MORE than half of all small firms in the region that employ disabled people say it costs their business nothing because of a flexible approach to work, a new report claims.
The Disability Rights Commission survey revealed 51 per cent of small companies and almost two thirds of medium to large businesses said disabled employees could be easily accommodated by adopting family-friendly policies.
These included flexible working hours and patterns and allowing reasonable time off to attend hospital and clinic appointments.
The cost impact, the firms said, was negligible.
Benefit
"Flexible work policies benefit everyone but in particular the disabled person with no extra cost to the employer," said Bert Massie, chairman of the DRC.
"Small businesses will soon come under the Disability Discrimination Act but, as our research shows, they have nothing to fear as companies already employing disabled people are demonstrating there is often no financial impact on their businesses."
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