Campaigning to end the disability pay gap

Conference is concerned that while the disability pay gap is increasing at an alarming rate the government have still not implemented the mandatory monitoring and reporting called for by the Equality and Human Rights Commission (EHRC) in their report “Fair opportunities for all.” Research for EHRC found that while the disability pay gap is the […]

AGEISM AND THE EXPERIENCE OF DISABILITY

Conference believes that one of the barriers experienced by disabled workers can be the intersection of age discrimination and disability discrimination. For example, younger and older workers with similar impairments may be treated differently by their employers due to age-related perceptions about their physical or mental capacities. This can lead to bullying, or employers failing […]

Equipping our stewards to support our disabled members

Conference notes the fantastic standard of support and training for our shop stewards across the UK, and would like to see this enhanced with the addition of some disability-specific training. As disability activists we may well be aware of landmark case law that affects our disabled members in the workplace, but many of our shop […]

PIP assessment support

Personal Independence Payment (PIP) was introduced by Government as the replacement for DLA (Disability Living Allowance). PIP assessments are “an opportunity for you to talk about how your condition affects you – it’s not a diagnosis of your condition or a medical examination”. The health professionals undertaking the assessments have little or no expertise in […]

Disabled Women and Sickness Absence

Conference notes that there are a number of chronic and long term conditions including gynaecological conditions such as polycystic ovary syndrome and lichen sclerosis which primarily affect women in the workplace and can be covered by the protections in the Equality Act 2010. There are also a number of cancers that primarily target women and […]

Accessible Domestic Abuse Services

Conference notes that disabled women are more likely to be subjected to domestic abuse than non-disabled women. Domestic abuse can include physical, sexual or emotional abuse – as well as the withdrawal of care from disabled women who require it and threats to ‘out’ LGBT+ women to their friends and families. According to the Women’s […]

Not just a bit of banter: Tackling sexual harassment of disabled women in the workplace

Conference notes that the #MeToo movement has illustrated how sexual harassment is widespread in our society and in the workplace but for too long has been swept under the carpet and dismissed as “just a bit of banter”. UNISON’s ‘Harassment at Work’ guide defines sexual harassment as “unwanted conduct that is of a sexual nature […]

Towards a more inclusive disabled members LGBT+ caucus

Conference notes that at National Delegate Conference 2019 delegates unanimously agreed to change UNISON’s rule book so that the lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender (LGBT) self organised group will now be called the LGBT+ self organised group. Conference notes that this has implications for our disabled members self organised group because we have an LGBT […]

Celebrating our Black disabled caucus

Conference notes that the Black caucus within our National Disabled Members Self Organised Group (SOG) reflects our belief that under-represented groups within our union and within society should have a space to organise and to agree their own priorities so that they can feed in to the work of the SOG and ensure that their […]

Awareness of Access To Work

Access to Work aims to support disabled people start or stay in work, providing financial and practical support. We believe awareness of this programme is lacking amongst some members, especially if you’re new to disability, meaning our members may not be getting the support they need to stay in work and reach their potential. Conference […]

Accessible Public Toilets

Conference notes that less than 10% of people who meet the Equality Act 2010 definition of a disability actually use a wheelchair which is the traditional symbol for an accessible toilet. For a range of reasons many disabled people face barriers to using a standard toilet. Conference notes that Council spending cuts have led to […]

Meaningful Annual Disability Employment Statistics

Conference notes that in November 2018 the Department of Work and Pensions and the Department of Health & Social Care jointly launched a Framework on the Voluntary Reporting on Disability, Mental Health and Wellbeing. This compliments the Public Sector Equality Duty. The Framework is a voluntary scheme – aimed at large employers with over 250 […]

Policies on dealing with abusive customers in call centres

Conference notes that many energy members work in call centres and operational centres where they take calls from operational colleagues and customers. While most callers are reasonable, there is always a proportion that are unreasonable and some who are extremely abusive. In workplaces with generally high levels of stress, this can be intolerable. People who […]

Training Mental Health First-Aiders in Energy Workplaces

Conference notes that since 1981, workplaces have been required to provide adequate and appropriate first aid equipment, facilities and people, to ensure that employees can be given immediate help if they are injured or taken ill at work. Yet in 2019, there is still no statutory requirement for employers to provide mental health first aid […]

Utility and Energy Industry Privatisation

Many members within the above industries no longer have the luxury of a Defined Benefits (DB) pension and are relying on a much inferior Direct Contributions Pension scheme for their retirement. A lot of these workers have used the Share Save and Share Incentive Plan (SIP) share schemes within these companies to subsidise the shortfall […]