Care to Compete: New ILO report shows business case for care policies for employees with disabilities

GENEVA (WAM)

In a newly launched report ahead of the International Day of Care and Support on 29 October, the International Labour Organisation (ILO)’s Global Business and Disability Network (GBDN) says that implementing care and supporting for employees with disabilities and for employees with dependents with disabilities is good for business.

The report, titled Care to Compete: Corporate Policies and Practices on Care and Support for Employees with Disabilities and Employees with Dependants with Disabilities, draws its findings from an examination of successful designing and implementing disability-inclusive workplace care and support policies by leading companies.

It comes a year after the ILO 2024 Resolution concerning decent work and the care economy and Plan of Action was adopted calling for expanding assistance and support services for persons with disabilities to promote autonomy, independence, and access to employment.

Surveyed enterprises pointed to uneven policy application across regions as the most frequent structural challenge, followed by gaps in dedicated benefits and allowances for care and support.

The report identifies six recurring areas of practice that run across the policies of the leading firms: visible senior-level commitment, the integration of care and support into wider sustainability and inclusion strategies; cross-departmental delivery; setting global minimums with local flexibility; consistent implementation across markets.

For workers, the analysis underscores links between effective and disability-inclusive care policies on the one hand, and job satisfaction, retention, and productivity on the other.

It also showed a notable gap in employee awareness about the existence of care and support policies, and especially around financial support, which suggests the need for clearer internal communication.

The report recommends that companies treat care and support policies as strategic investments that help strengthen productivity and retention. It also calls for better internal communication more inclusion of employees, particularly persons with disabilities and carers, in the design and periodic review of care-related policies.

In addition, the report recommends managerial, clear procedures to ensure fair, consistent implementation across markets additional such as, mental health services and carer-specific resources and systematic audit hiring, performance, and promotion practices to mitigate bias against carers and cultivate inclusive leadership.

Employers and policymakers are increasingly recognizing the benefits of effective, integrated and coherent workplace care and support policies, underscoring the importance of building gender-responsive and disability-inclusive care systems.

The ILO’s 2024 Resolution concerning decent work and the care economy, and its Plan of Action further call for expanding assistance and support services for persons with disabilities to promote autonomy, independence, and access to employment.