Agenda
9.15 Sign in and welcome
9.30 Introduction to a World of Inclusion
Noel Duffy, Chairman, Dolphin Computer Access Ltd
9.45 Disability Confident – Aim & Purpose
Amanda Wadsworth MBE DL, Disability & Work Opportunities, DWP
10.00 Case study
Harjit Bansal, North East London NHS Trust (winners of the ENEI awards)
10.15 Tools to support a Disability Confident workplace
Claire Jones Sales Director, Clear Talents Limited
10.30 Funding
Theresa Jones, Disability Services Advocate, Department of Work and Pensions
10.45 Reasonable Adjustments and Equality Legislation
Martin O Kane, Specialist Lead for Employment, RNIB
11.00 Comfort Break
11.10 Working from Home – best practice advice
Lawrence Howard, Hands-Free Computing
11.25 The Benefits of Employing People with Disabilities
Steve Tyler, Accessibility Director, Leonard Cheshire
11.40 Workshops –
• Encouraging Diversity & Inclusion Leadership
Janine King, CEO, iDiversity and Toby Mildon, Diversity & Inclusion Architect, Mildon Ltd
• Introducing people with disabilities into your organization
Aidan Healey, CEO, Lexxic Ltd
• Will it cost more - Access to Work
Rachel Willetts, project Manager, Dolphin Computer Access Limited
• Navigating employment law safely
Richard Holmes, Stakeholder Engagement Manager, RNIB
12.40 Report back and Round-up
1PM End
Do you have the right processes and tools in place to support a workplace, where people with disabilities can thrive and where their colleagues are comfortable working with, supporting or reporting to, someone with disabilities?
BATA are hosting their annual Workplace conference, on-line this year, and have invited a host of leading speakers to walk you through the best route to creating a disability confident organization - from certification to selecting the best tools, where to get help and how to get funding. You will also hear from aspirational Disability Confident employers and learn how to set up home working environments for people with disabilities.
The format will be a mix of short, informative talks by industry experts followed by workshops to give you an opportunity to tease out ideas with fellow delegates.
Biographies
Harjit K Bansal, Head of Equality, Diversity & Inclusion (NELFT)
Harjit has been in the NHS for over 20 years now, securing her first job as an Office Manager in CAMHS in Newham, after migrating from Kenya. She joined NELFT in 2004 when she was appointed as a Clinical Governance, Patient Engagement Manager and Race Equality Lead. Both risk management and race equality have been a challenge for her, however, there are processes in place to manage and mitigate risk, but seemed like the real challenge to seek clear guidance and governance on who was responsible for embedding the principles of race equality. In 2011 -2013 she played a pivotal role in the development of the NELFT Ethnic Minority Staff Network Strategy.
The EM Staff Network Strategy became a baseline for the development of the Disability and LGBT+ Staff Network Strategies and is one of the reasons that NELFT is progressing on their EDI agenda. This has been evidenced with the number of EDI awards that the team have won and more recently for Disability Confident.
Harjit holds an honours degree in Public Sector Management, which she achieved at City University; in the later years of her life, (she was pregnant with her second child, when she did it - like they say, it is never too late!) Her priority is to ensure that the needs of NELFT’s patients are appropriately met and staff feel valued by having equity for all.
Harjit is engaged in various initiatives in the Trust as she feels strongly that everything we do should be linked with the EDI agenda. She is keen to constantly improve what she is doing.