Fuller’s launches neurodiverse recruitment guide in conjunction with Licensed Trade Charity and Special Olympics GB
Fuller, Smith & Turner PLC, the premium pubs and hotels business, has launched a guide to recruiting team members who are neurodiverse or have intellectual disabilities (ID). The guide has been produced with help and support from LVS Hassocks – a specialist school for children with autism owned by the Licensed Trade Charity – and Fuller’s corporate charity Special Olympics Great Britain.
While a handful of Fuller’s pubs – in particular The Cabbage Patch in Twickenham – are already active in this space, Fuller’s identified an opportunity to build on this work. Team members with an ID may need shorter shifts and clear, often visual, instruction. They may also have a range of sensory needs, such as quiet spaces for respite, or the avoidance of loud, busy sessions.
Against the backdrop of these minor adjustments, the benefits of a more diverse team are huge – building camaraderie and pride while helping to enrich the life of the new team member and their family. It is also a step in tackling the 94% unemployment rate among the 1.5 million people with an ID in the UK.
The guide covers all aspects of the process from the use of inclusive language and visual cues when recruiting, through interview, induction and making small, but suitable, changes to the working environment. Fuller’s took direction from Special Olympics athletes with first-hand knowledge of good and bad workplace practices and the teaching aids used in the classrooms at LVS Hassocks.
Written by renowned trade journalist Kate Oppenheim, the booklet is being rolled out to all Fuller’s Managed Pubs and will also be available to all Fuller’s Tenants. Moving forwards, the Licensed Trade Charity will take the work out to the wider industry later this year, as tackling unemployment among people with IDs should not, in Fuller’s view, be restricted to one company.
Monique Samra, Fuller’s People Experience Manager with responsibility for DE&I, said: “This is such a great booklet aimed at giving our General Managers the confidence and skills to recruit team members from a whole new, and vastly underrepresented, section of the community. We had a goal of recruiting 20 new team members with an ID – and we’ve already beaten that target. With the roll out of this guide, I hope that number will continue to grow.”
Chris Welham, CEO at the Licensed Trade Charity, commented: “We have been working with children with IDs through our schools LVS Hassocks and LVS Oxford for decades – and this collaboration with Fuller’s is just fantastic. The guide, and the collaboration, shows that the industry that has supported our students’ education is there to support their progression with pathways into work experience and a potential career in hospitality. Fuller’s is really leading the way here and setting a standard that we hope the rest of the industry will follow.”
Laura Baxter MBE, CEO of Special Olympics GB, added: “The statistics around employment levels for people with an ID are exceptionally low. There are 1.5 million people living with an ID in Great Britain and only 6% are in paid employment. It is just fantastic to see Fuller’s – which has been a prolific fundraiser for Special Olympics GB since 2018 – taking a further step on its support for those with IDs. I can’t wait to see where this work goes next – and if more hospitality businesses can join this revolution, I will be absolutely delighted.”
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For further information, please contact the press office:
Georgina Wald 020 8996 2198 [email protected]
Alice Monteath 020 8996 2074 [email protected]
Fuller, Smith & Turner PLC is the premium pubs and hotels business that is famous for beautiful and inviting pubs with delicious fresh food, a vibrant and interesting range of drinks, and engaging service from passionate people. Our purpose in life is to create experiences that nourish the soul. Fuller’s has 182 managed businesses, with 1,015 boutique bedrooms, and 188 Tenanted Inns. The Fuller’s pub estate stretches from Brighton to Birmingham and from Bristol to the Greenwich Peninsula, including 163 locations within the M25. Our Managed Pubs and Hotels include Cotswold Inns & Hotels – seven stunning hotels in the Cotswolds, and Bel & The Dragon – six exquisite modern English inns located in the Home Counties. In summary, Fuller’s is the home of great pubs, outstanding hospitality and passionate people, where everyone is welcome and leaves that little bit happier than they arrived.
Founded in 1793, the Licensed Trade Charity has been helping drinks people for over 200 years, however, the work the charity does for the industry has never been more important. Since the start of the Covid-19 pandemic, LTC has supported 155k people facing a crisis with practical, emotional and financial support. However, the charity’s ambition heading into the future is to spread the word even further about the grants and services it can provide so that it can help even more people in need across the drinks trade. You can find out more about the Licensed Trade Charity by visiting its website https://www.licensedtradecharity.org.uk/. The Licensed Trade Charity helpline is 0808 801 0550. Licensed Trade Charity is registered with the Charities Commission Registration no. 230011.
Special Olympics Great Britain is the UK’s largest provider of all-ability sports training and competition for children and adults with an ID. Across its 98 accredited clubs, regularly opportunities to participate are provided for more than 6,600 athletes, which are delivered by a devoted team of 3,800 volunteers.