How Can We Achieve Disability Confident Committed, Employer or Leader Status?
Guidance on the UK Government’s Disability Confident scheme.
- What is this advice about?
- What are the key points?
- What is the Disability Confident Scheme?
- What are the benefits for organisations and employers?
- What does Level 1 – Disability Confident Committed look like?
- What does Level 2 – Disability Confident Employer look like?
- What does Level 3 – Disability Confident Leader look like?
- Are there any costs involved?
- How long does Disability Confident status last for?
- Further reading
What is this advice about?
This advice is for any heritage organisation that employs people seeking support in recruiting and retaining disabled staff by signing up to the UK Government’s Disability Confident scheme.
The page details the steps to achieving Disability Confident status at Committed, Employer or Leader level and why this is important for heritage organisations and individuals.
What are the key points?
- The Disability Confident Scheme is a free-of-charge, 3-tier system backed by the UK Government that employers can use to demonstrate their commitments and actions towards access and inclusion for disabled people in their workplace
- Heritage organisations can encourage applicants from as wide a pool as possible by demonstrating to potential employees what the culture of their workplace is like
- Each tier has its own requirements but requires commitments and a brief statement evidencing actions on these commitments
- Membership lasts for 3 years, during which organisations can benefit from Disability Confident support and resources and use visible branding to highlight their status
What is the Disability Confident Scheme?
The Disability Confident Scheme is a UK Government-backed accreditation programme that gives employers the confidence, procedures, and culture in their organisation to employ disabled people.
There are 3 tiers, and organisations must progress through these tiers to achieve level 3, Leader status. Each tier has different requirements that mandate employers to demonstrate their actions to provide accessible and inclusive opportunities for disabled people.
According to a 2023 study into the reception of the scheme, the UK Government found that 63% of organisations employed disabled employees since becoming part of the scheme, and 67% said membership positively affected their organisation.
What are the benefits for organisations and employers?
For disabled people, there are many barriers to employment. This is particularly true in heritage, with its unique range of workplaces and issues around accessibility accommodations and lack of awareness around disability, d/Deafness and neurodiversity in the workplace.
It can be challenging to find out an organisation’s culture and approach to disability without an individual informing them of the nature of their disability. For many disabled people, sharing information about their disability, long-term health or neurodiversity is something they are wary of due to concerns over discrimination and stigma. For example, a study of the archaeological workforce in 2023 found that only 30% of disabled people shared their status with their employer.
A scheme publicly demonstrating a commitment to specific actions and a proactive welcome for disabled people can help reassure potential job applicants.
Being Disability Confident could help you discover someone your business just can’t do without.
Organisations that work to make their employment opportunities accessible and inclusive benefit from the skills, knowledge, and experience of disabled people, as well as their unique lived experience, which can inform organisational policy and programming to be more inclusive. In heritage, the perspectives of disabled people at all levels of an organisation can ensure that an organisation is making informed decisions.
Inclusive employment opportunities and a strong workplace culture of inclusion mean organisations save money in the long term by reducing staff turnover and increasing staff productivity and morale.
The influence and perception of organisations that visibly promote their Disability Confident status can also improve attitudes to and awareness of disability across the organisation’s sector and in their network of contacts. Disability Confident employers are leaders in their sectors and act as examples for others to follow.
At each level, you will receive:
- A Disability Confident Committed, Employer, or Leader badge that you can use on your business stationery, social media and communications for 3 years
- Information to help you continue your journey to becoming a Disability Confident Employer
What does Level 1 – Disability Confident Committed look like?
This is the scheme's first level, and all organisations must start here.
At this level, organisations must commit to:
- Inclusive and accessible recruitment
- Communicating vacancies
- Offering an interview to disabled people
- Providing reasonable adjustments
- Supporting existing employees
Activities to demonstrate these commitments must include at least 1 of the following:
- Work experience
- Work trials
- Paid employment
- Apprenticeships
- Job shadowing
- Traineeships
- Internships
- Student placements
- Sector-based work academy placements
You may already be doing 1 or more of these – if so, gather some evidence and be prepared to write a short explanation of how you are meeting these commitments.
Once these commitments are in place, you can sign up via the Disability Confident portal on the UK Government website.
What does Level 2 – Disability Confident Employer look like?
Level 2 can be applied for once you have achieved Level 1 status. With the DCS (Disability Confident reference number) you received on achieving Level 1, you can log into the portal and complete the application for Employer status.
Level 2 requires a self-assessment process on:
- Getting the right people for your business
- Keeping and developing your people
Use these 2 themes as prompts to gather evidence and prepare some short statements on your activities in these areas.
What does Level 3 – Disability Confident Leader look like?
Disability Confident Leaders are the top level of employers. They act as sector and industry champions for disabled employees, with high standards in accessibility and inclusion.
Assessment for this level is more involved and requires a more detailed self-assessment and evidencing of work undertaken, including:
- Having your self-assessment validated by someone outside of your business (not including DWP employees in jobcentres)
- Providing a short narrative to show what you have done or will be doing to support your status as a Disability Confident Leader
- Confirming you are employing disabled people
- Reporting on disability, mental health and wellbeing, by referring to the Voluntary Reporting Framework
Are there any costs involved?
The Disability Confident scheme is free to sign up to and there are no costs for receiving certificates or digital badges across the levels to make the scheme as accessible as possible.
The level of time an organisation will have to invest in fulfilling the criteria, preparing evidence, and reporting on their work differs at each level, and the cost of this in terms of staff capacity and resourcing should be considered. As a rough guide, this should take a day for Level 1, 1 to 3 days for Level 2, and 2 weeks for Level 3 (but at Level 3, allow up to 1 month for the process of gathering information and putting it into the right formats for application to the scheme).
Organisations aiming to achieve Level 3 – Disability Confident Leader will have to have their self-assessment independently audited. This may cost up to around £1500, depending on the size and complexity of the organisation.
How long does Disability Confident status last for?
Disability Confident at any level lasts for 3 years and can then be renewed through the same process as the application.
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