LMEP webinar – Supporting employers to recruit disabled people and people with health conditions: Lessons from the evidence

Event summary

This webinar will highlight the emerging evidence and innovative approaches to supporting employers to increase their recruitment of disabled people and people with health conditions. The session will explore practical strategies to inform local delivery of employment support programmes, and employer engagement approaches.

The webinar will bring together speakers from local and regional government and delivery organisations, including Neath Port Talbot Council and Ambition North Wales regional skills partnership, and will incorporate a Q+A chaired by Naomi Clayton, CEO of IES. This webinar is the second in a series delivered through the Department for Work and Pensions’ Labour Market Evidence Programme, which aims to help local policymakers better understand what works in improving labour market outcomes for out-of-work and in-work individuals.

Background

Recently published analysis by DWP shows that disabled people and people with health conditions are more likely to be economically inactive or unemployed than their peers. With over 600,000 people out of work due to long-term sickness saying they would like to work, employers have a key role to play in supporting disabled people and people with health conditions into work. The importance of this role was recognised in the government’s Get Britain Working White Paper (2024), which highlighted that employers need support and guidance to increase their recruitment of disabled people and people with health conditions.

The session will highlight:

• What enables employers to recruit disabled people and people with health conditions
• Effective inclusive recruitment practices
• How Active Labour Market Programme practitioners can support employers with recruitment of disabled people and people with health conditions

Who should attend?

• Employment leads in Combined Authorities and Local Authorities
• National and local policy makers shaping inclusive labour market policy
• Employers of all sizes looking to improve and increase their recruitment of disabled people and people with health conditions
• HR managers shaping organisational recruitment practices
• Providers and practitioners of employment programmes working with employers to support people into work, such as WorkWell and Get Britain Working Trailblazer schemes.

How will participants benefit from attending?

Delegates will gain:

• An understanding of the evidence on what enables inclusive recruitment practices for disabled people and people with health conditions
• Insight into the role of Active Labour Market Programme practitioners in supporting employers to improve their inclusive recruitment practices
• Examples of how employment support providers and local authorities are working with employers to provide guidance and develop their recruitment practices

Event agenda

11:00 Welcome and agenda
11:05 Presentation of the evidence
11:20 Speaker from Neath Port Talbot Trailblazer
11:30 Speaker from Ambition North Wales
11:40 Audience Q&A
11:55 Closing remarks

Learn more about the event and register here