Advancing Disability Equality

Workforce Disability Equality Standard

The Workforce Disability Equality Standard (WDES) is a set of ten specific measures (metrics) which enables NHS organisations to compare the workplace and career experiences of Disabled and non-Disabled staff. NHS organisations use the metrics data to develop and publish an action plan. Year on year comparison enables NHS organisations to demonstrate progress against the indicators of disability equality.

Our priority areas in the South East:

  1. We will work to ensure we align internally (within NHS England South East) to embed the WDES metrics into all our portfolios.
  2. We will work closely with integrated care system (ICB) boards across the region and track progress against each metric quarterly.

Focusing on the following metrics:

Metric 1

Declaration rate

Percentage of staff in agenda for change pay bands or medical and dental subgroups and very senior managers (including Executive Board members) compared with the percentage of staff in the overall workforce.

Metric 2

Recruitment shortlisting

Relative likelihood of non-Disabled staff compared to Disabled staff being appointed from shortlisting across all posts

Metric 3

Formal capability process

Relative likelihood of Disabled staff entering the formal capability process, as measured by entry into the formal capability procedure

Metric 6

Presenteeism

Percentage of Disabled staff compared to non-Disabled staff saying that they have felt pressure from their manager to come to work, despite not feeling well enough to perform their duties.

Metric 8

Reasonable adjustment

Percentage of Disabled staff saying that their employer has made adequate adjustment(s) to enable them to carry out their work.

WDES metrics – ICB breakdown

Read the overview of how each of the South East regional integrated care systems (ICBs) are performing against the above WDES metrics.