Business Disability Forum: A Practical Employer Guide
What Is the Business Disability Forum?
The Business Disability Forum (BDF) is a not-for-profit, voluntary business membership organisation that works with businesses, Government and disabled people to improve the experiences of disabled employees and consumers by removing barriers to inclusion. BDF works with over 600 Members and Partners employing over 5 million people in the UK, and a further 16 million people worldwide.
BDF operates as a practical resource hub — not a regulator. There are no mandatory entry requirements to join, and membership does not imply accreditation.
Website: businessdisabilityforum.org.uk
Core BDF Services for Employers
1. The Disability Smart Framework and Assessments
BDF builds its work around the Disability Smart Framework, which looks at disability inclusion across ten business areas common to all organisations:
- Communications
- Customers and service users
- Employee experience
- Leadership, culture and strategy
- Learning and development
- Premises and facilities
- Procurement
- Recruitment
- Technology
- Workplace adjustments and accommodations
The framework underpins BDF's Disability Smart Management Tools, available to Members and Partners:
- Disability Smart Self-Assessment — the starting point for understanding how your organisation is doing
- Disability Smart Audit — an in-depth, expert-led review to help you measure and improve
- Disability Smart Toolkit — support through the improvement process
- Global Disability Smart Assessment — for multinational organisations, giving scores and reports for each region assessed
2. Knowledge Hub
BDF's Knowledge Hub is organised around the same business areas and includes guidance on understanding specific disabilities and conditions. It is written for HR professionals and line managers without specialist training.
3. Advice Service
BDF Members and Partners can use a confidential Advice Service staffed by specialist advisers. It advises managers and leaders — HR, diversity and inclusion leads, line managers, recruitment, facilities and procurement teams — on matters such as:
- Case management support, for example during absence, performance or dismissal procedures
- When adjustments may and may not be "reasonable"
- Managing employees and customers with a disability or long-term condition
- Customer complaints and disputes
The Advice Service does not advise disabled individuals on their own grievances or complaints.
4. Learning and Development
BDF offers ready-made training courses on core disability inclusion topics, delivered virtually or in person, as well as tailored and fully bespoke learning programmes.
Five Actions Employers Can Take Today
- Secure senior sponsorship — Leadership, culture and strategy is one of the ten Disability Smart business areas; visible commitment from the top helps embed inclusion across the organisation.
- Train your line managers — Line managers play a central role in whether workplace adjustments work in practice.
- Review your recruitment process — Remove barriers: allow adjustments at interview, audit job descriptions for unnecessary requirements, and make sure your application system is accessible.
- Implement a Workplace Adjustments Passport — A written record of agreed adjustments that travels with the employee through role changes and manager changes.
- Measure your disability data — Encourage voluntary disclosure and use the data to track progress over time.
How InkludX Connects to BDF
Employers working through InkludX certification build evidence on their disability inclusion practice that can also be useful when completing BDF's Disability Smart assessments.
Sources: Business Disability Forum (businessdisabilityforum.org.uk) — About us, Disability Smart Framework, Advice Service, Learning and development