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Business Disability Forum

Name: Business Disability Forum
Address: 5th Floor Dowgate Hill House, 14-16 Dowgate Hill, London, EC4R2SU, GB
Telephone: 020 7403 3020

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Business Disability Forum is the leading business membership organisation in disability inclusion.

We work in partnership with business, Government and disabled people to remove barriers to inclusion.

03/11/2026

Is digital accessibility visible across your organisation, or does it only come up when something goes wrong?

In addition to building accessible products and services, you should ensure employees and customers understand your organisation’s commitment to accessibility.

Explore our free guidance on how to promote digital accessibility in your organisation.

What's included:

- What digital accessibility means and why it matters,

- How organisations can promote it more effectively,

- The difference between accessibility and usability,

- Practical steps to create a more inclusive experience for everyone.

Access the resource (free and open to all):
https://ow.ly/nq7S51022Kt

[Image description: Professional with a facial difference and sight loss, who wears an eye patch, giving a presentation to colleagues in an office. He's standing by a screen and pointing to the data on it. Business Disability Forum's 'Changing the image of disability' logo is in the lower right corner of the image.]

03/11/2026

It's this time of year again: the Disability Smart Impact Awards will open for entries in a month, on 3 December. ✨

If your organisation is making a positive impact on the lives of disabled people, we want to hear from you.

- Free to enter.

- Open to UK, international and global organisations of any size, sector or industry.

- 16 categories, including 4 just for SMEs.

- You can enter as many categories as you like.

- You don't have to be in our membership to enter.

Find out more: https://ow.ly/ZHHr510099y

[Video description: Edit of past award ceremonies, showing winners receiving their awards and posing for photos, the audience applauding and the hosts speaking on stage.]

29/10/2026

In delivering disability inclusive customer service, there are small, cost-free actions staff can take.

Here are five recommendations from Paul Pether, who leads our Inclusive Customer Service Project:

- Think about barriers.

- Be proactive.

- Treat every customer with respect.

- Be prepared to adapt.

- Know what help your business offers.

Get more guidance in his blog, where he reflects on his own experience shopping in Tokyo: https://ow.ly/nZi05101mTM

Find out more about our Inclusive Customer Service resources: https://ow.ly/Vbxq5101mTO

[Image description: Woman who uses a wheelchair being handed popcorn over a counter by a smiling sales assistant. Business Disability Forum's 'Changing the image of disability' logo is in the lower right corner of the image.]

28/10/2026

Disabled people have the same need for information as non-disabled people. Yet, the communication needs of disabled people are often overlooked.

Ensure your organisation practices inclusive communication with our free new resource.

It lays out the benefits and basics of inclusive communication, including:

- Digital communication and accessible documents.

- Imagery and audiovisual communication.

- Language and terminology.

- Brand guidelines and house style.

- Training staff.

Access the resource (free and open to all): https://ow.ly/vI9u5101iFq

[Image description: Deaf person, who wears a hearing aid, speaking in BSL with a friend, who is of short stature. They sitting in chairs, facing each other, in a library. Business Disability Forum's 'Changing the image of disability' logo is in the lower right corner of the image.]

28/10/2026

At our Annual Conference, Jake Bamford, Supported Internship Champion at Aspirations Doncaster, shared his experience of entering the job market:

“I felt scared. I felt nervous. I didn't want to go into the real world.”

His experience reflects the wider concern that came through in our new research on the disability-related barriers faced by young people in gaining employment (commissioned from Opinium).

The findings revealed a worrying lack of hope, with only a third (35%) of disabled young people feeling positively about current or future work prospects.

We also asked young people what they thought key solutions should be to this crisis of confidence. The creation of more entry-level jobs were among the top answers, from two fifths (39%) of all young people, and 37% of disabled young people.

Read all the research findings: https://ow.ly/l0Uj51007hX

[Image description: Two graphics of the stats given above. The copy is on the left of the image, and on the right are stylised pie charts illustrating the numbers.]

27/10/2026

Looking back on our Annual Conference last week (hosted by Bank of America).

From improving employment opportunities for young disabled people, to strengthening workplace support, supporting mental health and ensuring accessible customer experiences, the conference demonstrated the breadth of business’s role in disability inclusion.

Read our highlights blog: https://ow.ly/fjIe5101fkV

Our Members and Partners can also watch the session recordings (login required): https://ow.ly/OvcI5101flO

[Video description: Clips and photos of the conference showing speakers on stage and delegates networking.]

27/10/2026

When people think about assistive technology, they often think about workplace adjustments, but many accessibility features help everyone work more effectively.

From speech recognition to text-to-speech tools, assistive technology can improve productivity, flexibility and user experience for all.

Find out more in our free guide: https://ow.ly/cYlQ50ZTVsP

[Image description: Deaf professional, who is wearing a hearing aid, being show text on a smartphone by a smiling colleague, who has a mental health condition. Business Disability Forum's 'Changing the image of disability' logo is in the lower right corner of the image.]

26/10/2026

Mark your calendars – the Disability Smart Impact Awards 2027 open for entries on 3 December 2026. ✨

This year there are 16 awards to enter, across 12 categories.

We've added a new category for Employee Resource Group (ERG) leaders.

In order to recognise the contributions of organisations of different sizes, we've also split several categories for small and large organisations: Technology, Employee experience, Customer experience and Accessible premises and facilities.

More information coming soon!

Find out more about the Awards: https://ow.ly/eyHv50ZXGEU

[Image description: Disability Smart Impact Awards 2027 graphic: a blue background fading into purple, with the logo in white in the centre, decorated with stars.]

23/10/2026

With 45% of young people who are NEET identifying as disabled, it's clear that disabled young workers are facing significant barriers to entering the workplace.

What can your organisation do to recruit more disabled young professionals?

An essential starting point is providing workplace support. The findings of our new research (conducted on our behalf by Opinium), reveal that:

- Young people do not feel confident asking employers for support. Only a third (37%) of disabled young people and a half (52%) of all young people feel confident asking a company for support to take part in an interview.

- Disabled young people are concerned about the provision of workplace support. 'Not getting the support I need to manage my disability, or health condition(s) at work' was a key concern for a third of disabled young people (31%).

More practical guidance on recruiting young disabled people in our free resource: https://ow.ly/pAzL51006qA

Read all the research findings: https://ow.ly/bnFb51006sX

[Image description: Two graphics of the stats given above. The copy is on the left of the image, and on the right are stylised pie charts illustrating the numbers.]

22/10/2026

We were delighted to see so many of you yesterday at our Annual Conference ‘The disability inclusion ecosystem: What’s the role for business?’

While sharing expertise and lived experience, our speakers explored how to support young people into meaningful employment, how to deliver inclusive customer service, how to balance the adjustment needs with business needs, and much more.

We will share highlights in the days to come. Our Members and Partners will soon be able to watch recordings on our Knowledge Hub.

We are very grateful to our host Bank of America and to our brilliant speakers:

- Mark Skinner, Bank of America.

- Jake Bamford, Aspirations Doncaster.

- Sir Charlie Mayfield, Keep Britain Working Review.

- Matthew Upton, Department for Work and Pensions - DWP.

- Laura Davis, BASE - British Association for Supported Employment and Inclusive Trading.

- Richard Gratton, Asda Stores Ltd.

- Rachel Benson, West Sussex County Council.

- Andy Goff, Capgemini UK.

- Jasmine Moss-Rahman, East of England Co-op.

- Anna Neary, Merlin Entertainments.

- Krishna Raval, Bank of America.

- Matt Britnell, Metropolitan Police Service.

- Mark Russell, KPMG.

(Image descriptions:
Image 1: Jake Bamford on stage with Clair Dawson and our CEO, Diane Lightfoot.
Image 2: Close up of Sir Charlie Mayfield on stage.
Image 3: Room full of networking delegates.
Image 4: The panel of the 'Supporting young people into meaningful employment' session sitting on stage.
Image 5: Diane Lightfoot, John McCalla-Leacy and Steve Ingham sitting on stage.
Image 6: The panel of the session 'Am I being reasonable? Balancing adjustments with business needs' on stage.]

Address

5th Floor Dowgate Hill House, 14-16 Dowgate Hill
London
EC4R2SU

Opening Hours

Monday	9am - 5pm
Tuesday	9am - 5pm
Wednesday	9am - 5pm
Thursday	9am - 5pm
Friday	9am - 5pm

Telephone

020 7403 3020

Website

https://businessdisabilityforum.org.uk/membership/

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