PSL launches free guide to testing people with disabilities

PSL, the assessment specialist, has produced a free best practice guide on the contentious issue of testing disabled candidates during recruitment.

Called Testing Disabled People, it provides practical guidelines on the legal considerations for recruiting disabled people and the implications for testing. It highlights the need to establish role descriptions and provides guidelines on job advertisements, application forms, arranging an assessment day and meeting disabled candidates.

Testing should not be an obstacle to employing disabled people, said Richard Alberg, Chief Executive of PSL. Whether or not the applicant is disabled, tests should assess skills and attributes relevant to the job itself. However some tests do not lend themselves to assessing certain disabled candidates appropriately, for example a spatial reasoning test for a candidate with a visual impairment. Reasonable adjustment must be made to the tests, and the test conditions, to ensure that disabled applicants are not unlawfully disadvantaged.

The new guide shows how tests can be ëreasonably adjustedí
to meet the needs of candidates with visual, hearing, motor
impairment, dyslexia, speech impediment and learning disabilities. It also provides advice on the scoring and interpretation of tests and how to undertake successful online testing.

For a free copy of PSLís ëTesting Disabled Peopleí, please call 020- 8585 2345 or e-mail info@psl.com. It can also be downloaded as a white paper from the ëlibraryí section of PSLís website: