Abstract
Worldwide, the employment of people with disabilities has been challenged by the slow development of ‘workplace specific’ disability employment policies. The focus has been on formulating legislation to overcome barriers and the implementation of national disability policies without ensuring that workplaces formulate such policies. While laws regarding disability have been on the statute books for two decades in South Africa, little is known about how effective they have been and their impact in the workplace. This article examines whether South African government departments have developed or reviewed employment policies for the benefit of people with disabilities, and determines whether policy makers were aware of the existence of the Disability Code (Republic of South Africa, 2002) and the Technical Assistance Manual (Republic of South Africa, 2005) when the policies were developed or reviewed. Human Resource Managers from 16 government departments in KwaZulu-Natal Province were interviewed. It was found that although HR policies were in place and some were being developed, very little has been done in terms of reviewing and/or developing disability employment policies. Furthermore, the existing prescripts were not extensively used as a resource during the development of disability-related employment policies. This has negatively affected the employment of people with disabilities in the public service. It is hoped that the results will assist management, HR practitioners as policy makers, and line managers to develop disability employment policies in order to attract and retain people with disabilities. The research also contributes to the existing body of literature on disability
Highlights
Throughout the world, people with disabilities have been marginalized due to their reliance on social grants, and being labelled as people who are unemployable or not willing to work
A study conducted by the Independent Living Institute estimates that 99% of people with disabilities in South Africa are omitted from employment in the labor market as they depend on social security benefits for survival purposes (Independent Living Institute, 2015)
The respondents were asked if their departments had approved employment and Human Resource (HR) policies as these are crucial from the time of recruitment until the employee exits the department
Summary
Throughout the world, people with disabilities have been marginalized due to their reliance on social grants, and being labelled as people who are unemployable or not willing to work. In the USA, the number of people receiving Social Security Disability Insurance (DI) rose from 1.2 million in 1967 to 8.8 million in 2012. A study conducted by the Independent Living Institute estimates that 99% of people with disabilities in South Africa are omitted from employment in the labor market as they depend on social security benefits for survival purposes (Independent Living Institute, 2015). 16.0 million of social grant payments were made to vulnerable people in January 2013, of which approximately 1.2 million were paid out as Disability Grants in South Africa (Govender, Fried, Birch, Chimindi and Cleary, 2015)
Sign-in/Register to view highlights & summary Talk to us
Join us for a 30 min session where you can share your feedback and ask us any queries you have
Schedule a callDisclaimer: All third-party content on this website/platform is and will remain the property of their respective owners and is provided on "as is" basis without any warranties, express or implied. Use of third-party content does not indicate any affiliation, sponsorship with or endorsement by them. Any references to third-party content is to identify the corresponding services and shall be considered fair use under The CopyrightLaw.
