International Day of Persons with Disabilities 2025: How Workplaces Can Observe

• The International Day of Persons with Disabilities is observed on 3 December to promote the rights, dignity and inclusion of people with disabilities. The theme for 2025 is “Fostering disability inclusive societies for advancing social progress.”
• Around 16.8 million people in the UK have a disability, which means that many employers already have staff with disabilities in their workforce.
• UK employers have legal duties under the Equality Act 2010 to prevent discrimination, make reasonable adjustments and protect staff from harassment.
• Employers can observe the day by planning activities with disabled staff, reviewing policies and training managers to support an inclusive and compliant workplace.

The International Day of Persons with Disabilities 2025 will be observed globally on December 3, 2025.

The United Nations observes the International Day of Persons with Disabilities each year with a unique theme. The theme for 2025 IDPD is:

“Fostering disability inclusive societies for advancing social progress.”

This means that we all must work together to make society more inclusive, fair and just for people with disabilities.

Workplaces can play their part by:

• Recognising and raising awareness of people with disabilities as both agents and beneficiaries of social development.
• Taking steps to improve the inclusion of people with disabilities in all aspects of work.
• Identifying and addressing challenges and barriers that result in discrimination and inequitable treatment for people with disabilities.

The International Day of Persons with Disabilities was proclaimed by the United Nations General Assembly in 1992 (then called the International Day of Disabled Persons) through resolution 47/3.

The stated aim of the day is to:

The day is observed worldwide to raise awareness of the barriers people with disabilities face that affect their ability to perform day-to-day activities.

All workplaces have a responsibility to establish and promote an equitable environment and society for everyone. Many organisations use this day to listen to staff with disabilities, review their own practice and commit to concrete changes that reduce barriers.

Employers must understand their legal duties to prevent discrimination against people with disabilities. The primary piece of legislation that protects people with disabilities in the UK is the Equality Act 2010.

Under the Equality Act 2010, a person is considered ‘disabled’ if:

• They have a physical or mental impairment, and
• The impairment has a substantial and long-term adverse effect on the person’s ability to carry out normal day-to-day activities

‘Impairment’ means a reduced physical or mental ability. It can include mobility problems, sensory loss (such as sight or hearing loss), long-term illnesses, learning difficulties, neurodevelopmental conditions and mental-health conditions.

‘Substantial’ means the effect is more than minor or trivial. For example, it takes much longer than usual to complete simple tasks.

‘Long-term’ means the effect has lasted, or is likely to last, 12 months or more. For example, a breathing problem that develops after a lung infection and continues for at least a year.

Some conditions and impairments that are automatically considered disability are:

• cancer
• an HIV infection
• Multiple Sclerosis (MS)

Other conditions that may be a disability include:

• sight loss (for example, registered blind or sight impaired)
• disfigurement
• long-term mental health conditions
• learning disabilities and autism
• long-term conditions such as epilepsy, diabetes, heart or breathing problems

There are special rules about recurring or fluctuating conditions, for example, rheumatoid arthritis.

You can find more detailed guidance on what is considered a disability under UK law here.

Disability is also a protected characteristic under the Equality Act, which places three main duties on employers. Employers must:

• Avoid Discrimination: Employers must not treat disabled workers or applicants worse because of their disability. This includes recruitment, promotion, training, pay, dismissal and redundancy. It also covers discrimination arising from disability, such as penalising someone for disability-related absence without a proper assessment.
• Make Reasonable Adjustments: Employers must remove or reduce barriers that place disabled people at a disadvantage. Adjustments should be specific to the person and their role. Cost alone is not a reason to refuse an adjustment, especially for larger employers. Adjustments can include changes to:
  • Workstations, equipment or software
  • Hours, shift patterns or location
  • Duties, targets or processes
  • Policies, procedures or absence triggers
• Prevent Harassment and Victimisation: Employers must protect disabled staff from unwanted conduct linked to disability and from being treated badly for raising issues or supporting a complaint. This duty includes taking reports seriously, acting on them and setting clear expectations about behaviour at work.

In practice, this means employers need clear policies, trained managers and simple routes for staff to request adjustments or raise concerns.

According to the House of Commons Library’s research briefing:

• An estimated 16.8 million people in the UK have a disability. This accounts for 25% of the total population.
• 24% of working-age adults have a disability. The two most common disabilities in this group are mental health and mobility impairments.

The report also looks at the outcomes for disabled people and confirms that they face unequal outcomes in many parts of life, including work and income.

For employers, the message is clear. Disabled people form a significant part of the talent pool. Most organisations already employ disabled staff, whether they know it or not.

Many people with disabilities face persistent barriers in employment, including:

• Lower employment rates than non-disabled people in many sectors.
• Gaps in pay and progression, with disabled staff less likely to reach senior roles.
• Limited access to training and development, which restricts skills growth and promotion.

Other barriers often appear in daily work, such as:

• Recruitment processes that rely on standard tests or rigid interviews.
• Workplaces, tools or systems that are not accessible.
• Line managers who lack the confidence to talk about disability or adjustments.
• Policies that penalise disability-related absence or reduced hours.

These barriers result from design choices, policies and attitudes that do not take into account the differences in how humans function.

The best way to address these barriers is by increasing awareness and acceptance in the workplace. Informed leaders are better positioned to implement workplace adjustments and flexible processes that support equal participation.

Workplaces should set clear goals for the day in line with the aim and theme of the International Day of Persons with Disabilities 2025.

Below are practical ways employers can observe the day:

• Plan the day with staff with disabilities, not just for them.
• Run short awareness activities, such as talks, panels, or Q&A sessions on disability and reasonable adjustments.
• Review recruitment, absence, performance and working policies for barriers that may affect people with disabilities
• Remind staff how to request reasonable adjustments and simplify the process.
• Train managers on legal duties and inclusive policies.

Employers and managers must understand how disability is defined, what counts as discrimination and how to make reasonable adjustments under the Equality Act 2010. Without clear training, staff can make mistakes that lead to unfair treatment, poor decisions and legal risk.

Human Focus offers a CPD-certified awareness training course which provides the essential knowledge to build a more inclusive and legally compliant workplace for employees with disabilities. The course explains how disabilities can affect a person at work and the barriers that may be present in processes and policies. The course also explains legal duties under the Equality Act 2010 and helps prevent and tackle discrimination.

By the end of this course, users will know how to support an inclusive, fair and equitable workplace for people with disabilities, in line with UK legislation.

If you’d like to learn more about training and delivery, feel free to contact us.