A presentation by Kebede Kedir, ECDD, Admin and Finance Director on the roles of HR people in fostering a conducive environment for people with disability at the SHRME, July Networking session.

1. HR’s Role in Managing
Disability in the Work Place
26 July 2016
Saro Maria Hotel
Addis Ababa
Kebede Kedir, Admin and Finance Manager, ECDD

2. Outline
• Introduction
• HR Policies on Disability
• Employing Persons With Disabilities
• Reasonable Accommodations
• Legal & Policy Frameworks
• Advantages of recruiting PWDs
• ECDD HR Policy & practices on recruiting
PWDs
• Challenges on recruiting professional
PWDs
• Discussions points

3. Introduction
• Persons with disability are individuals whose
prospects of securing, returning to, retaining and
advancing in suitable employment are substantially
reduced as a result of a duly recognized physical,
sensory, intellectual or mental impairment.
• People with disabilities still represent a largely untapped
employment resource in workplaces, often being
unemployed or greatly underemployed compared with
their non-disabled peers.
• As Persons with disabilities (differently abled persons)
may just have the skills and competencies we require
within our organization, it is important to consider how our
organization can tap these under utilized potential
sources.

4. HR Policies on Disability
• HR Policies and Procedures supporting Diversity & Anti-
discrimination on Employment clearly state that “No
discrimination should be made based on the race, ethnic,
age, sex, colour, religion, political, marital and disability
status of the candidates”;
• But there is a positive/affirmative actions for PWDs to
deliberately favor to the recruitment of PWDs. (Refer article 4
(2) of Proc. No. 568/2008)
• Disability Management is managing various disabilities &
related issues in the workplaces, by adopting a strategy for
managing disability as an integral part of the overall
Employment Policy and specifically as part of the Human
Resource Development Strategy.

5. Employing Persons With Disabilities
• To ensure effective recruitment, integration, and
accommodation of persons with disabilities, top
management must affirm and effectively
communicate the importance of recruiting and
retaining persons with disabilities.
• Pre-employment tests and selection criteria should
focus on the specific skills, knowledge and abilities
regarded as essentials to the functions of the vacant job
in a proper format which is accessible to the disabled
applicants.
• Selection criteria should be carefully examined to ensure
that they do not inadvertently exclude persons with
disabilities.

6. Employing Persons With Disabilities, contd.
• Once the recruitment of a person with disability has
taken place, follow-ups may be important in ensuring
that any problem which may arise are swiftly identified
and resolved.
• The performance appraisal of workers with disabilities
should take place according to the same criteria
applied to the same or similar job holders
• Workers with disabilities should be afforded equal
opportunities with other workers at the workplace to
acquire the skills and experience necessary to
advance in their careers & should be encouraged to
apply for promotion, particularly where it appears that
they may be reluctant to do so, because of an
impairment or other obstacle arising from their disability,
or perceived obstacles in their working environment.

7. Employing Persons With Disabilities, contd.
• Where employers are not immediately in a position to
employ a disabled worker, they could consider providing
work experience opportunities as a volunteer or intern
to jobseekers with disabilities, to enable them to acquire
the skills, knowledge and work attitude required for
specific jobs in the workplace.
• Such workplace-based experience can help make the
jobseeker’s skills more relevant to the employer’s
requirements.
• It also provides the opportunity for an employer to gauge
a disabled worker’s abilities and capacity, and perhaps to
consider recruitment once the training period has been
completed.

8. Reasonable Accommodations
• In offering a job to a disabled candidate, the employer
should make reasonable disability-related
accommodations or adjustments to the working
environment.
Reasonable accommodations which employers should
consider when employing PWDs:
• Modification works on existing facilities including vehicle,
• Assigning assistants, Providing assistive devices or
equipments, and
• Flexibility in the application of HR Policies - by
restructuring some part of the policy, like -
• On the criteria of selection by adopting Affirmative
Actions,
• On the benefit packages for PWDs,
• On the working hours, etc.

9. Legal and Policy Frameworks
• The disability management strategy should be formulated
in accordance with the national legislation, policy and
practice, taking in to account the national institutions and
organizations in the field.
• The Government of Ethiopia has adopted and
implemented a number of laws, policies and standards
pertaining to people with disabilities, including their
right to productive and decent work: some of which are-

10. Legal and Policy Frameworks Cont’d
• Constitution of the Federal Democratic Republic of
Ethiopia,
o Adopted in 1995. Article 41(5) of the Constitution sets
out the State’s responsibility for the provision of
necessary rehabilitation and support services for people
with disabilities,
• Proclamation concerning the Rights to Employment
for Persons with Disabilities, No. 568/2008,
• Makes null and void any law, practice, custom, attitude
and other discriminatory situations that limit equal
opportunities for persons with disabilities. It also
requires employers to provide appropriate working and
training conditions,

11. Legal and Policy Frameworks Cont’d
• The Federal Civil Servant Proclamation No. 515/2007,
provides for special preference in the
o Recruitment, promotion, and deployment, among others,
of qualified candidates with disabilities (for gov’t offices).
• Labour Proclamation, No. 377/2003, amended by
Labour Proclamation No. 494/2006, makes
o It unlawful for an employer to discriminate against
workers on the basis of nationality, sex, religion, political
outlook or on any other conditions.
• Building Proclamation, No. 624/2009, provides for
accessibility in the design and construction of
o Any building to ensure suitability for physically impaired
persons.

12. Advantages of recruiting PWDs
• Job retention - minimal rate of staff turnover.
Once employed, they are not jumping here &
there by searching for vacancies,
• Effective, responsible, committed and
productive on discharging their part & feel
belongingness,
• Employers gain additional income & Social
Values,
• Beneficiaries salary is considered as program
cost for the employers (applicable for NGOs)
• VAT exempted if more than 60% of the total
staffs are PWDs

13. ECDD’s HR Policy & Recruiting practices of PWDs
• Employment Policy–
o Affirmative action – vacancy is announced as “PWDs are
highly encouraged to apply” & preferential selection of
PWD candidate will be made if the result of the
test/interview is equal or closer to the ND candidate.
• Disability Accommodation
o ECDD meets the costs of reasonable accommodations
(accessible transportation or special transportation
arrangement, sign language interpreter, special
computer hardware or software, materials and
documents in Braille or electronic format, etc.) as
required to enable any full-time or part-time employee,
intern, volunteer or temporary contractor to perform the
tasks for which they are assigned.

14. ECDD’s HR Policy & Recruiting practices, cont’d
• Refund of Medical Expense & assistive devices
o In addition to refund of medical expenses, ECDD
also meets the cost of individual assistive
devices such as hearing aids, canes and
crutches, braces and other orthopedic
appliances, wheelchairs, and other individual
needs at a reasonable cost up to a certain limit
stated in the manual.

15. Challenges on recruiting PWDs
• Even though ECDD is applying the affirmative
actions, it is difficult to screen PWDs based
on their applications as they are not
mentioning their disability status on their
application letter or CV.
• Some PWDs are seen when they come for
interview or tests after being selected based
on their profession & experience.
• During the interview, When they are asked
the reason for not men mentioning their
disability status, their response is that due to
the fear that the employers will disqualify
them immediately.

16. Discussion Points
• Why are organizations not willing that much to
recruit PWDs?
o To avoid cost of accommodations?
o Due to lack of awareness that they are equally
productive as their peer NDs?
• Why don’t they think about the Loss of Income &
the Social Value which could be earned from the
Participation of PWDs?
• What type of disability could be ‘discriminated’
from which nature of jobs? Can it be considered
as ‘discrimination?’ - refer article 3 of Proc. No.
586/2008- Right to Employment of PWDs

17. .
Thank you