Disability at Grant Thornton

Why is disability inclusion important? 

The UN convention defines disability as including “…those who have long-term physical, mental, intellectual or sensory impairments which, in interaction with various barriers, may hinder their full and effective participation in society on an equal basis with others.” This definition adopts what is known as the social model of disability. It recognises that disability is an evolving concept and includes both visible and invisible disabilities.

As part of our firm’s strategy to create a more diverse and inclusive environment, ensuring our colleagues feel supported includes helping those with a disability and providing resources and tools to help our colleagues manage their mental health.

It is important for individuals and the growth of our firm to utilise our colleagues’ strengths and provide support to help each individual reach their full potential. This involves embracing our differences to allow our colleagues to feel comfortable to share any challenges they face as well as educating our people to be a part of the change.

What have we done so far and what is our strategy going forward?

We continue to try and change the narrative through discussions about disability so our people can have considered conversations at all levels, with an assumption of positive intent and a desire to learn. We want accessibility to be understood by and be relevant to all our people and role-modelled by our leaders, with increased focus on improved outcomes for all of our people who have a disability, are neurodiverse or have a mental health condition.

We will prioritise our efforts to get a mixture of tactical changes that make a difference day-to-day, as well as supporting the wider wellbeing strategy through a more strategic approach to mental health. 

As a firm we’ve got a lot to be proud of, so we will pursue targeted opportunities to raise our external profile in relation to disability, neurodiversity and mental health.

We're enabling a culture where people feel comfortable to share their conditions.

Some of the things we have done to achieve this include:  

• We have put detailed guidance in place to support people managers to support any person with a long-term condition or disability as well as neurodiversity.
• We are part of the Positive Interview Action Scheme, so if candidates meet the minimum requirements for a role, we offer people who are neurodiverse or have a disability a guaranteed interview. 
• We are members of the Business Disability Forum (BDF) and work closely with them to develop inclusive policies and working practices.
• We have achieved Bronze on the BDF SMART Audit, a comprehensive external assessment tool by the BDF that helps evaluate and improve disability inclusion practices and workplace accessibility. 
• We have worked with Microsoft and improved our technology to support our people with conditions, for example read aloud, dictation and colour blindness, as well as shared stories in our firm on how technology tools have helped through our #TechEnabled campaign.
• We have reached Disability Confident Level 3, in a government scheme designed to help employers attract, recruit and retain people with disabilities and long-term conditions.
• We have joined the Valuable 500, a global movement putting disability inclusion on the business leadership agenda.
• We have redesigned a streamlined Reasonable Adjustments process (with name change to Workplace Adjustments, based on user feedback and BDF consultation). This provides a catalogue of pre-approved items for individuals, freeing up more time for those who need it most.