News

Recruitment Industry Disability Initiative welcomes Harjit Bansal
The Recruitment Industry Disability Initiative (RIDI) is delighted to announce that Harjit Bansal, Head of Equality, Diversity and Inclusion at North East London NHS Foundation Trust (NELFT) will be joining the RIDI Executive board. NELFT

RIDI Awards 2021 winners announced
The Recruitment Industry Disability Initiative (RIDI) Awards has revealed 2021’s finalists, after another record year of entries. Now, in its eighth year, the RIDI Awards celebrate pioneering employers and recruiters who, as we return to

RIDI Awards 2021 – Finalists Announced
The finalists of the Recruitment Industry Disability Initiative (RIDI) Awards 2021 have been announced today after another record year of entries.

Moving into work: exploring how young disabled people are transitioning from education to work
‘Moving into Work’ is an exciting new research project that is exploring the ways in which young disabled people (aged 18-25) are transitioning into work from education. This research aims to find out how young

RIDI Supports Global Accessibility Awareness Day 2021
The Recruitment Industry Disability Initiative is proud to celebrate Global Accessibility Awareness Day by joining together with Recite Me to raise awareness of the importance of creating a digital world where more than One Billion

Recruitment Industry Disability Initiative welcomes Gold partner, Talent FM.
Leading disability recruitment organisation, the Recruitment Industry Disability Initiative (RIDI) is delighted to announce Executive Search Consultancy Talent FM as Gold Partner. Talent FM join the Clear Company, DWF, Lloyd’s of London and Guidant Global

RIDI Awards 2021: Best Candidate Experience Roundtable
In our fifth RIDI Awards Roundtable, Pauline Miller is joined by Florence Van Schependom-Brown and Sarah Charlesworth from DWF Law and Glenda Kladitis from the Pension Protection Fund.

RIDI Announces new appointment to the Executive Team
The Recruitment Industry Disability Initiative (RIDI) the leading organisation of Disability Recruitment in the UK is delighted to welcome Pauline Miller, Head of Culture at Lloyd’s of London to it’s Executive Team. Building on Lloyd’s

RIDI Awards 2021: Best Recruitment Campaign roundtable
In our fourth RIDI Awards Roundtable, Kate Headley is joined by Chris Dowling, Stephen Salmon and Paul Deemer.

RIDI Awards 2021: Disability Specialist category roundtable
In our third RIDI Awards category roundtable for the Disability Specialist category, Jane Hatton was joined by Adam Hyland and Atif Choudhury of Diversity & Ability and their client Helen Kyne from Utlita.

RIDI Awards 2020: Winners announced
The RIDI 2020 Award winners were announced at a virtual Ceremony on 3rd December

RIDI Awards 2020: Disability Confidence in the Private Sector Roundtable
Next up in our series of virtual roundtable discussions is Disability Confidence in the Private Sector.

RIDI Awards 2020: Disability Confidence in the Public Sector Roundtable
In preparation for this year’s awards ceremony and to kick off the 2021 RIDI Awards campaign we are hosting a series of virtual roundtable discussions reflecting the inspiring case studies from this year’s RIDI Awards entries.

Leathwaite prioritise Disability Inclusion with RIDI 100 Partnership
Executive Search & Human Capital Advisory firm, Leathwaite have become the latest RIDI 100 partner. The partnership enables inclusive recruiters to have year-round association with RIDI and accelerate their Disability Confident journey. Leathwaite join a

RIDI Awards 2020 finalists announced
The finalists of the Recruitment Industry Disability Initiative (RIDI) Awards 2020 have been announced today after the awards received a record number of entries this year.

The RIDI Awards are back for 2020!
Nominations are now open for this year's RIDI Awards until Monday 09 March. You can nominate yourself, or a disability confident project, team or organisation you admire. It’s completely free to enter and attend the RIDI Awards. With seven categories to choose from, including some new ones for 2020, there is bound to be a category for you...

RIDI Awards 2019: Winners announced
The winners of the 2019 Recruitment Industry Disability Initiative Awards were announced yesterday at an exclusive event in central London hosted by Paralympian gold medalist, Liz Johnson.

RIDI Awards 2019: Finalists Announced
Following a lengthy and comprehensive judging process, the Recruitment Industry Disability Initiative (RIDI) has released its list of finalists for the 2019 RIDI Awards. Due to the high quality of entries, the independent judging panel

Minister says recruitment has ‘critical’ role to play in getting more disabled people into work
The recruitment sector has a “critical role in helping the government to achieve its target of getting one million more disabled people in work as soon as possible – but by 2027 at the very latest”.

RIDI Awards 2019 are open for entries
The Recruitment Industry Disability Initiative (RIDI) Awards - which celebrate progress and recognise the success of organisations that are making headway in increasing the inclusion of disabled professionals – are inviting entries from employers and recruiters.

Majority of employers struggle to know where to source disabled talent
The Recruitment Industry Disability Initiative (RIDI) has launched RIDI 100: a directory of recruitment service providers which are committed to the inclusion of disabled jobseekers.

Celebrating inclusion at the Superhero Tri
Tom from RIDI Gold Partner and fellow Superhero Tri sponsor, Guidant Group, describes his recent experience as a participant

RIDI 100 Partners
New for this year we are pleased to announce a new way you can support our mission and associate your brand with RIDI – by becoming a RIDI 100 partner. This gives you access to a unique partnership package: enabling your brand to have year-round association with RIDI at an entry level cost.

Sponsor the RIDI Awards 2019
The fifth RIDI Awards will take place on 11 April next year, hosted by XL Catlin and we have now opened up places for sponsors. Each year, around 300 leading professionals from some of the most influential brands in recruitment and employment come together to celebrate those at the cutting-edge of best practice in the recruitment of disabled people.

RIDI Awards ‘Getting Started’ Category Showcase
On the 18th of July, Guidant Group, on behalf of RIDI, hosted an exclusive event at the prestigious Devonshire Club to highlight the early successes of John Lewis Partnership’s disability confident journey and share best practice around disability inclusion to an audience of HR decision makers.

Consultation opens on new digital accessibility laws that will help recruit more disabled people
The UK Government has begun a consultation on new digital accessibility laws for public sector websites and apps, which will help to make the recruitment process for people with disabilities. The new EU Directive on the accessibility of the websites and mobile apps of public sector bodies will be brought into UK law later this year.

Julian John wins IoD Wales Inclusivity Award
Julian John has recently won the Director of the Year Award for Inclusivity from the Institute of Directors (IoD) Wales. Julian has been heavily involved with RIDI over the last few years, firstly by winning a RIDI Award, then by hosting RIDI’s first ever event in Wales last year, then joining the judging panel for the RIDI 2018 Awards. He has also become a member of the RIDI executive team.

RIDI Awards 2018 Image Gallery
We've published a small selection of the fantastic photos from our 2018 Awards Ceremony held at XL Catlin head office in London on 15th March.

Most jobseekers think online job applications should be more accessible and inclusive
Nearly seven out of ten jobseekers (69%) think that employers and recruiters should make online job applications more accessible for disabled people, according to the results of a new survey by Recite Me and VERCIDA.

RIDI Awards 2018 Video
For those who didn't attend our RIDI Awards ceremony back in March, here is the video we showed at the event featuring interviews with members of our Executive Board, our sponsors and amazing finalists.

Don’t let disability slip down the agenda
This is a guest post from Paralympian, Sophia Warner. Sophia hosted this year’s RIDI Awards and is Founder of the Superhero Series, the UK’s one and only sports event for people with disabilities and their friends and families.

Ready, Willing and Able
Article posted on The Global Recruiter: Kate Headley, spokesperson for the Recruitment Industry Disability Initiative, discusses tapping into disabled talent.

Making work more accessible for disabled talent
Everyone should have the opportunity to participate in the workforce. Yet, while many employers recognise the importance of having a diverse workforce, few have made a visible commitment to hiring and supporting people with disabilities.

RIDI Awards 2018 Winners Announced
The 2018 RIDI Awards were presented by Paralympian Sophia Warner tonight at our ceremony hosted by our Gold Partner XL Catlin at its head office in London. Find out who won the only awards that exclusively celebrate the commitment of organisations to improve prospects for disabled jobseekers.

2018 RIDI Awards – Finalists Announced
Following a rigorous and robust judging process, RIDI has released the shortlist for the 2018 RIDI Awards. As in previous years, the calibre and breadth of entries presented a challenge for our independent judging panel.

Breaking news: RIDI Awards Entry Deadline Extension
In response to unprecedented interest in the awards and multiple requests for extensions, the official 2018 RIDI Awards entry deadline has been extended to midnight on Tuesday 6th February.

Kate Headley, Chair of RIDI, reminds us why RIDI is such an important initiative
In the final days before the RIDI Awards entry deadline on Thursday 1st February, we managed to catch up with RIDI Chair, Kate Headley.

RIDI welcomes new executive member
The Recruitment Industry Disability Initiative has announced the appointment of new executive board member, Jane Hatton.

What has previous RIDI award winner Manpower been doing since winning the RIDI Individual Choice Award 2016?
Entries are now open for the RIDI Awards 2018 and we’re sharing stories about some of our previous awards winners to inspire others to enter.

RIDI becomes corporate friend of Superhero Series
We are proud to let you know that RIDI has become a corporate friend of Superhero Series.

Calling all inclusive employers and recruiters: RIDI Awards open for entries
The Recruitment Industry Disability Initiative (RIDI) Awards – which celebrate progress and recognise the success of organisations that are making headway in increasing the inclusion of disabled people – are inviting entries from employers and recruiters. Now

Government shares plans to break down employment barriers for disabled people
In response to its Work, Health & Disability Green Paper consultation which closed earlier this year...

New series of Employable Me returns to BBC2
Voted Best Documentary of 2016 by The Guardian, the award-winning Employable Me returns to BBC2 on Monday 27th November at 9pm.

New position for Penny Mordaunt
Penny Mordaunt, who held the role of Minister of State for Disabled People from July 2016, has been promoted to the cabinet as International Development Secretary. In her time as Minister for Disabled People, Penny’s

Supporting Wells Tobias on their Disability Confident journey
Wells Tobias have been highly commended by RIDI for their support in the Disability Confident scheme. Guidant Group interviewed Joe Wells and Adam Tobias and asked them to share their approach to disability inclusion. Watch

RIDI candidate survey results
The results of the 2017 RIDI candidate survey were announced at the RIDI conference today. RIDI, in conjunction with inclusive job board, Vercida, surveyed over 200 disabled jobseekers with a variety of physical and non-visible

Influential business leaders came together in Wales to discuss disability and employment
RIDI and diversity and inclusion consultancy Delsion ran the Disability, Skills and the Future of Work roundtable event for business leaders at the University of South Wales in September. The event brought together members of

Want your organisation to be Disability Confident? RIDI can help you…
RIDI’s first annual conference ‘Creating Disability Confident Recruiters Through Collaboration’, takes place next Thursday. Diversity and inclusion consultancy Delsion is a past winner of the RIDI Disability Confident award, and Managing Director Julian John will

The importance of becoming disability confident by Mark Lomas, Head of Equality, Diversity & Inclusion at HS2
At HS2 Limited, becoming Disability Confident is very important to us. We have the opportunity to make travel more accessible for thousands of rail users and therefore embedding disability confidence across the programme is important

Disabled jobseekers find condition hampers the job-hunt
Up to 75% of disabled people find that their condition has an impact when job-hunting, according to new research from the Recruitment Industry Disability Initiative (RIDI). Furthermore, 53% of respondents said that they first faced

Don’t miss out on talent by Sophie Christiansen
Athlete, Sophie Christiansen CBE, has represented Britain in four consecutive Paralympic Games, picking up eight gold medals in the process. She also graduated with a First Class Master’s degree in mathematics from Royal Holloway, University

Minister to open recruitment disability conference
Following research which found that 80% of recruitment consultants believe their organisation ‘could do more’ to increase the inclusion of disabled talent, The Recruitment Industry Disability Initiative (RIDI) is holding a conference in London in October

Major employers to lead disability inclusion event in Wales
The Recruitment Industry Disability Initiative (RIDI), in partnership with specialist People and Development consultancy Delsion, is hosting a round table in South Wales where business leaders will discuss the relationship between skills, disability inclusion and

C-suite buy in boosts disability disclosure
Getting genuine buy-in from the top is key to improving levels of disability disclosure and, consequently, facilitating requests for workplace adjustments. That was the conclusion of a recent round table hosted by RIDI. The

New software to address disability employment gap
At a time when employers report they are lacking guidance around disability inclusion, the Recruitment Industry Disability Initiative (RIDI) has unveiled a new online tool which enables HR leaders to calculate how many disabled people

Disabled talent, tell us your experiences of looking for a job
We know that a lack of disability confidence can be a barrier for disabled jobseekers and that often just being asked the right questions by a confident and knowledgable recruiter can make all the difference. 2 years on

Inclusive recruitment and selection workshop
The Clear Company recently delivered an interactive two-day workshop on inclusive recruitment and selection, held at Guidant Group’s offices in London and sponsored by Lloyd’s of London. The workshop was initially designed to upskill Lloyd’s

The Apprenticeship Levy is key to unlocking disabled talent
The introduction of the Apprenticeship Levy offers employers a prime opportunity to improve disabled talent pipelines. That was the conclusion of a recent round table hosted by the Recruitment Industry Disability Initiative (RIDI). However, attendees

RIDI calls for employers to take part in Manpower cricket match
RIDI is urging employers to take part in Manpower’s visually impaired (VI) cricket match on Tuesday 30th May.

Roundtable: The Apprenticeship Levy, An Opportunity for Disability Inclusion?
The Recruitment Industry Disability Initiative (RIDI) is bringing together leading industry representatives to discuss whether the recently introduced apprenticeship levy presents an opportunity to drive greater disability inclusion in the labour market.

Inaugural RIDI annual conference announced
Eversheds Sutherland to host first ever RIDI annual conference in October.

Apprenticeship Levy and disability targets
The Government’s Apprenticeship Levy requires all employers operating in the UK, with a pay bill over £3 million each year, to invest in apprenticeships.

Building a jobs market that works for everyone
Recruiters are key to the government's inclusion agenda, says Tom Hadley.

As one in five workers have reasonable adjustment requests turned down, exactly how diverse are UK employers?
Kate Headley, the Clear Company, argues that whilst disability confidence has become increasingly important to organisations there is still some way to go.