Standfirst: Here’s an expert guide to the government assistance available for employers that hire a worker with a disability – and a reminder of the benefits of doing so.
Australia’s workforce is constantly changing to prepare for, and respond to, future economic, environmental and social needs. The population is ageing and people are staying in the workforce longer. Many industries are experiencing major skill and labour shortages, especially in growth areas. Increasingly, employers need to consider accessing a more diverse range of skilled and talented people, and taking advantage of Australia’s untapped workforce.
Smart employers recruit and welcome talent with disability
It’s a myth that hiring people with disabilities is costly, complicated or in some way bad for business. In fact, many studies have found quite the opposite to be true. You may be aware that there are many government subsidies available to companies that onboard employees with a disability, but there are also programs in place that can make the process of recruiting disabled workers much easier.
Having access to government assistance should never be the sole reason for hiring anyone with a disability, however, and as this article outlines, the benefits are far-reaching.
Benefits of employing someone with a disability
Employing people with a disability makes good business sense. There are significant benefits. Employees with a disability are:
Reliable: people with a disability take fewer days off, take less sick leave and have a higher retention rate than other workers. The costs to business of absenteeism and sick leave for employees with disability can be as low as 34 per cent of the cost attributable to their colleagues.
“Real savings are realised through reduced costs for turnover, recruitment and re-training.”
Productive: once in the right job, people with a disability perform equally as well as other employees.
Affordable: recruitment, insurance cover and compensation costs are lower. People with a disability have fewer compensation incidents and accidents at work than other employees.
Good for business: people with a disability build strong relationships with customers and boost staff morale and loyalty by helping create a diverse workforce. Teamwork is enhanced. Real savings are realised through reduced costs for turnover, recruitment and re-training. Hiring people with a disability contributes to the organisation’s overall diversity. It enhances the company’s image among its staff, community and customers, with positive benefits for the employer’s brand.
Good for people: it’s also worth noting some of the ‘moral goods’ that come out of this approach. Hiring people with disabilities is good for people. It boosts quality of life, self-confidence and a sense of community. It also creates a social network for people with disabilities.
Profitable: people with disabilities tend to be highly cost-effective to employ and they help deliver a competitive advantage, as well as being more reliable, punctual and loyal. This all leads to increased profits.
This article outlines some of the supports available to businesses that decide to hire workers with a disability in Australia.
Disability Employment Services
Disability Employment Services (DES) is a national network of organisations funded by the Australian Government to help employers recruit and retain employees with disabilities. DES help job seekers with disability, injury or health conditions in around 2200 sites across Australia.
A key distinguishing feature of DES is its capacity to support and manage a person’s condition in the workplace, along with providing ongoing support in the workplace for as long as it is required. Providers offer a range of free services to employers of people with a disability, injury or health condition, including:
- Professional recruitment advice and job matching, including the use of the Job Access portal (see below), which ensures that it’s easy to match people with disabilities with existing vacancies and more.
- Help with job design for employees with disabilities.
- On-the-job or off-site support to ensure new employees with disabilities settle into their job.
- Ongoing support, for as long as it is required, to maintain the employment of a person with a disability.
- Training information and awareness activities for employers and staff.
- Help for employees whose job may be in jeopardy as a result of their disability.
Job Services Australia
Job Services Australia is Australia’s largest government-funded employment service, with offices in up to 1700 locations across Australia. They are a mix of large, medium and small for-profit and not-for-profit organisations.
Job Services providers work closely with employers to assess their staffing requirements and help them find work-ready employees, particularly in industries or sectors with a heavy demand for skills. Job Services Australia providers work with employers to ensure candidates are suited to their business. In addition to job placement services, Job Services Australia providers can help employers and job seekers access relevant apprenticeships and traineeships.
Your local Job Services Australia provider can help your business with:
- High-quality recruitment services.
- Referral of job seekers to your vacancies.
- Skills training that is relevant to your business.
JobAccess
JobAccess is an information service the Australian Government sponsors. It provides information about the various incentives and government services available to companies that employ workers who have a disability.
In addition to a website, JobAccess also features a telephone information/advisory service that offers employment solutions and advice to employers and disabled employees.
The Employment Assistance Fund
The JobAccess Employment Assistance Fund provides financial assistance to employers to help offset the cost of purchasing new equipment, making modifications to the workplace, and providing various additional services and supports to help accommodate current employees and new hires with a disability.
This can also include funds for Auslan interpreting (the use of Australian-specific sign language), disability, deafness and mental health awareness training, and assistance for specialist services for learning disorders and specific mental health conditions.
The IncludeAbility Program
The Australian Human Rights Commission developed the IncludeAbility program to increase the number of gainful employment opportunities for job seekers who have a disability. The initiative is also intended to increase workforce participation for disabled workers. There are several supports available through the program that pertain to employers.
The IncludeAbility website offers a useful range of guides and programs to help an employer master the benefits that disabled workers can bring to their workforce and to help them develop an inclusive workplace to harness those benefits.
This includes broad-focused topics such as creating an empowering network for disabled employees, and more specific guidance, such as how to handle meetings online and offline to create a welcoming, accessible space for everyone.
The program also offers a health check for your business. It’s free and confidential, and lets you assess where you are now, so that you can look at how to adapt your business to ensure that it is accessible and inclusive.
Summary
There are many government and non-government supports and services available to employers when recruiting workers with a disability in Australia. With a quick search online, you can access all of these services.
This article first appeared in issue 38 of the Inside Small Business quarterly magazine
