The government’s disability strategy: A lost opportunity to make a difference for disabled people

Conference notes that the Government’s Disability Strategy was published on 27 July. This followed a period of public consultation via an online survey which has been much criticised. The Government failed to properly consult with Disabled People’s Organisations (DPO’s) and this is currently subject to legal challenge. Consequently, the strategy has received criticism and been […]

We need a British Sign Language Act now!

Conference recalls that UNISON Disabled Members Conference 2018 passed the motion ‘Legal Recognition of British Sign Language’. The motion explained that although the UK government formally recognised British Sign Language (BSL) as a language in its own right in 2003, this did not give full legal status to BSL. Scotland is the only country in […]

Deaf workers, Access to Work and PIP

Conference notes that Deaf workers rely on Access to Work to pay for BSL interpreters so that they can do their jobs and live independent lives. However during the pandemic the Access to Work system wasn’t as flexible or responsive as it needed to be in the changed circumstances. Long standing issues with the system […]

Stop the Covid scams that prey on Deaf people

Conference is concerned about the increase in scams during Covid 19 and particularly how this has impacted on Deaf people who are native British Sign Language (BSL) users. Covid scammers are criminals who use the publicity around coronavirus as a chance to target people. They try to take advantage of people’s worries and uncertainty about […]

Building on the race discrimination protocol

Conference notes UNISON’s ground-breaking Race Discrimination Protocol which means that cases that potentially involve racism are referred for legal advice at an early stage. Conference welcomes UNISON’s commitment to fighting racism in this way and notes that for many Black disabled workers it may not be clear if they are being discriminated against because of […]

Mental Health and Suicide Awareness to Support Disabled LGBT+ members following the Covid-19 Pandemic

Conference applauds the National Disabled Members Committee for the work undertaken to date to highlight the effects of austerity measures on disabled lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender plus (LGBT+) workers, the services we provide and the knock-on effects of the reduction in those services. Conference further notes that a range of governmental bodies, statutory services and […]

What are they (still) hiding?: Black disabled people and PIP

Conference recalls the 2019 Disabled Members Conference agreed the motion “What are they hiding? Missing PIP data on the experience of Black disabled people”. The motion asked the national disabled members committee to seek data on the percentage of Black claimants turned down for Personal Independence Payments (PIP) compared to white claimants. Conference notes that […]

Covid and Black disabled workers – learning the lessons for the recovery

Conference notes that Black people were four times more likely to die of COVID-19 than white people while almost 60% of deaths were of disabled people. The myth that COVID doesn’t discriminate has been unmasked. Black and disabled people were hit the hardest and we continue to be disproportionately impacted as we hopefully come out […]

Covid-19 and Disability Inclusion in the Workplace

Covid-19 and Disability Inclusion in the Workplace With one in five employees being disabled its important that employers make our workplaces inclusive. Failure to make reasonable adjustments may amount to disability discrimination. Conference is aware that there can be particular benefits to disabled people from working from home; however, this is an individual assessment and […]

Recruiting, supporting and developing young activists across the Police and Justice service group

Conference notes that recruitment of young members continues to increase year on year, including in the police and justice sector, with over 27,000 new young members joining UNISON in 2020. Conference notes that young members continue, however, to be under-represented as UNISON stewards, representatives and officers. Conference believes that the full participation of young members […]

Police Staff Long Service Recognition

This motion calls upon the Service Group Executive to discuss with the appropriate relevant bodies a National Police Staff Long Service Award. Whilst we acknowledge that most, if not all forces will have their own long service award arrangements in place, a nationally recognised award is something that many police staff would like to see […]

Vetting Fairness in the Probation Service

Whilst Conference accepts that the re-unification of the majority of probation services as a positive step, this has not been the experience of all members. National Probation Service (NPS) members and now Community Rehabilitation Companies (CRC) members transferring to the new probation service are subject to an unaccountable, arbitrary and sometimes draconian vetting process which […]

Homeworking as a Reasonable Adjustment in Post-COVID Police and Justice Workplaces

Conference notes that many disabled staff in police and justice have previously requested to work from home as a reasonable adjustment and been refused. However COVID-19 has sparked a revolution in home working and as a union we need to build on the positives for disabled workers whilst also guarding against any detrimental impact. UNISON’s […]

Enhanced (Time Off In Lieu) TOIL Parity with Officers

Conference notes that police staff often work additional hours and not just on rest days. Often staff need to remain on duty to process prisoners, gather crime scene marks, speak with customers either on the phone or in front offices and many more reasons. Staff can currently only claim these additional hours worked as pay […]

Accessing Reasonable Adjustments During COVID-19

Conference notes that a UNISON survey of disabled members working from home during COVID-19, including Police and Justice workers, found that 53% did not receive any reasonable adjustments from their employer to help them to overcome the barriers they faced as a disabled person working from home. Only 5% had help from Access to Work, […]