Ensuring that your commercial unit is accessible for people living with disabilities is essential in the world today. As those living with disabilities are increasingly being encouraged to work, it is vital that businesses are also enabling them to work by making the commercial unit in which they are based not only accessible but also welcoming.
When you are making a workplace more accessible for those living with a disability, it is important to remember that these changes can often make life easier for the other staff who are working in the commercial unit. Lifts or larger toilets, for example, can make life easier for everybody.
When you are considering the adjustments that you might want to make to a commercial property, it is important to remember that everybody is different and will potentially have different needs. It is vital that you do not think that the adjustments made for one person will necessarily be right for another.
Another important element to remember is that making a workplace suitable and welcoming for people living with disabilities is that the work does not stop about changing some of the physical attributes of a building. There is more to it than that, and businesses need to look at the whole picture, not just at adapting a few features in the commercial unit.
Understanding Disabilities
Before you embark on making changes to improve the accessibility of your commercial unit, it is important to understand the disabilities that you are likely to come across – or perhaps the challenges that are being faced by people that are already working within the business – or on your premises.
With this understanding, you will be armed to go ahead and recognise any changes that might need to be made. You should consider how these might uniquely impact your specific business, and whether you will have some more specific adaptations that you might need.
Start by doing some research into the most common disabilities and what the people living with them might need to enable them to live and work in the best way for them. If you have people already working in the commercial unit with disabilities, it would be a good idea to speak to them, find out what challenges they are facing at work, and then think about how you can help to reduce these within the commercial unit. Make sure that you bear in mind that every person has different necessities.
With this knowledge, you can then go on to think about it more specifically for you. For example, how does the commercial unit in which you are based impact a person with a disability, how does your workplace culture impact them, and think about wider society. You can then go on to make the changes that you need, tailored to you, your business, and your commercial unit.
Responsibility
It can be very helpful for a business to allocate a senior person to take responsibility for accessibility and looking after the needs of people living with a disability. It should be their responsibility to put your plan into place regarding the work that is needed and to oversee everything moving forward.
This could also include welcoming new members of staff and determining any needs that they might have – it is important to remember that these needs might not always be obvious, and, similarly, there may be some people who are less happy to talk about their accessibility needs compared to others.
You should ensure that this person has a good understanding of the needs of people living with disabilities – an ally or someone with lived experience would be the ideal person for this role. They should regularly check in with staff to ensure that everything possible is being done for them, taking feedback, and acting on it.
Workplace Culture
In addition to the physical changes that might be needed to create an inclusive, accessible, and welcoming workplace and commercial unit, it is essential to work with employees and managers to ensure that policies are put in place and the right attitude is instilled.
Language, for example, is very important. Communicating with people who are living with a disability is essential – to find out how they refer to themselves, asking them about the terminology that they prefer to be used, for example. Again, it is important to speak to everyone individually; what one person prefers will not necessarily be the same as another. This information will also need to be communicated to the other staff who are working in the same business.
Another factor is managers. For SMEs or larger businesses, there is the chance that the person who is taking direct responsibility for creating the accessible place of work is not necessarily the person who will be dealing with it day-to-day. It can be important to convey information and policies to managers with regard to ensuring the needs of the person living with a disability are met. In addition to this, managers should be given the financial backing to make any adjustments that they need to, as well as guidance about how to liaise with staff and put recommendations into action. It is also vital for managers to be given ongoing training if necessary.
Some Accessibility Ideas
Whilst it is important to ensure that every individual person with a disability has their accessibility needs met, there are some small general changes that can be made to ensure an easier life for staff with disabilities.
These can include:
- Ramps into and out of the commercial unit and allocated parking spaces nearest to the commercial unit can make a massive difference.
- Motion-sensor bin in the toilet – pedals can be difficult for people with a disability.
- Alarms that not only sound but also light up or flash
- Magnetic door catches to eliminate the need for door stops that can be a trip hazard.
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