You are a CEO and you wish to act in favour of inclusion within your company. Maybe you have hired a person with reduced mobility. Your structure promotes a culture based on values of openness and tolerance. Know that there are multiple ways to fight against the stereotypes related to disabilities. So why and how to raise awareness of disabilities in companies? Here is how PlayMoovin’ wants to answer these questions .
Raising awareness of disabilities in companies: an overview
What the companies must do in regards to disabilities
Companies that hire more than 20 employees have to welcome a number of disabled people equal to 6% of the total people who work in the company since the law of the 10th of July 1987 exists. To contribute to the inclusion of disabled people in this context, several solutions are proposed:
- Recruiting disabled people;
- Collaborating with the protected and adapted sector
- Contributing to the AGEFPIH (national association for the management of the fund for the professional insertion of disabled people)
In 2005, the law on disabilities contributed to promote equal opportunities for everyone. The legal framework has stepped up the obligations of the companies towards their employees who suffer from disabilities. The law established the right of having a disability compensation benefit. On a professional scale, it translates to the establishement of specific adjustments to help the person achieve autonomy.
This legal framework thus ensures:
- The absence of discrimination towards all employees who suffer from a disability;
- Equal salaries;
- The access to employment;
- That disabled employees keep their job and that they can evolve.
The following behaviours are considered unfairly biased:
- Refusing that someone gets access to a job;
- Aggressive or abusive behaviour.
Moreover, all discriminating actions are naturally severely punished by the law. The person who faults risks:
- A fine that can go up to 45 000€;
- A prison sentence that can go up to 3 years.
Some key figures on disabled workers
Every year, the Dares (research animation studies and statistics management) publishes data on the employment of disabled workers. It counts the number of disabled employees who benefit from the employment duty as established by the state on the 5th of September 2018. They would represent 3.5% of employed people in 2019.
Despite all that, it takes some people with reduced mobility 3 years before they find a job. Even if most of them are working part-time, it takes on average 883 days for a disabled person to be recruited.
However, 80% of companies decided to employ a person suffering from a disability instead of paying a contribution to the AGEFPIH.
Why raising awareness of disabilities among your collaborators?
For a successful integration of disability management within companies
The vision of your collaborators is a decisive factor for the successful inclusion of a new disabled worker. They must understand that your new recruit performs as well as they do in the sense that they compensate for their disability. This whole process is about removing the apprehensiveness of your employees by reminding them that:
- Suffering from a disability does not at all exclude the realisation of a task;
- Each and everyone of us can be confronted to a disability because it is often caused by a common problem which anyone can face. Let’s remember that 7% of the population aged 15 to 64 suffers from a disability.
Promote team spirit
A person can accomplish any task, no matter their disability. A person suffering from a disability is not a dead weight for your other employees. Regarding disability management, you certainly will need to make adjustments. Your new employee must be able to accomplish the same tasks as the others while preserving their health. Moreover, these thought-out job adjustments can allow your company to raise its productivity. It is therefore important to carry out an awareness activity within your company so that you can explain everything to your other collaborators.
Carry out activities to raise awareness of disabilities among your employees
In order to carry out a disability awareness campaign in a company, the solutions are numerous. The main objective is to establish discussions around this theme. There are numerous disability awareness kits that are available to you. You will find for instance:
- Online games;
- Disability awareness posters which will catch the eye of your employees;
Getting the account of someone with reduced mobility or even of a paralympic athlete are also great opportunities to raise awareness of disabilities. It creates bonds and allow for communication during a disability awareness activity in a company.
At PlayMoovin’, we have had another idea which we talk about below.
Disability awareness activities in companies using sport: an innovating idea
A sport wheelchair to change your employees’ point of view
Instead of simply communicating on disabilities, we propose your employees to experiment what it is like for the span of a game or of a day. This process which is also carried out in secondary high schools, primary schools or within sport associations is perfect to:
- Understand the difficulties which people with reduced mobility face in their daily life;
- Change how people view disabilities.
At PlayMoovin’, we have imagined a sport wheelchair to allow for disability awareness in companies: the FreeMoovin’.
It is an awareness wheelchair adapted to adults. It is:
- Hygienic;
- Danger-free;
- Ergonomic;
- Etc.
It is also adapted to all the types of floors, whether you play in gymnasium or in a stadium outside. It also adapts to aquatic environments.
Games to raise awareness of disabilities in companies: examples
Do you want to carry out a disability awareness activity for your company’s employees? You can rent our sport wheelchairs to organise a playful awareness activity with your collaborators. What better way to understand what a person with reduced mobility goes through each day than to experience it directly!
Several parasport games can be played:
- Wheelchair basketball;
- Wheelchair handball;
- Wheelchair rugby;
- Etc.
They generally end with a discussion between all the players. The objective is naturally to put the emphasis on difference with great benevolence.
Raising awareness of disabilities in a company is certainly an unmissable step towards your collaborators’ understanding of the impact of a disability. If you want to organise a playful activity with sport wheelchairs, you can call us, we would be happy to help!
