Up to 75% of disabled people in the UK find that their condition has an impact when job-hunting, according to new research from the Recruitment Industry Disability Initiative.

The research was carried out in conjunction with inclusive job board, Vercida and surveyed over 200 disabled jobseekers with a variety of physical and non-visible disabilities and long-term conditions.

Data from RIDI showed that 53% (2015: 56%) of respondents said that they first faced barriers as early as the application stage and 54% reported hurdles at multiple stages of the recruitment process. This figure is lower than RIDI’s survey in 2015 which showed 85% of jobseekers said that their disability had a negative impact when looking for work. In 2017 14% of those surveyed said their disability did not affect their job hunt at all – in 2015 this figure stood at 3%.  

Furthermore, the survey data showed that 23% of respondents considered themselves to have a mobility impairment, 8% had a visual impairment, 10% had a hearing impairment, 13% identified as having a learning disability and 28% said they had a mental health condition. Just under a third (30%) disclosed more than one condition.   

However, those who were surveyed also recounted positive recruitment experiences including: being offered a choice of contact method, extra time for assessments, fixed deadlines to plan applications, online interviews rather than face-to-face and an allocated parking space.

“While it’s unacceptable that so many disabled jobseekers continue to find the recruitment processes challenging, these results confirm that we’re certainly moving in the right direction,” Kate Headley, Director of Consulting at diversity consultancy The Clear Company and spokesperson for RIDI said. “Over the past two years I have witnessed a groundswell of awareness and understanding around disability in the workplace. This is in no small part thanks to the work that RIDI and our partners are doing in this area – but we still have further to go.”

“The findings of this survey are reflective of what our candidates have long been telling us – that there are a myriad of obstacles throughout the recruitment process that they must navigate in order to secure a role,” Morgan Lobb, CEO of Vercida.com, which distributed the survey on behalf of RIDI, said. “However it’s encouraging to see that we are making progress. Vercida showcases employers who are committed to creating a fairer society at work and places wellbeing as a priority. The employers that we work with understand that small changes in the way they communicate with disabled candidates can make a big difference to accessibility”.