Breaking Barriers Together: Inspiring My Workplace about Disability Inclusion

In January 2024, I joined the EDI committee. I’d had a serious car accident a few years prior to this and as a result had life changing lower limb injuries rendering me disabled. I was interested to learn more about what the EDI committee did and get involved if I could.

The EDI committee meets monthly and I attended a few meetings before deciding it was something I wanted to be more involved with. Everyone was really welcoming.

One of the first discussions that I was involved with was around the disabled parking at Minster Law, I had utilised this a lot through my recovery and continue to do so. I made a comment about although the spaces were close to the building, they were no bigger than a standard parking space, and if someone were a wheelchair user, they would not be fit for purpose.

I can’t recall exactly how the conversation came about but I mentioned this in one of my meetings and Minster Law’s CEO Shirley added this to her action plan to see what could be done. I did wonder if I had over stepped, but she, and everyone in the meeting were happy to listen and took my comments on board.

A few months later, I recall coming into work and seeing the new large bright yellow disabled spaces at the front of the building. There were also more spaces than previously.

It was great to see how one conversation made such a big impact, and that what we discuss in our meetings is acted upon, and that I, along with my colleagues had made a difference.

As part of our 2024/25 objectives, we aimed to achieve a “Level 2 Disability Confident Employer” status, building on our previous success at Level 1. There has been a lot of work that has gone into this behind the scenes, with the help of our colleagues in the EDI committee and the rest of the business, including forming a subcommittee whose main focus was on this area of work, going through our company policies and how they align with our vision of becoming a Disability Confident employer, and working closely with HR to make any necessary changes or additions to these. In April this year, we achieved Level 2 status and I am really proud to have been involved in this. It demonstrates how Minster Law is committed to fostering a safe, accessible and inclusive place for everyone. We are now actively working towards Level 3—so watch this space for further progress.