Ealing Council retains ëtwo ticksí for its disability employment practices

Ealing Council has won the right to continue using the ëTwo Ticksí disability symbol following an annual review by Jobcentre Plus.

The symbol recognises employers who are committed to the employment, retention, training and career development of disabled employees.

Shelley Adams, director of strategy and development, said: ìWe place a high priority on ensuring the council is a positive place to work, where each and every one of our employees feels valued, respected and treated equally and fairly.

ìWe are delighted that Jobcentre Plus has given us the opportunity to continue to use the disability symbol, and recognises the work we do to ensure the council is a safe and supportive place to work for people with disabilities.

ìHowever, this will not make us complacent. We know that council employees with disabilities will still face challenge at work, and are establishing a focus group and other communication channels to improve working conditions and opportunities.î

As part of its commitment to employees the council has undertaken a major initiative to ensure its buildings are fully accessible.

For the Perceval House refurbishment the council followed advice from the Ealing Access Forum (a group of officers and customers with particular experience or expertise in access issues), the Access Committee (a group of property managers from a range of council services with a specific remit to improve access to workspace) and a ìpressure groupî of staff with disabilities.

As a result, a number of features have been installed for the benefit of all staff including:

Strong colours to identify different working areas within the building as well as contrasted colours for major circulation routes

Hot-desk workstations to accommodate different seating needs

Automatic doors to all main work areas

Lowered tap fittings in the breakout area kitchens

In addition to Perceval House, more than 200 council sites have been comprehensively audited by access consultants and a priority schedule of works has been identified for those found not to be fully accessible.