The Disability Confident scheme helps employers make the most of the talents that disabled people can bring to the workplace.

Being an inclusive employer simply means being aware of different people in society and being open to employing them, looking past a perceived obstacle and instead seeing the person and the opportunity.

That's how the best teams are created.

You don't need to have it all figured out straight away - it's about being realistic and reasonable with what you can do, while being open-minded to change.

By signing up for free to the Disability Confident scheme, you are committing to a willingness to engage and think about how you could adapt to having an inclusive, disability-friendly workplace. 

A special offer only for Buckinghamshire businesses

Through a partnership between Buckinghamshire Business First and the National Paralympic Heritage Trust, the first 24 employers to register on the Disability Confident scheme through our campaign will also have the opportunity to receive a complimentary year’s membership of the National Paralympic Heritage Trust's DICE Club.

To express your interest in joining the free Disability Confident scheme AND receiving free membership of the DICE Club, fill out this quick form.

This is a time-limited offer to coincide with the eyes of the world being on Stoke Mandeville as the Birthplace of the Paralympics. This offer expires at the conclusion of the 2024 Paralympic Games in Paris which run from August 28th to September 8th.

What is the DICE Club?

The DICE Club is a business club that promotes the Paralympic virtues: Determination, Inspiration, Courage and Equality (DICE).

By joining, you can:

• get support to be an inclusive organisation
• attend networking meetings with Paralympians and like-minded businesses 
• receive educational visits and workshops on disability in the workplace
• get your DICE Club Champion status promoted far and wide
• feel good for helping!

Buckinghamshire Business First is a founding member of the DICE Club. Read why we signed up, then click below to begin your Disability Confident journey and ultimately join us in the DICE Club too!

How to sign up to the Disability Confident scheme

To take advantage of this amazing opportunity, all you need to do is express your interest in the Disability Confident scheme via this very quick form and then go on to sign up to the Disability Confident scheme.

Time-limited offer: The run-up to the 2024 Paralympic Games in Paris, and the Games themselves, are the perfect time to promote your support for disability inclusion. To ensure you benefit from this unique spotlight, this offer will conclude at the end of the Paralympic Games on September 8th 2024.

Where better than Buckinghamshire to be Disability Confident?

Buckinghamshire is the Birthplace of the Paralympics. That is a fact.

The genesis of the Paralympic Games is found in Stoke Mandeville and the inspiring work of Sir Ludwig Guttmann, who founded the Stoke Mandeville Games in 1948. These Games would later morph into the Paralympic Games, which an estimated 4.1 billion people are set to watch the latest edition of when it is held in Paris in August and September 2024. The first ever Heritage Flame Lighting Ceremony at Stoke Mandeville took place ahead of the Sochi Winter Paralympic Games in 2014, contributing towards the Paralympic Flame in each host nation ever since.

This year, for the first time, the Paralympic Flame itself, and its entire journey, will begin in Stoke Mandeville ahead of the official Paralympic Torch Relay, with all future Games to follow suit in honour of its place in history as the Birthplace of the Paralympics.

This legacy is something for Buckinghamshire to be immensely proud of, and it should serve as inspiration for everyone who lives, works and runs a business in the county to try and uphold the values that the Paralympic Movement holds dear and create an equal playing field of opportunity for everyone, regardless of disability.

It's two for the price of none

Sign up for free to the Disability Confident scheme and discover a world of support to help you create a workplace open to all.

Get a free invitation to join the DICE Club* and get access to inspirational people and events that will boost your understanding of disability.

* Free DICE Club entry is available to the first 24 employers in Buckinghamshire who sign up to the Disability Confident scheme through our campaign (click the link to get started by registering your interest).

You will be supported throughout the journey

Being a Disability Confident employer is easier than you might think.

And you are not alone, because organisations such as Buckinghamshire Business First and the National Paralympic Heritage Trust are here to help. Buckinghamshire Business First is a Disability Confident employer - read why we think it's important.

Plus, there's inspiration from other local Disability Confident employers such as Talkback, Buckinghamshire Council, Securitas, Fairhive, and MK Gallery.

There are also resources that will help you, for example, learn more about different disabilities and health conditions, and the types of reasonable adjustments employers might make to job interviews for people with autism.

Image: © NPHT Collection