Among the various minority categories, this one is the least understood by employers. Beyond the basic adherence to legal requirements, we see little in the form of best practices when it comes to attracting and retaining people with disabilities to the workforce.

The NHS Employers organisation is keen to share what they are doing to buck the trend on disability and make the workplace a truly inclusive environment.

Following analysis of the annual staff survey it was identified that disabled staff working for the NHS reported a significantly worse experience than non-disabled staff in a range of areas.

In order to address this, Paul worked with NHS England and disabled staff networks across the system to develop a Workforce Disability Equality Standard. This is supported by a whole series of activities designed to increase the confidence of managers to talk about disability and offer appropriate support.

We are looking forward to hearing how the programme was developed, what he has learned in implementing it and any key tips he has for those looking to improve on their approach to disability at work.

Paul Deemer has been an HR professional for over 30 years – and has worked in the D&I space for almost 20 of those. The organisation where he currently works is NHS Employers – who are the employers association for the UK National Health Service.

They support health and social care organisations on a range of HR issues – including diversity and inclusion – with the ambition of providing better and safer workplaces for staff so that they can then provide better care to patients.

This session is for you if:

• You currently have responsibility for driving Diversity & Inclusion;
• You are a Director in your company;
• Your role sits within Human Resources;
• You are a Diversity & Inclusion practitioner or champion; or
• You have a keen interest in D&I, and would like to embed further inclusive practices in your organisation.

Practical details:

This is a virtual session and it will be run on the Zoom video call platform. When you register you will receive an invite with the link.

For those that would like to join the session but can't make the date, the session will be recorded. Please do register to receive the recording.

What people say about The Big Fish Academy events:

“What a thought provoking and inspiring day. I was truly blown away by the different speakers – they all covered interesting topics and their passion was great! I’m looking forward to the next event!” – Rosie Hutton, HR manager CBRE

“A really well-balanced day, insightful panel contributions and thought-provoking discussions. Feel energised to go back to my senior management team with a strategy and plan!” – Nicky Ormrod, General Counsel at SEGA UK

“It has been great to hear honest and practical experience of other D&I practitioners, get new insights and bring greater focus to my work” – Jo Stansfield, Global Lead Diversity & Inclusion at Aveva

“The Big Fish Academy has broadened my horizons as to how I can go back to my organisation to help implement change for creating a better gender balance in the next year.” – Bridie Sheldon, Client Director at Hitachi Vantara

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