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Closing Disability Gaps Conference

Delegates at a conference
© Natasha Hirst

Closing Disability Gaps at Work Conference

If your organisation works with or represents disabled people then you’ll know that the UK Government’s “Improving Lives – The Work, Health and Disability Green Paper” is of huge significance in determining future opportunities and support for disabled people in the workplace.

The Cardiff University Research into Employment and Disability group has organised the “Closing Disability Gaps at Work” conference.  This is a unique opportunity to learn about the latest research into disability and employment, and to network with researchers, policy makers and academics to influence real change to long term Government policy.

Click here to register

Agenda

09.30   Introduction: Dame Professor Carol Black

10.00   Speaker from Work and Health Unit (tbc)

10.30   Professor Victoria Wass, Disability Employment Gaps and Evidence Gaps including a showing of the film ‘Disability Talking’

10.55   Coffee

11.20   Professor Melanie Jones, Disabled People’s Experience of Work: what is the evidence and what should we do about it?

11.40   Professor Ralph Fevre, Are Employers Discriminating by Default?

12.00   Dr Deborah Foster, Learning from the Experiences of Disabled People in the Workplace: the need to increase ‘voice’ and representation in disability policy and practice

12.20   Orientation for Workshop Sessions

12.30   Lunch

13.45   Parallel Workshops

  1. Collaboration on data collection. How to define disability and measure the disability employment gap. – led by Victoria Wass
  2. How should we monitor and address disability gaps in the quality and experience of work? – led by Melanie Jones
  3. The role of worker representatives and disability advocacy organisations in supporting disabled employees into the labour market and in employment and improving workplace well-being. – led by Deborah Foster
  4. Working in partnership to change employer behaviour towards disabled people: HR, occupational health, health practitioners and the law. – led by Ralph Fevre

15.30   Plenary and Panel with Professor Diana Kloss (Chair, Council for Work and Health), speakers from the Trades Union Congress (TUC) and the Chartered Institute of Personnel and Development (CIPD) (tbc).

16.30   Finish

 

Don’t delay – register today!

Register for the Closing Disability Gaps at Work Conference and prepare your response to the Green Paper:
Click here to register

Closing Disability Gaps at Work Conference
10-11 Carlton House Terrace, London. Tuesday 13th December 2016

On 31st October, 2016 the UK Government published Improving Lives – The Work, Health and Disability Green Paper and began a national consultation on work and health which will run until 17th February 2017. This timely conference brings together researchers, policy-makers and practitioners to contribute to the consultation and wider debate. In particular, it considers how the Government’s strategy to halve the disability employment gap can be achieved where past and existing polices and approaches have failed.

Confirmed speakers include Dame Professor Carol Black, Diana Kloss (Council for Work and Health), Liz Sayce (Disability Rights UK), Huma Munshi (TUC), Professor Ralph Fevre, Dr Deborah Foster, Professor Melanie Jones and Professor Victoria Wass (Cardiff University).  Along with officials from the Government’s Work and Health Unit there will be representation from disability charities including Macmillan Cancer Support, Disability Rights UK, Disability Wales, and from Irwin Mitchell, the Chartered Institute of Personnel and Development, the Trades Union Congress and the College of Occupational Therapists.

Delegate fee for lunch, refreshments and a copy of the Closing Disability Gaps report: £45