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University Hospitals Birmingham (UHB) is proud to announce that it has been officially recognised as a Disability Confident Leader, a significant milestone reflecting the Trust’s commitment to inclusion, accessibility, and support for colleagues with disabilities.

Disability Confident encourages employers to think differently about disability and take action to improve how they recruit, retain and develop disabled people.

It was developed by employers and disabled people’s representatives to make it rigorous but easily accessible.

This accreditation, awarded following assessment by the Business Disability Forum, places UHB among a select group of organisations, particularly within the public sector, that have achieved ‘Leader’ status within the scheme.

Achieving this status is the result of collaborative efforts across several teams, including Inclusion, Human Resources, Recruitment, Procurement, Healthcare Careers and Development, and Occupational Health and Wellbeing. The Trust’s staff networks have also contributed significantly to this work.

The assessors highlighted several areas of best and excellent practice at UHB, including:

• A proactive and inclusive approach to discussing disability and offering reasonable adjustments during recruitment and onboarding.
• A clear and practical workplace adjustment guidance document.
• Innovative work within procurement, particularly the role of supplier review meetings.
• Strong staff networks, with clearly defined roles for network chairs.
• Regular reviews of internal recruitment data to ensure transparency and fairness.
• A comprehensive Workforce Disability Equality Standard (WDES) action plan.
• A centralised pathway for implementing workplace adjustments.

Jeff Bryan, Diversity, Equality and Inclusion Business Partner at UHB, said: “Achieving Disability Confident Leader status is a tremendous milestone for UHB and a reflection of the hard work and dedication from colleagues across the Trust. I'm especially proud that the Business Disability Forum recognised several areas of best practice. This recognition not only validates the progress we've made but also motivates us to keep improving and leading the way in inclusive employment."

At UHB, we encourage all staff to share their disability status and bring their whole self to work. Keeping records up to date helps us better understand and support colleagues, creating a more inclusive workplace where everyone can thrive.

All colleagues can now easily share their disability status in just a couple of clicks. By sharing your disability status, you are helping to make UHB a more inclusive employer.

If you want to know more about disability, or support available, to staff, please email the inclusion team.

• Inclusion@uhb.nhs.uk 

You can easily share your disability status online.

• If you are a member of UHB staff, share your disability status