National Disability Employment Awareness Month spotlight with Catherine Lock, Co-Chair of the Disability ERG
October is National Disability Employment Awareness Month, and we’re celebrating the inspiring work happening within our Disability Employee Resource Group (ERG). We sat down with Catherine Lock, Co-Chair of the Disability ERG, to discuss how the group is championing employees, driving meaningful policy change, and building an inclusive workplace for everyone.
The Disability ERG is a support network where employees lift each other up and share solutions. “We listen to the issues that people experience and discuss the barriers,” Catherine explains. “It’s about supporting each other with any issues that we have.”
This collaborative approach is making a real difference. Catherine shares a success story about helping a colleague who received unclear guidance about workplace support. By connecting them with the right resources through Access to Work, the colleague received the equipment they needed to succeed in their role.
“We’re retaining and keeping them rather than losing people,” Catherine says. It’s this kind of practical support that transforms careers and lives.
While peer support creates immediate impact, the ERG is also focused on building lasting change through policy development. The group is currently developing a comprehensive Reasonable Adjustments Policy, an exciting initiative that will create clear frameworks for supporting all employees.
The policy will establish best practices across several key areas:
- Clear employer and employee responsibilities
- Streamlined Access to Work processes
- Efficient equipment and software provision
- Realistic timelines for implementing adjustments
- Comprehensive guidance for managers at all levels
“We’re working with HR at the moment on the reasonable adjustments policy,” Catherine explains. “This policy will ensure consistent, supportive experiences for employees – from recruitment through their entire career journey with the organisation.”
Catherine brings valuable lived experience as a deaf person, and her advocacy has already led to exciting improvements across the organisation. Recent successes include advertising vacancies on deaf-specific websites and implementing BSL QR codes throughout facilities, innovations that are opening doors for deaf employees and service users alike.
“My main passion is making sure anyone who communicates via BSL has got access within the company,” Catherine shares. “But I also want to advocate for anyone who is encountering any barriers within the workplace, and work with them to break down those barriers so that they can have equal opportunities, equal access.”
The organisation is also expanding accessible information standards, with training modules available on MEL, a learning platform, covering various aspects of disability awareness and equipping managers and colleagues with the knowledge to create inclusive environments.
The ERG recognises that great support starts with great training. There’s momentum building around making disability awareness training mandatory for all line managers, an important step that will ensure every employee receives consistent, informed support regardless of their team or location.
Training modules are already available, and the focus now is on ensuring all managers have the skills and confidence to support their team members effectively. “If you’ve got sickness management, you manage that, then it is also important to have some kind of mandatory disability awareness training for supporting colleagues with additional needs,” Catherine notes. Elysium is making excellent progress toward achieving the next level of Disability Confident status, having recently achieved Level 2. Exciting developments are already underway, onboarding processes are becoming more inclusive, recruitment practices are expanding to reach diverse talent pools, and awareness is growing across all levels of the organisation.
“Behind the scenes, I believe there are people working hard to try and drive this further, to be more accessible,” Catherine said. For anyone considering joining the Disability ERG, Catherine offers an encouraging welcome: “Their voice will be heard. They can be assured that whatever their issues are can be dealt with within the ERG.”
The ERG provides a safe, supportive space where employees can share experiences, contribute to policy development, and access a network of peers who understand their journey. Members meet monthly for one hour and stay connected through a Teams channel for ongoing support.
Whether you’re looking for practical guidance, want to contribute to policy work, or simply want to connect with others who share similar experiences, the Disability ERG welcomes you.
As we celebrate National Disability Employment Awareness Month, the work of the Disability ERG demonstrates what’s possible when employees come together to drive positive change.
Through peer support, policy development, and passionate advocacy, the group is building a workplace where everyone can succeed.