The All-Party Parliamentary Group for Disability is thrilled that, following an internal review, the BBC board of executives has accepted a number of recommendations aimed at making the BBC a more inclusive and supportive workplace. The changes are geared at improving both recruitment and career progression for existing employees.
The recommendations include:
- Increasing the BBC’s target for disability in its workforce from 8% in 2020 to 12% in 2022;
- Collecting more detailed data on the nature of disabilities disclosed by BBC employees;
- Including disabled employees in all development and leadership programmes;
- Ensuring recruitment processes and trainee and apprenticeship schemes provide specific support for disabled applicants, which is made clear when people apply for roles;
- Introduce a centralised ‘BBC Passport’ to inform managers about the support each person needs; and
- Mandate disability awareness training for all team managers.
At our meeting on disability in the media in July this year, attended by the BBC's Programme Director Mike Ford, it was made clear that line managers can have a substantial role in providing personal support to disabled employees, as company-wide policies often fail to account for individualised circumstances. The APPG is delighted that this has been actioned and will support the BBC as they continue to set an excellent example with regards to inclusive employment.