people with disabilities face in their search for jobs and at work arise from the way employment and workplaces are structured and organized, rather than from the disability itself. Adjustments or accommodations may be required to ensure that the disabled worker can work successfully in the job and with non-disabled colleagues. These adjustments can take "material" or "non-material" forms.
Material adjustments - to the workplace itself, to the workstation, to the tools, machinery and equipment used - may include a product, technical system or equipment used by a person with a disability, specially produced or freely available, to prevent, to compensate, to reduce or neutralize the impairment or disability. Examples of such material adjustments are:
Non-material adjustments are changes to the content of the work, the way in which the work is carried out or other related work practices which do not actually affect the quality of the work done, but enable the disabled worker to do the job. Examples of non-material changes are:
In considering adaptations or accommodations to specific jobs, a simple change may quite often suffice. For example, if a worker has difficulty standing, it may be sufficient to provide a chair for this person to sit on while working, or elements of the job which require the worker to walk long distances can be reallocated and new elements added to make up a full-time job. In some cases, though, the adaptation may require consultation of technical guidelines on accessibility, which many countries have developed, or inputs from technical advisory services. This may be required, for example, where a ramp is being constructed or the workplace is being made wheelchair-accessible.
Some countries have legislation which requires employers to make "reasonable" accommodations to facilitate workers with disabilities. This concept includes the assumption that employers should do what is needed, if the costs involved are not exorbitant. In cases where the adjustments require considerable expenditure, many governments have introduced grants to subsidize the cost, even where no legal obligation exists. As an alternative, individuals with disabilities may be given the opportunity to provide special equipment or other adjustments, or to pay a portion of the cost.
Relevant ILO Conventions and Recommendations
Basic human rights
- Discrimination (Employment and Occupation) Convention (No. 111) and Recommendation (No. 111), 1958.
Employment
Rehabilitation and employment of disabled persons
- Vocational Rehabilitation and Employment (Disabled Persons) Convention (No. 159) and Recommendation (No. 168), 1983;
- Vocational Rehabilitation (Disabled) Recommendation (No. 99), 1955.
Employment policy
- Employment Policy Convention (No. 122) and Recommendation (No. 122), 1964;
- Employment Policy (Supplementary Provisions) Recommendation, 1984 (No. 169);
- Employment Promotion and Protection against Unemployment Convention (No. 168), 1988.
Employment services
- Employment Service Convention (No. 88) and Recommendation (No. 83), 1948.
Vocational guidance and training
- Human Resources Development Convention (No. 142) and Recommendation (No. 150), 1975.
Employment of specific categories of persons
- Medical Examination of Young Persons (Industry) Convention (No. 77), 1944;
- Medical Examination of Young Persons (Non-Industrial Occupations) Convention (No. 78), 1946;
- Medical Examination of Young Persons Recommendation (No. 79), 1946;
- Older Workers Recommendation (No. 162), 1980.
Labour relations
- Co-operation at the Level of the Undertaking Recommendation (No. 94), 1952.
Conditions of work
Occupational safety and health
- Working Environment (Air Pollution, Noise and Vibration) Convention (No. 148), 1977;
- Occupational Safety and Health Convention (No. 155) and Recommendation (No. 164), 1981;
- Occupational Health Services Convention (No. 161) and Recommendation (No. 171), 1985;
- Chemicals Convention (No. 170), 1990.
Wages
- Minimum Wage Fixing Machinery (Agriculture) Convention (No. 99), 1951.
Social security
- Income Security Recommendation (No. 67), 1944;
- Social Security (Minimum Standards) Convention (No. 102), 1952;
- Employment Injury Benefits Convention (No. 121) and Recommendation (No. 121), 1964;
- Invalidity, Old-Age and Survivors' Benefits Convention (No. 128) and Recommendation (No. 131), 1967.
1. See ILO Vocational Rehabilitation and Employment (Disabled Persons) Convention, 1983 (No. 159).
2. Based on the World Health Organization's estimate that 10 per cent of the world's population has a disability, or 610 million people, of whom 386 million are between the ages of 15 and 64 years (United Nations World Population Statistics, 1998).
3. Reported unemployment rates vary from 13 per cent in the United Kingdom, a rate which is twice that of the non-disabled workforce, to 18 per cent in Germany, to an estimated 80 per cent and more in many developing countries.
4. In 1999, the number of people with HIV/AIDS was estimated at 33 million, with a high rate of new infection each year. Over 5 million people were newly affected in 1999.
5. See, for example, "Unlocking potential. The new disability business case", Employers' Forum on Disability, United Kingdom, 2000.
6. In the 1980s, expenditure on disability benefits comprised 6 per cent of GNP in the Netherlands, 3.5 per cent of GNP in Germany and 2.5 per cent of GNP in France. In addition, costs were spiralling - expanding by a factor of four in the Netherlands, 1975-89, for example, and by 5.8 per cent in the United Kingdom in the same period.
7. The annual value of GDP lost due to long-term and short-term disability in Canada in 1993 was estimated at C$45.8 billion, representing 7.7 per cent of the country's GDP for that year. A World Bank study used the same methodology to estimate the annual loss of GDP globally at between US$1.37 trillion and US$S1.94 trillion.
8. According to recent surveys in the United States and the United Kingdom, for example, Job accommodation network - A service of the President's Committee on the Employment of People with Disabilities, West Virginia University, United States, 1997 (www.jan.wvu.edu), Department for Education and Employment, United Kingdom, Research Brief 57, Mar. 1998.
Comments on this Draft Code can be sent to murrayb@ilo.org