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Hachette UK launches accessibility policy to 'support and empower' staff
Hachette UK has launched an accessibility policy to "support and empower" staff. It outlines best practice for recruiting disabled candidates, as well as internal and external support available to staff.
A managers’ guidance document has been created alongside the policy, to help managers support and line-manage a "disability inclusive" team. This also outlines management styles for meetings and events, as well as recruitment best practice. A disability etiquette document has been created as well, including information on interacting with people who may have invisible disabilities.
Launched in collaboration with its employee Accessibility Network, the policy is in line with Hachette UK’s "Changing the Story" diversity and inclusion initiative. The aim is that the information provided will help make the working environment at Hachette UK accessible and inform how the company promotes support and guidance for disabled people.
The new policy aims to ensure that documents used in the recruitment and selection process are inclusive, while also addressing those who may develop a disability while working at the company.
Guidance on disclosing a disability is also included in the policy, which also details the internal support available to staff, including the company’s staff member Accessibility Network and its occupational health and employee assistance programmes.
To mark the launch of the policy, Hachette UK is hosting a staff event titled "Accessibility in the Workplace: A Publishing Panel Event" in January. Lucy Webster, author of The View From Down Here (DK) will chair a panel comprising comedian and writer Rosie Jones (Wren & Rook) who has written the forthcoming Moving On Up, Polly Atkin, author of Some of Us Just Fall (Sceptre), and Nicolas Hamilton, the author of Now That I Have Your Attention (Radar). The session will explore the panelists’ lived experiences of disability, covering topics such as misconceptions surrounding disabilities at work, the importance of correct language and how disabilities are depicted in the media.
Kim Kidd, diversity and inclusion manager at Hachette UK, said: "We’re incredibly proud to announce the launch of our Accessibility Policy, marking a crucial step in our commitment to Changing the Story. Disability inclusion is an important part of our Diversity Equity and Inclusion (DEI) initiative, and we will continue to work with our Accessibility Network to improve awareness and understanding of disabilities so that all of our employees are able to thrive at work."
Jasmine Palmer and Siobhan Hughes, co-chairs of Hachette UK’s Accessibility Network, added: “It is important that we continue to provide support, raise awareness, and make our workplace accessible to everyone in all parts of our business. The event in the new year will provide an opportunity to hear from Hachette authors with real, lived experience in this area, and we will continue to champion and support the books and experiences of disabled colleagues and authors.”
The launch of the policy comes after a series of initiatives at Hachette UK that aim to improve the accessibility and representation across the publisher. The company launched a Neurodiversity Policy this year and signed the Publishing Accessibility Action Group charter in 2022.
