Member Article

Law firm leading way in supporting disabled talent

Business law firm DWF has become the first in the UK to achieve ‘Proud to be ClearAssured’ status, establishing it as an inclusive recruiter for disabled talent.

Developed by The Clear Company, the UK’s leading auditors of inclusive recruitment practice, the benchmark helps organisations to identify and remove barriers from their recruitment policy, processes and practices which have the potential to exclude disabled people.

The process, which has been completed by organisations such as BT, Eon and HMRC, enabled DWF to improve upon the levels of disability competence and confidence of its recruiters, its ability to pre-empt and manage reasonable adjustments throughout the recruitment process and the lack of clarity and challenge of the firm’s external recruitment partners in delivering diverse candidates effectively supported throughout the selection process.

In conjunction with its employment team, DWF has developed a more consistent and inclusive candidate experience through changes to the website, job specifications and the firm’s relationship with external recruiters, all of which have been supported by a disability-confident recruitment team.

Tyrone Jones, head of values & corporate responsibility at DWF, said: “The team has worked hard to achieve ClearAssured status and we are exceptionally proud to become the first UK law firm to do so.

“Our recruitment team has transformed its approach and processes to further support inclusive recruitment, which has undoubtedly improved the candidate experience for all applicants. We are grateful to The Clear Company for supporting us throughout the process, helping us to become more disability confident.”

Kate Headley, development director at The Clear Company, said: “DWF is leading by example in testing and developing its own practices to become a more inclusive recruiter. The firm is now better placed to attract and retain all candidates from every part of the UK talent community.”

DWF has also become the first law firm in the UK to adopt ClearTalents In Recruitment, a tool designed to help employers ensure that all candidates are treated fairly and supported throughout the recruitment process, whilst providing benefits such as improved candidate experience, reduced recruitments costs and a more diverse workforce.

Sarah McGuire, the firm’s resourcing manager, explained: “At DWF we are committed to continuous development, improvement and assessment of our inclusive recruitment practices.

“Adopting ClearTalents In Recruitment helps us to treat every candidate as they expect to be treated, whatever their background, disability, culture or circumstances are. It also recognises our drive to be at the forefront of best practice, helping us to achieve our ambitions of recruiting and retaining the best available talent and operating in a more diverse and inclusive workplace”.

This was posted in Bdaily's Members' News section by Simon Malia .