Inclusive Workplaces Week Scotland

Inclusive Workplaces Week Scotland: took place between 18th to 22nd November 2024

A week of bitesize online Information Sessions and Training to help employers discover the free services and support available to recruit and retain disabled talent.

It was packed with free online Information Sessions and bitesize Training for employers, which included DuoDay 2024, a day to promote equal employment opportunities and highlight the positive contributions disabled people make at work.

What was included in Inclusive Workplaces Week 2024?

A wide range of information webinars and bitesize training, all specific to workplaces:

• Introduction to Project Search for Employers
• Menopause at Work – tips and techniques for managing your team
• Building Inclusive Workplaces in Scotland – Access to Work Mental Health Support Service
• Skills Development Scotland’s Employer Offer
• Supporting Neurodiverse Employees
• Supported Employment & its Role in the Workplace
• Individual Placement and Support (IPS) Service for Employers
• Strategies for Managing Chronic Pain in the Workplace
• Effective Employee Consultation
• Access to Work for Employers
• Mental Health Stigma in the Workplace

Click on the link to view the highlights: Inclusive Workplaces Week Highlights

Here’s more on each of the sessions delivered:

1. An Introduction to DFN Project SEARCH for Employers 

Attendees discovered how fostering inclusive practices can elevate your diversity strategies whilst transforming lives. In this session, they learned about DFN Project SEARCH, the largest transition-to-work programme designed for individuals with learning disabilities and/or autism spectrum conditions. They explored how partnering with this initiative can drive business growth, enhance your workforce, and create life-changing opportunities for marginalised individuals eager to enter the world of work.

2. Menopause at Work – tips and techniques for managing your team 

Did you know 10% of menopausal women with troublesome symptoms will leave their job because of them? Organisations who do not train their managers and implement effective policies are losing valuable knowledge, skills, and experience. This session, delivered by Age Scotland, introduced attendees to the tools and techniques line managers need to best support their teams.

3. Building Inclusive Workplaces in Scotland: Access to Work Mental Health Support Services

The Better Health Generation in partnership with Able Futures, delivered an insightful session where they explored the fully funded Access to Work Mental Health Support Service in Scotland. Attendees discovered how this invaluable program helps employees and employers address mental health challenges in the workplace, offering tailored support to create inclusive, thriving work environments. Employers learned how Access to Work can make a lasting impact on mental well-being and professional success.

4. Skills Development Scotland’s Employer Offer 

Skills Development Scotland have teams and resources available to support Scottish employers.  This session covered the 1-2-1 business support offer available to businesses of all shapes and sizes, the host of digital tools available on the SDS Employer Hub and provided an overview of Scottish Apprenticeships and Skills Development Scotland.

5. Supporting Neurodiverse Employees 

This session, with Neuroinclusive Works CIC, introduced neurodiversity in the workplace and discussed how inviting open dialogue and collaboration with neurodivergent employees can create an environment where everyone feels authentic, supported and empowered to succeed together.

6. Supported Employment and its Role in the Workplace 

In this session, delivered by VIAS Triple E Supported Employment team, attendees discovered how working with Supported Employment services can help to diversify recruitment process and find dedicated and productive employees who will become assets to your team. They outlined how this free and confidential service works in practice and shared supported employment success stories.

7. Individual Placement and Support (IPS) Service for Employers 

Individual Placement and Support (IPS) is an approach to help people with mental health problems and/or addictions who want to find work and sustain work. Attendees learned about this free recruitment service, from SAMH, where they can be introduced to suitable candidates matched to their vacant positions.

8. Strategies for Managing Chronic Pain in the Workplace

The session helped attendees to understand the Pain Association Scotland’s helpful approach to dealing with chronic pain, which sees health as far more than just a medical issue. Importantly it’s an approach that makes sense of so much and one that links physical, emotional and social aspects together. Attendees were given an outline of the work of Pain Association Scotland, what they do and why they do it.  They also found out about their exciting new PALM project for dealing with chronic pain in the workplace for both employers and employees.

9. Effective Employee Consultation 

This session explored the importance of continued dialogue between employers and disabled employees in the workplace, both on an individual and group level. Through a combination of personal experience and more general information, it examined how employers can engage with potential disabled employees during recruitment and interview processes, and how wider networks can be created to ensure support is sustained throughout an employees tenure. It contained information and advice about forming employee networks/reference groups and how the members of such groups can become involved in the employer’s journey to make their workplace more accessible and inclusive through being given an active role to play in the creation and implementation of policies and other strategies related to diversity and equality.

10. Access to Work for Employers 

This awareness session provided  an in-depth overview of Access to Work. During the session, DWP covered details about what Access to Work is, what support it can provide to customers and the eligibility criteria. The session also covered the Access to Work application process, reporting changes of circumstance and disputing an award decision. Within the session there were case studies of how Access to Work can support people to enable them to remain in or move closer to work, and attendees had the opportunity for Q&A at the end of the session.

11. Mental Health Stigma in the Workplace 

To stop stigma and discrimination about mental health at work, there are a number of things organisations need to have in place. This is achievable, you probably have some of these already. In this session, See Me explored the elements required to start tackling stigma and discrimination. They used lived experience examples and studies to show how you can reduce the stigma of mental health issues in your workplace.