The HRA is committed to being a place where disabled people feel valued, supported, and able to progress. We are proud that this has been recognised through the awarding of Disability Confident Leader status, which only two per cent of organisations signed up to the scheme have achieved.
Recruitment and retention of disabled staff
Wherever possible, we offer a guaranteed interview to disabled applicants who meet the essential criteria. When we receive a very high volume number of applicants, we may need to apply further selection criteria to ensure we offer a proportionate number of interviews to disabled applicants. In 2024, candidates disclosing a disability made up 8.5% of applicants and 8% of appointments, showing equitable recruitment outcomes.
Once staff are here, we have lots in place to ensure our workplace and practices are accessible.
Disability support
- all policies and projects complete an Equality Impact Assessment, to ensure we are building accessibility in at the design stage
- our Health and Accessibility Passport offers a framework to agree reasonable adjustments, which can then be carried into any role within the organisation, or easily shared if an employee’s line manager changes
- we have a central budget for reasonable adjustments and will fund up to £2,000 per person in-house, before asking employees to apply to Access to Work
- we have an agreed process for ensuring Access to Work recommendations are procured quickly
- we have a Disability Leave policy for planned and unplanned leave related to the treatment and management of a long-term health condition
- we are able to refer to Occupational Health specialists where further advice is needed
- we have an active Disability and Neurodiversity Network for staff, which has a strategic voice within the HRA
- we publish equality information annually, which includes the representation of disabled staff within the organisation - this data is collected at the application stage and pulled through to our employee records system, where it can be updated at any time
Mental health and wellbeing support
In addition to the general disability provisions listed above:
- we have a suite of flexible working policies, which enable staff to prioritise their work/life balance. We also offer career breaks, special leave and volunteering leave, as well as the disability leave policy for planned and unplanned leave related to the treatment and management of a long-term health condition, including mental health
- our Health and Accessibility Passport (HAP) offers a framework to agree reasonable adjustments, which can then be carried into any role within the organisation, or easily shared if an employee’s line manager changes. We also support the use of Mind Wellbeing Action Plans as an accepted alternative to the HAP
- we have a network of Mental Health First Aiders who are available to provide support to colleagues
- we have an active staff network for mental health, which has a strategic voice within the HRA
- our SIG works with our Mental Health First Aiders to provide learning opportunities and resources to the wider organisation
- we have an internally published Wellbeing Framework, with a resource hub on our Intranet
- we offer an Employee Assistance Programme, which provides a free confidential 24/7 telephone line, structured counselling and legal information, access to counsellors via email, live chat and video chat, and a free app with personalised wellbeing resources.