Action 4.2B Communicate opportunities to access reasonable accommodations and supports for each stage of the process.

Guidance

Often, employers can feel frustrated when a candidate or employee does not share accessibility needs, or shares this information late in the process, but it is important to understand the context for those decisions. When deciding whether or when to share information about their accessibility needs, people will often do a cost benefit analysis in their heads. Most have experienced discrimination or stigma when sharing this information in the past so many will only consider notifying their employer if they really need support, and only if they have confidence that they will get a positive reaction.

“The biggest challenge is when people don’t disclose. I can understand why they don’t disclose during the recruitment phase, but the earlier I know what they need, the easier it is to make sure they get it on time.”

WIDE Consultation Participant – Employer

Equally, while a candidate may not require support for say a phone-based interview, they may require it for a different form of assessment such as an in-person presentation.

That is why it is important to communicate the availability of reasonable accommodations and supports at every stage. This ensures that all candidates, regardless of their needs, have equal opportunities to participate fully in the process and can feel confident that the employer is serious about accommodating a range of needs.

Examples of some accommodations which may be required by candidates during various modes of recruitment may include:

• For online interviews: Questions/question areas provided in advance, extended time to communicate, use of the chat function to respond where necessary, captions enabled, ability to have a personal assistant/support present, sign language interpretation, good panellist cameras/lighting for lip readers.
• For in-person interviews: Accessible parking, accessible interview location, accessible bathrooms nearby, questions/question areas provided in advance, extended time to communicate, ability to have a personal assistant/support present, sign language interpretation, someone to meet and guide the candidate to the interview room from the door of the building, or where required for accessibility reasons, the cost of a taxi fare to and from the location.
• For presentation-based assessments: Extra time to present, allowing an alternative format where presentation skills themselves are not a core skill of the role, not scoring a visually impaired candidate on visual slide design, allowing use of notes, visual aids, or pre-recorded presentations.
• For psychometric tests: Alternative assessment modes (very common since psychometric tests are known to disadvantage disabled candidates), extra time for assessment, alternative test environment (low distraction), accessible test formats compatible with assistive technologies.
• For group interviews: Clear expectations/instructions provided in advance, smaller group sizes, sign language interpretation, alternative methods for measuring teamwork or leadership if the group setting is not accessible.

“(I was) asked to discuss a scenario in a group. I was asked if I had a disability in advance, clicked ‘yes’ but there was no other contact before interview. No captions available, no supports offered, so I could not perform and didn’t get the job. Next time I saw a group interview, the previous experience made me decide not to go for job.”

WIDE Consultation Participant – Disabled Person

It’s useful to embed as many of these practices into your formal recruitment procedures and associated guidance as appropriate to the size and scope of your organisation, to ensure that they happen as standard and become a part of your recruitment culture. By consistently communicating and implementing reasonable accommodations and supports throughout the recruitment cycle, your organisation demonstrates a commitment to inclusivity and ensures that all candidates and employees can participate fully and fairly in recruitment, selection, and career advancement processes.

“(I got a) positive response from the interview panel after disclosing my hearing loss. (They) made me feel at ease, took it on board and checked in to ensure I could hear. They listened. They were flexible.”

WIDE Consultation Participant – Disabled Person