“My name on the door by the Professor's name”: The process of recruiting a researcher with a learning disability at a UK university

Abstract

Background The advantages of including people with learning disabilities in research teams have been well described, but it is rare for researchers with learning disabilities to be employed at a university. This paper explores the extent to which university recruitment procedures are accessible to job applicants with learning disabilities. Methods We present reflections on the process of recruiting a Research Assistant with a learning disability onto a university research team. The recruitment process is described from the perspectives of the employee, line manager and Human Resources representative. Findings The recruiting manager and Human Resources representative had to make adjustments to a wide range of standard processes, including centralised online recruitment systems that were difficult to navigate, inaccessible job descriptions and difficult application forms. Finding workarounds to ensure reasonable adjustments were made was time‐consuming. The employee needed significant support from within his own networks to cope with the application process and had concerns about the potential impact of fixed‐term job contracts on future benefits. Despite our efforts, procedures remained difficult for the applicants to navigate. Conclusions Employing researchers with learning disabilities is important. Fundamental changes to job application systems are required, including easy‐to‐understand information, alternative formats of application forms, and support available where needed. Flexibility from the Human Resources departments is key. They will need support from teams with experience working with people with learning disabilities.

Staff disability data in UK higher education: Evidence from EDI reports

“…In addition, the research on staff primarily focuses on academic rather than non-academic university staff, with the two groups potentially experiencing overlapping but different issues in the workplace. Staff can face issues from recruitment onwards, including finding themselves bearing the burden of making the necessary adjustments (Anderson et al 2023;Inckle 2018;Merchant et al 2020). For academic staff, disability may affect their academic identity, particularly within an ableist workplace culture which prioritises productivity and research and can stigmatise difference and perceived impairment (Brown and Leigh 2018;Dolan 2023).…”

What are we planning, exactly? The perspectives of people with intellectual disabilities, their carers and professionals on end-of-life care planning: A focus group study

“…12 Moreover, there are no studies evaluating the effectiveness of end-of-life care planning or the processes for following the wishes of people with intellectual disabilities about their end-of-life care decisions. 9 Associates [AB, RA-K and SG] with experience in co-producing qualitative research including within palliative care; three Research Assistants with intellectual disabilities [AC, RK-B and LJ] 15 with some research training 16 and end-of-life research experience (15, 2 and 1 years respectively); and a Research Assistant [JG], with end-of-life experience, supporting them. All were involved in data collection and analysis.…”