As part of their disability inclusion initiative L&Q will work with Evenbreak, a not-for-profit social enterprise that helps inclusive employers attract and retain more talented disabled people.
L&Q is also working with disability charity Scope to develop housing advice content for their website and advice line. The two organisations have worked together for the last 18 months to upskill L&Q’s employability service, so that they can better engage and support their disabled residents in securing sustainable employment.
Disabled people are more than twice as likely to be unemployed as non-disabled people[1]. To reduce the barriers facing disabled people, L&Q will advertise all its jobs on Evenbreak’s website, a specialist job board run by and for disabled people.
L&Q’s other disability inclusion initiatives for 2019 include:
- Improving physical access for disabled staff, residents and visitors over and above legal compliance
- Organising disability awareness training by Enhance UK
- Upskilling staff so they can give great customer service to disabled residents
- Reporting on the disability pay gap from 2019 as part of L&Q’s annual Fair Pay report
- Offering flexible working for all its roles, including in its contact centre, which will break down barriers for disabled staff or carers
- Becoming a Disability Confident committed employer, which means that candidates are guaranteed an interview if they meet the job criteria
- Working with Genius Within to help staff understand ‘neurodiverse’ conditions such as autism
Jan Gale, Head of Diversity and Inclusion at L&Q, said: “By partnering with Evenbreak, we are investing in our people. We want our workforce to reflect the diverse make-up of our residents, and we also want to attract people with a wide range of different skills and expertise.
“If we can harness the creativity and innovation that comes from diverse teams, it will help us play our part in solving the housing crisis. There is a huge array of talent out there that organisations can’t afford to ignore as we seek to deliver quality services to our residents whilst building new homes to tackle the supply gap.
“It’s important that there are no barriers to disabled people working at L&Q, and that includes at the very start of their journey as a prospective L&Q employee.”
Jane Hatton, Founder and Director at Evenbreak, said: “We are delighted that L & Q are leading the way on disability inclusion for housing associations. The benefits of employing disabled people can have an enormous positive impact on all aspects of social housing, including having a more diverse workforce that residents can relate to. Advertising all of their vacancies on Evenbreak will support L&Q in being the type of organisation that excels.”
Stephanie Coulshed, Programme Lead at Scope said: “Based on our in-depth research into the information that disabled people need about housing, Scope’s content designers will collaborate with subject experts at L&Q to develop accessible advice that helps people solve problems. We believe that L&Q’s knowledge of housing issues and commitment to tackling them, combined with Scope’s expertise in content design, will result in an outstanding partnership that has real impact. “
About Evenbreak
- Evenbreak is an award-winning social enterprise run by disabled people for disabled people. We help inclusive employers attract and retain more talented disabled people
- Evenbreak covers the UK and has two core services: A specialist jobs board where inclusive employers can attract disabled candidates they wouldn’t find elsewhere and powerfully position themselves as an inclusive employer of choice. And a best practice portal to help all employees become more competent and confident around disability and inclusion.
- For further information please contact adame@evenbreak.co.uk
About L&Q
- L&Q is one of the UK’s leading housing associations and developers, managing more than 90,000 homes across London and the South East.
- We are committed to tackling the housing crisis and have an ambitious plan to enable the delivery of another 100,000 quality new homes over ten years.
- Half of our new homes will be genuinely affordable to people on average and lower incomes, with the other half available for private rent or sale, reflecting our belief that everyone should have a quality home they can afford.
- We are a not-for-profit housing association and reinvest the money we make into building quality homes, creating successful communities and providing excellent services for residents.
- As a charitable housing association our role goes beyond providing homes and housing services. We are a long-term partner in the neighbourhoods where we work. We hope to build aspiration, opportunity and confidence among residents through our £250m community foundation and our skills academy.
- Our care and support subsidiary, L&Q Living, provides housing assistance for older people and those with support needs.
- For further information please visit www.lqgroup.org.uk
