The Disability Standard is awarded by Business Disability Forum – an employers’ network whose members employ 20% of the UK’s workforce.
It scores organisations' performance against ten disability criteria, such as facilities, recruitment, retention, products and adjustments. The ONS was rated 92% overall.
Ole Black, the ONS’s senior lead on disability, health and well-being, said: “We are delighted to have achieved this award and proud to be the first public sector organisation to reach the gold standard. We have worked hard to ensure that disability is main-streamed into everything our organisation does and we will continue to do this.”
Angela Matthews, disability consultant at the Business Disability Forum, said the ONS’s senior leadership is “strong” and “allows change and improved performance to be driven from the top of their organisation”.
She said the ONS has invested in a “structured programme to help employees adjust to returning to work after a period of sickness absence, established a robust adjustments procedure that all relevant staff are equipped to manage, and developed an in-house course to provide support for employees who care for people with disabilities”.