A common reasonable accommodation is to provide a support person to help an employee with certain tasks and to assist a candidate during the recruitment stage. In the case of a candidate, this can be a low-cost solution to ensure that they are given the best opportunity to demonstrate their suitability for the role.

Support workers can provide assistance in a range of areas including:

• Reading
• Note taking
• Conducting administrative tasks
• Accompanying (while travelling, at interview or at work)
• Counselling/mental health mentoring
• Specialist tutoring – this could be covering dyslexia, dyscalculia, and dyspraxia

When providing a support worker, be sure to source them from a recognized agency that conducts the appropriate checks and training. Imagine being dependent on someone else at an important event such as an interview and not being able to understand or trust that person – a potentially huge barrier.

Job sites such as Indeed list a large number of support worker vacancies, which may help to identify suitable candidates to assist your disabled employees.