Disability Symbol (Two Ticks)
What is it, and what does it mean to Thames Valley Housing?
The Disability Symbol (or two tick symbol) is a nationally recognised award so employers can show there is a commitment to best practice in employing disabled people. This relates to employment, retention and career development. The symbol enables people with disabilities to know which employers will be positive about their disability.
Thames Valley Housing was awarded the symbol on 30th January 2001 . By committing ourselves to the Disability Symbol, Thames Valley Housing aims to make the following 5 commitments:-
1) Interview all applicants with a disability who meet the minimum criteria for a job vacancy and consider them on their abilities.
The aim of this commitment is to encourage disabled people to apply for an advertised vacancy by offering assurance that they will have the opportunity to demonstrate their abilities beyond initial application stage. This applies to internal and external applicants
2) Regularly and at least annually consult disabled employees about what can be done to develop and use their abilities.
The aim of this commitment is to ensure that employees are getting the same opportunities as others to develop and progress within their job and the Association. Thames Valley Housing Operates an annual staff appraisal system to allow this to happen.
3) Endeavour to make every effort when an employee becomes disabled to make sure they stay in employment.
The aim of this commitment is to ensure that Thames Valley Housing makes every effort to make a reasonable adjustment(s) to enable the employee to stay in employment with the organisation. There is also the commitment that Thames Valley Housing, as an employer will support ways to enable the employee to continue in a job, either their current one or a different one. This commitment applies to people who have a disability that alters in some way, who become seriously ill, have an accident or return to work after a long absence.
4) Ensure that all employees develop the appropriate level of disability awareness needed to make these commitments.
Thames Valley Housing is committed to provide some awareness of disability for people likely to work with or manage people with a disability and to alert people in key positions to the kind of issues faced by people with disabilities at work.
5) Each year, to review the five commitments and what has been achieved, to plan ways to improve on them and to let employees and the Job Centre Plus know about progress and future plans.
The aim of this commitment is to monitor the effectiveness of best practice and to recognise the achievements in meeting the symbol commitments listed above. All symbol user's are reviewed annually by the Job Centre Plus Team, and have to demonstrate how they are reviewing and communicating the commitment to the symbol, to both internal employees and potential employees.
