On September 15, Inclusion Europe – the European voice and representation of persons with intellectual disabilities and their families − organised an online event as part of the project My Talents For Diversity.

The aim of this event was to highlight the existing legal and policy instruments that can be used to foster employment of people with intellectual disabilities. The Malta Federation of Organisations of Persons with Disability (MFOPD) joined the meeting.

People with intellectual disabilities face barriers to participating in employment, yet, they have the right to have a job like everyone else. Photo: Shutterstock.com

The three speakers, Timothy Ghilain, a policy officer at the European Association of Service Providers for Persons with Disabilities; Mark Bell, head of the School of Law of Trinity College Dublin; and Anouk Van Hoofstadt, a senior researcher at Antwerp Management School addressed the event.  

Among others, they discussed the legal frameworks that exist to foster employment of people with intellectual disabilities in Europe and how to ensure companies support workers with intellectual disabilities.

Policy instruments to promote employment of people with intellectual disabilities

As Ghilain underlined, “work is part of everyone’s identity”. People with intellectual disabilities face barriers to participating in employment, yet, they have the right to have a job like everyone else. They also have the right to get help from their community. 

The EU Employment Equality Directive prohibits “discrimination on ground of disability in the fields of employment” and requires that “employers take appropriate measures to enable a person with disability to have access to and participate in employment or to undergo training”.

Denial of reasonable accommodation is a form of discrimination

The European Disability Strategy and the European Pillar of Social Rights represent EU overarching policies that can be used to foster employment of people with disabilities. The European Disability Strategy describes objectives and actions for the EU to implement in different areas, including employment, to make sure people with disabilities can participate fully in society and economy, while the European Pillar of Social Rights expresses principles and rights essential for fair working conditions as well as equal opportunities and access to the labour market in Europe.

Ghilain stressed that, to foster employment of people with intellectual disabilities, we also need to make other areas of society, such as education, housing and transport, more accessible.

For example, by creating inclusive and tailored education programmes, ensuring a smooth transition from school to employment, reducing the digital divide, making transport accessible for all and promoting positive attitudes towards disability.

“We can have a better holistic environment for people with intellectual disabilities by working on all these elements,” Ghilain said.

Practical measures to remove barriers to participating in employment

Employment needs to be made accessible for all people with intellectual disabilities. As Bell explained, “denial of reasonable accommodation is a form of discrimination”.

How can employers assist people with intellectual disabilities?

Bell pointed out that “reasonable accommodation is not only about making the workplace physically accessible (…). Employers can also provide additional training and support, adjust the tasks of the job and provide information in easy-to-read format to enable employees to do their job despite their disability. 

Employees with intellectual disabilities ‘are the best companies’ ambassadors’

Van Hoofstadt took part in a European research coordinated by the Antwerp Management School on employment possibilities for people with intellectual disabilities. They worked with 204 inclusive companies. Among others, the research tried to address the following questions: how to ensure companies support workers with intellectual disabilities and how do people with intellectual disabilities contribute to diversity management.

To ensure companies support workers with intellectual disabilities, employers need to adapt their recruitment process to make sure they have accessible information and provide reasonable accommodation to job seekers with intellectual disabilities. They also need to discover the potential of people with intellectual disabilities.

For Van Hoofstadt, “jobs should be rethought to give all people with intellectual disabilities a chance to work”.

She noted that people with intellectual disabilities add value to any company.

“They add a new vision and represent the best companies’ ambassadors’,” she said.

Marthese Mugliett is the president of The Malta Federation of Organisations of Persons with Disability.