Australian Employers Network on Disability

The Australian Employers’ Network on Disability held a half day seminar in Melbourne on Thursday 1st November 2007, on the topic of “Embedding Reasonable Adjustments”.

Reasonable adjustments are modifications that are made to aspects of the workplace to ensure that an employee with disability can work to their full potential.  Reasonable adjustments can range from the provision of specific software for a person with a vision impairment, changing the layout of an office for a person with a mobility impairment, or perhaps installing an accessible ramp for a wheelchair user.  Reasonable adjustments can also be as simple as implementing flexible work hours, or changing break times.

Many Australian organisations are not aware that under the Disability Discrimination Act they are legally obligated to make reasonable adjustments for people with disability to ensure equity in employment.  Approximately 20% of the Australian population has one or more disability, so it is essential that businesses know how to respond appropriately when a person with disability comes to work for them.

At the seminar, many of our members came together to discuss their own individual experiences with implementing reasonable adjustments within their organisations.  Samantha French, our Senior Consultant, discussed the implications of not being adequately prepared to provide reasonable adjustments throughout all stages of employment, including the recruitment stage, explaining that workplace adjustments are about “removing any unintended barriers for people with disability and having the flexibility to respond to the individual needs of all employees”.

Graeme Innes AM, the Human Rights Commissioner and Commissioner responsible for Disability Discrimination, said that while employing people with disability is not something new or special, employers must remember that “failing to make reasonable adjustments means failing to make the most of a worker’s potential”.

Graeme also talked about the business benefits of employing people with disability, and said that making a simple adjustment can increase an employee’s productivity significantly, while also improving company morale.  “Give them an inch and they’ll give you back a mile”, said Graeme.

Individual case studies were also heard from three AEND member organisations, Telstra, IBM Australia and ANZ.
Mark Morley, Senior Diversity Specialist at Telstra, outlined the areas of priority being addressed by the Diversity at Telstra team, including improving access for people with disability to all Telstra services, both as customers and employees.

Mark said, “Telstra is committed to raising awareness of people of all abilities and exploring any issues or barriers that employees may be experiencing in order to identify opportunities for improvement and employee inclusion”. 

Ms Morgan McAllister, Workforce Diversity Program Manager at IBM Australia, and Ms Fiona Krautil, Head of the Advancement of Diversity and Women at ANZ, both spoke of their own personal experiences of developing and implementing reasonable adjustment policies and procedures within their organisations. 

Morgan spoke of the absolute importance of having senior management support, and said “the reason that IBM has been so successful in their diversity strategies is that the senior executive management level have always been publicly supportive of the issues”.

ANZ’s experience was slightly different, as their reasonable accommodations policy has only recently been re-launched.  Fiona Krautil stated that one of the more challenging issues was having practical strategies in place to actually implement the policy.  ANZ have tried to involve their entire workforce in the policy through their internal communications, particularly by having information available on their intranet.  Fiona said that it has been gratifying to hear that ANZ employees feel proud that their employer is proactively addressing the important topic of the employment of people with disability.

SPEAKERS

Mr Graeme Innes AM, Human Rights Commissioner and Commissioner responsible for Disability Discrimination, Human Rights & Equal Opportunity Commission

Ms Fiona Krautil, Head of Diversity and Women, ANZ 

Mr Mark Morley, Senior Diversity Specialist, Telstra Corporation

Ms Morgan McAllister, Workforce Diversity Program Manager, IBM Australia & New Zealand

Ms Nareen Young, CEO, Diversity Council Australia

Ms Jane Foster, Consultant, JobAccess