Advance Inclusion in your workplace
Lead the way to create inclusive workplaces with expert support, tailored resources, and a vibrant member community. Inclusive Employers membership gives you the tools and insights to advance inclusion and make a lasting impact.
Key insights from Inclusive Employers’ recent webinar featuring workplace inclusion experts and lived experience perspectives.
When was the last time you questioned whether your “accessible” workplace actually feels inclusive? At Inclusive Employers, we regularly see organisations that have ticked every compliance box yet still struggle with inclusion. Our recent webinar, “Accessibility vs inclusion” brought together workplace experts and individuals with lived experience to explore why this gap exists, and more importantly, how to bridge it.
The reality check: accessibility doesn’t equal inclusion
“Accessibility feels like a bit of a red flag to me when someone goes, ‘we’re really accessible,'” shared Emily, Lead Consultant at Inclusive Employers, who brings both professional expertise and lived experience to the conversation. “Accessibility is usually when you have to ask for it, whereas inclusion usually feels more effortless. People don’t need to show it off, because they just know that everybody can use it.”
This distinction matters more than you might think. Consider these real examples from the session:
- Buildings with lifts that have been out of service for months
- Touchscreen lift panels that aren’t accessible for visually impaired users
- Hand dryers in “accessible” bathrooms placed too high for wheelchair users
- Hot desking policies that create barriers for neurodivergent employees
The pattern? Reactive accessibility vs. proactive inclusion.
Accessibility Audits
At Inclusive Employers, we partner with organisations to tackle these challenges strategically. Our Accessibility Audits combine technical expertise with lived experience insights, while our training and consultancy services help build lasting inclusive cultures.
Explore our Accessibility audits
The hidden cost of getting it wrong
The stakes are higher than minor inconvenience. Our research shows:
- 1 in 5 neurodivergent individuals have experienced workplace harassment or discrimination
- Only 27% of people registered as blind or partially sighted are in employment
- Disabled women face even greater employment barriers than disabled men
- Employment rates for disabled people haven’t returned to pre-pandemic levels
Plamena Solakova from Close Brothers put it perfectly: “When I think of accessibility, the first word that comes to mind is being reactive – removing barriers. When I think of inclusion, I think of being proactive and taking steps to make an environment more inclusive for everyone.”
Practical steps: moving from reactive to proactive
1. Challenge the “reasonable adjustments” mindset
Stop asking: “What reasonable adjustments do you need?” Start asking: “How can we help you thrive and succeed in this role?”
As Leanne from Mobilates CIC explained: “Moving away from jargon like ‘reasonable adjustments’ makes a huge difference. It would be great to ask everyone: ‘How can we help you survive and thrive in this role?’ That goes for everybody, not just people with protected characteristics.”
2. Implement universal design principles
The best solutions often help everyone, not just disabled employees:
- Clear signage and wayfinding benefits everyone navigating your space
- Flexible working arrangements support parents, carers, and those with varying energy levels
- Meeting etiquette guidelines improve participation for all attendees
- Multiple communication channels accommodate different preferences and needs
3. Create psychological safety through leadership
Key leadership behaviours that make a difference:
- Normalise flexibility in when, where, and how people work
- Set clear communication expectations that accommodate different styles
- Challenge discriminatory behaviour when disabled colleagues aren’t in the room
- Include lived experience voices in decision-making processes
Close Brothers exemplifies this approach. They introduced mandatory equity, diversity and inclusion objectives for all line managers, supported by training and clear performance expectations. Their “It’s okay” campaign during neurodiversity celebration week explicitly stated organisational norms: “It’s okay to turn off your camera occasionally in meetings. It’s okay to take a break away from your desk.”
4. Address internalised ableism in your systems
Many employees don’t ask for what they need due to internalised guilt or fear of being seen as demanding. Plamena’s personal story illustrates this perfectly: she waited a year to request an ergonomic chair recommended by her doctor, worried about the cost and inconvenience to others. When she finally asked, facilities provided one immediately – the delay was entirely self-imposed.
Solution: Proactively communicate what support is available and normalise the process of requesting adjustments.
The strategic approach: Getting your foundation right
Conduct meaningful audits
At Inclusive Employers, we’ve learned that effective accessibility audits require both technical assessment and lived experience input. When we conducted Close Brothers’ facilities review, we:
- Walked through spaces during normal working conditions (no special preparation)
- Held focus groups with employees from various backgrounds and abilities
- Provided actionable recommendations across a cost spectrum
- Followed up to support implementation
The result? A prioritised action plan ranging from immediate, no-cost changes (relocating kitchen supplies to accessible heights) to longer-term investments (door accessibility improvements).
Build manager capability
“People leave jobs because of their managers, not the jobs themselves,” notes Plamena. “If we develop managers who are empathetic, understanding, and able to have difficult conversations, we’re solving for a much bigger issue.”
Essential manager training should cover:
- How to have supportive conversations about workplace needs
- Understanding different disability types and their workplace impacts
- Recognising and addressing unconscious bias
- Creating inclusive team cultures and communication norms
Embed inclusion in your employee journey
Start with onboarding: Use tools like Inclusive Employers’ Inclusion Passport to ask every new hire about their working preferences, communication styles, and support needs. This normalises the conversation and removes the burden of disclosure from disabled employees alone.
Member resource
The Inclusive Employers Inclusion Passport, developed from an original concept by the House of Lords, has been designed for you to capture what helps you to work best, feel included and get the support you need.
Download your inclusion passport template
Why this matters now more than ever
Leanne’s experience moving from senior management to self-employment because workplaces couldn’t accommodate her needs represents a loss organisations can’t afford. “People with disabilities are genuinely amazing to employ. We’re creative, loyal, work really hard, and know how to adapt to situations.”
The question isn’t whether you can afford to invest in true inclusion – it’s whether you can afford not to.
Your next steps
Ready to move beyond compliance to genuine inclusion?
- Audit your current state – Are your “accessible” features actually usable?
- Engage your people – What barriers do employees face that you’re not seeing?
- Build capability – Do your managers have the skills to support diverse needs?
- Create accountability – How are you measuring inclusion, not just accessibility?
The goal isn’t perfect accessibility – it’s creating environments where everyone can contribute their best work without having to ask permission to exist.
Want to explore how Inclusive Employers can support your journey from accessibility to inclusion?