Employers Survey

Changing Lives Employers Survey

Would you like to help us in Changing Lives?

Lancaster & Morecambe Vision Board together with Lancaster & Morecambe College are researching ways to improve the lives of workless people in our local area. Did you know that in our area, over 13,000 people of working age are in receipt of benefits, with almost 60% of them claiming some form of incapacity or disability payment? As people become ready, willing and able to return to work, they often find themselves at a disadvantage because they may lack appropriate experience, be under- or over-qualified or simply have been 'out of the system' for too long. We would like to find ways to help people achieve their goals and ambitions by finding ways to support people on their return to work.

If you would like to help us support local people in their move away from benefits and into employment, please help us with our research by spending a few minutes completing our questionnaire. Please note that questionnaire responses are completely anonymous.

Please answer all questions as honestly as possible. Your answers are anonymous and all data will remain strictly confidential, only being pooled for a summary report to indicate general trends and recommendations for future action. However if you would like more information or would like to get more actively involved in this project, we would love to hear from you. Please contact Karen Green at Lancaster & Morecambe College: k.green@lmc.ac.uk, 01524 521505.

Q1	Approximately how many people does your business employ?

Q2	Approximately how many of your employees have a registered disability?

Do you currently employ people from any of these categories? (select all which apply)

Hearing impairment

Visual impairment

Physical co-ordination difficulties

Reduced physical capacity (easily fatigued)

Severe disfigurement

Speech impairment

Mobility impairment

Learning difficulties

Mental illness

Have you employed anyone with a disability within the last 3 years?

Yes

Do you have any job vacancies at present?

Yes

Could any of these vacancies be suitable for a person with the following difficulties?

Hearing Impairment

Visual Impairment

Physical Co-ordination difficulties

Reduced physical capacity (Easily fatigued)

Severe disfigurement

Speech impairment

Mobility impairment

Learning difficulties

Mental illness

Please rate the following statements for your business

In our business, there is a range of employment opportunities suitable for disabled people

Strongly agree

Agree

Disagree

Strongly disagree

We are willing and able to make the necessary adjustments in order to employ a person with a disability

We are willing to employ people who have previously been unemployed for a long period because of incapacity

We are fully aware of the government services and support available in this context

We need more support and information before we could consider employing a disabled person

Our premises already comply or have been adapted to comply with the requirements of the Disability Discrimination Act (DDA)

Our premises need to be made more accessible for people with disabilities

We need more information and guidance to support us in adapting our premises as required by the DDA

In our business, we would be concerned about employing a disabled person because of:

Health & safety implications

Strongly agree

Agree

Disagree

Strongly disagree

Financial implications

Reliability / attendance issues

Would you be willing to support any of the following initiatives

Guaranteed interview for disabled person who meets minimum essential criteria

Yes

Maybe

We already do this

Work trials (for employer and employee to assess suitability before offering contract)

Guaranteed interview for vulnerable applicants who meet minimum essential criteria (e.g. long term unemployed, returning to work after long term incapacity etc)

Unpaid/voluntary work experience / placements / informal training opportunities (to help inexperienced applicants to fill gaps in their CVs, to meet essential criteria)

Buddy system providing mentoring support for new or less confident employees

Flexible working hours

Home working

A local employers' charter aiming to improve the employability chances of disabled and vulnerable applicants

End of survey.

Thank you for your time in completing this survey. If you would like more information or wish to become more actively involved in this project, we would love to hear from you. Please contact Karen Green at Lancaster and Morecambe College: k.green@lmc.ac.uk, 01524 521505. To learn more about Lancaster & Morecambe Vision, please visit www.lancaster-morecambe-vision.org.