Disability Confident and guaranteed interviews

Disability Confident is a government scheme for employers. Many public sector employers that sign up commit to offering an interview to disabled applicants who opt in and meet the minimum criteria for the job. The scheme gets you past shortlisting, and at interview you are assessed on the same basis as everyone else. Details vary by employer, so check each advert.

What Disability Confident is

The Department for Work and Pensions runs Disability Confident. Employers sign up at one of three levels (Committed, Employer and Leader) and agree to steps on recruiting and keeping disabled staff. One commitment employers can make is to offer an interview to disabled people who meet the minimum criteria for a job.

Signing up is voluntary. Civil Service departments, many NHS trusts and many councils are members. Adverts from employers using an interview scheme usually say so, often near the end under equality information, and the application form has a question asking whether you want to apply under it.

Disability Confident replaced the older “two ticks” symbol some years ago, though people still use the phrase.

Who can opt in

The scheme is for people who consider themselves disabled under the Equality Act 2010. The Act’s definition covers a physical or mental impairment that has a substantial and long-term adverse effect on your ability to carry out normal day-to-day activities. Long-term generally means it has lasted or is likely to last at least a year. Some conditions, including cancer, HIV and multiple sclerosis, count as disabilities from diagnosis.

Many people who meet the definition do not think of themselves as disabled. Diabetes, depression, dyslexia, autism or a long-term back condition, for example, may be covered. Whether to opt in is your choice. The employer cannot treat you less favourably for doing so, and disability is a protected characteristic under the Equality Act.

What “minimum criteria” means

You have to meet the minimum criteria to be offered an interview, and each employer defines this a little differently:

• In the Civil Service, it usually means scoring at the minimum acceptable level on each element assessed at the application stage (for example, a set score on the behaviours or personal statement), as set out in the advert.
• In the NHS, it usually means showing in your supporting statement and application that you meet all the essential criteria in the person specification.
• In councils, it usually means meeting the essential criteria in the person specification.

The bar for the job stays where it was. What changes is the comparison with other applicants. Without the scheme, when many people apply, only the strongest few are shortlisted even if others meet every essential criterion. With it, meeting the essential criteria is enough to get an interview. Read the job description and person specification guide for how to show you meet each criterion, and the shortlisting guide for how panels score.

What happens at interview

At interview you are assessed against the same criteria as other candidates. The scheme does not guarantee a job offer, and offers go to whoever scores best overall.

You are entitled to reasonable adjustments at interview and in any tests. They are separate from the interview scheme, and you can ask for them whether or not you opt in. The reasonable adjustments in recruitment guide explains what to ask for and how.

When employers can limit it

Some employers cap the number of interviews they offer when a vacancy attracts a very large number of applications, for example in bulk recruitment campaigns. If that is likely, the advert or the candidate pack should say so. Civil Service departments in particular may state in the advert how the scheme applies to high-volume campaigns.

If you opted in, met the minimum criteria and were not invited to interview, you can ask the employer why. A mistake in applying the scheme can sometimes be put right. If you think you were treated less favourably because of disability, you can raise it with the employer, contact ACAS for advice or, if needed, consider a claim in the employment tribunal. Tribunal time limits apply; the tribunal time limits guide sets them out.

Other guaranteed interview schemes

Some public employers run similar schemes for other groups, such as care leavers or armed forces veterans, or for internal staff at risk of redundancy. These are employer-specific and set out in each advert. If you qualify for more than one, the application form usually asks about each separately.

Support after you start

Once you have the job, you can ask for reasonable adjustments at work and may be eligible for an Access to Work grant from DWP, which can pay for equipment, travel or support workers beyond what the employer has to provide. The Access to Work guide explains how to apply.