L&Q hosts staff disability network conference
Our staff disability network Ability held their second annual conference jointly at our offices in Stratford and Sale Point in Manchester on Wednesday December 13.
Live-streamed to colleagues working remotely, Ability’s event featured inspiring and informative talks on support available to colleagues and residents, cementing the importance of disability inclusion to our present and future organisation. Attendees from other housing associations attended the conference to learn from our approach, including representatives from Southern Housing Group, Peabody and Sovereign Network Group (SNG).
This year’s conference theme was ‘disclosure’, with an emphasis on creating a culture where colleagues feel empowered to discuss health concerns, disabilities, mental health issues, or neurodivergence with their manager.
Our CEO Fiona Fletcher-Smith opened the event, reflecting on her experience of disclosing her disability to an employer for the first time when she was appointed as Executive Director of Development and Sales at L&Q.
George Whalley, HR Director of People, Operations and Business Partnering gave a talk on policy, practice and collaboration and introduced our new Reasonable Adjustments passport initiative. This tool recognises the evolving nature of disabilities and the need for employers to regularly collect and update colleague data.
Reasonable Adjustments passports provide a record of individual colleagues’ agreed workplace adjustments that will stay with them throughout their employment with us. Scheduled to launch in early 2024, we are looking at how we can roll out the initiative to residents, so that we can improve the way we deliver services based on their needs.
George said:
“We are proud of our inclusive culture and the huge role all our staff networks play as driving forces for equality and diversity within and outside the organisation.
“As a network, Ability came together from a standing start, picked up the subject of disability inclusion and ran with it. The committee organised themselves, collaborated with HR, facilities and leadership, and galvanised interest across the organisation.
“It was fantastic to celebrate their achievements with colleagues across L&Q, whilst reflecting on the ongoing work we need to do to better represent residents with disabilities and improve the service we provide to them.”
Dyslexia advocate Marcia Brissett-Bailey shared her personal experience of being a Black woman with dyslexia, as well as her work to increase minority representation in the dyslexic community. Marcia is the author of Black, Brilliant and Dyslexic, a collection of stories and lived experiences from the Black and dyslexic community told through an intersectional lens.
A representative from ergonomic equipment maker Posturite talked audience members through the recent technological advancements in assistive devices, including those available to staff through L&Q and the government’s Access to Work scheme.
Brendan Roach, Director of Strategy and Networkology at PurpleSpace shared tips on how to be a disability friendly employer. These included learning directly from your own people, getting serious about disability accessibility, using external levers to push for internal progress, and noticing the inner confidence challenges that colleagues with disability may face. Purple Space is a professional development hub for disability network leaders, allies and champions who are driving business change on disability from the inside out.
The presentations were well-received and shone a light on how progress requires internal engagement with disabled colleagues and residents and an understanding of barriers and the effectiveness of actions already in place. Improvements can also come from external engagement including advice and support from experts and shared learning as a sector.
Felix Lynn, L&Q Development Manager and Chair of Ability said:
“A huge thanks to everyone who contributed to and attended our second conference for making it a great success.
"L&Q has all the tools we need to fulfil our legal obligations, but most of all, we have the drive and the determination to do the right thing for our disabled colleagues and residents.
“As we enter our fourth year, Ability will continue to steer L&Q towards progressive action, promoting us as a housing provider that is at the forefront of disability inclusion”.