The Employers’ Disability Charter aims to inspire a culture of change by encouraging employers to rethink their approach to disability.
The last charter was published before discrimination legislation was enacted in 2023 and focused on working towards inclusive practice, but now it is about supporting employers as collaborative partners, helping them not only meet those requirements but to go further, in ways that are practical and meaningful for the workplace.
‘As there is now discrimination legislation we knew we had to update the commitments in the charter, so the legislation triggered us to create the second edition,’ said Guernsey Employment Trust chief executive Nikki Ioannou-Droushiotis.
‘For example one of the commitments before was to consider making reasonable adjustments, but now that is law so we have had to change the wording of that.
‘This isn’t a tick-box thing, it’s about employers saying they are upholding values, and for us it’s more about the quality of commitment than the number of employers we end up having signed up.’
One of the other things that has been changed in the new edition is the increased use of the word ‘neurodivergent’.
‘In 2017 it was not as widely used as it is now, but some people with autism and ADHD use that word to describe themselves so we have included that in the document,’ said Mrs Ioannou-Droushiotis.
The second edition was a project taken on by former employment development manager Elaine Strappini.
‘GET are really thankful to Elaine for her work on the charter and this will form part of her legacy,’ said Mrs Ioannou-Droushiotis.
‘She has founded a new business, Life Beyond Stroke, and we wish her all the best.’
The founding members of the charter were also involved in the process of developing the new one.
‘We did some workshops at Les Cotils and the States, being the island’s largest employer, looked at it very closely to make sure they were happy with it too.’
Employers wanting to sign up to the second edition of the Employers’ Disability Charter are asked to contact the Guernsey Employment Trust.
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