Why are organisations overlooking disability awareness training?

Over the last few weeks, some interesting research around disability training has emerged, supporting the fact that many organisations are overlooking it.
After sharing the findings of this research, I was recently asked an interesting question:
Why is this?
After some reflection, I realised that there are actually several reasons, and that an answer would probably be best laid out in a short blog.

A general decline in all training
Firstly, one thing to consider is that training in general has seen a decline. Just last week it was reported that Employers in the UK invested 29% less in 2024 than in 2011, so it’s clear that training itself has been greatly reduced across the board, which will inevitably have an impact on disability awareness development.

EDI
Then there are the ‘branding’ issues with the current model of EDI. Sadly, in recent years, EDI has become perceived by many as ineffective and has been undermined by misconceptions and poor implementation. As a result, expenditure, budgets and teams have become more scrutinised, squeezed and constrained. This has inevitably impacted the number of companies rolling out training.
Plus, when companies do make EDI efforts, disability is quite often more overlooked than any other protected characteristic, with gender, race, sexuality and religion etc., being more commonly focused on.

A lack of understanding
Then there is the fact that disability training isn’t considered to be core management training in the same way as health and safety, safeguarding, data protection or other compliance areas are. Consequently, it becomes considered an optional HR or EDI activity or box-ticking exercise rather than something managers need to do their jobs properly.

Not knowing the true benefits
Many employers are also unaware of (or overlook) the organisational benefits of disability inclusion, meaning fewer organisations realise that it can improve morale, productivity, staff recruitment and retention, access to talent, increase the bottom line, grow customer bases and enhance customer service. They also overlook, or are unaware of the fact that one in four people has a disability, and that 80% of these disabilities are hidden. This means they more than likely employ more people with disabilities than they realise, particularly since 43% of individuals with hidden disabilities choose not to disclose them.

Consequently, employers fail to recognise the importance of inclusion and training for both staff and clients, and therefore their workplace cultures that are not truly inclusive. This can lead to skill gaps, a lack of awareness among management and staff, and an increased risk of discrimination claims and poor customer service.
As a result, disability training then becomes reactive rather than preventative.

Just today, I discovered evidence of this, in that disability-related disputes are now driving a 26% rise in demand for Acas dispute-resolution services.
So, in summary… there are a number of reasons why disability awareness training is not as widely undertaken as in previous years, ranging from a lack of understanding of its benefits to limited knowledge around disability itself.

Fundamentally though, the biggest issue is that disability awareness is viewed as a non -essential area of EDI, rather than an important area of workplace competency, which can lead to a culture changing mentality that can bring a wealth of organisational benefits.

Our job at Bascule remains as important as ever. We must educate decision makers to better understand disability, to see the importance of training, to recognise the value, and to make the cultural changes that allow them to embrace inclusivity in a meaningful and beneficial way.

CHRIS JAY, MANAGING DIRECTOR, BASCULE DISABILITY TRAINING