Disability

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We celebrate our differences and are committed to making our firm accessible to all. Disabilities can take many different forms, so we have specific support in place for those with physical disabilities, long term conditions, mental health and neurodiversity. To make sure accessibility is rooted in the beginning of all our processes, decisions and new developments, we’ve embedded champions across the business. The changes we’ve seen in people’s ways of working has created real opportunity in this space – now is the time to re-evaluate and make our firm more inclusive than ever.
KPMG UK Disability Employee Network (WorkAbility) chairs

Commitments and recognition

We’ve committed to increasing our firm-wide disability representation to 15% by 2030. This target has been set based on representation in society – 19% of working-age adults are disabled.

We’re recognised as a Disability Confident Leader. This means we have committed to meeting criteria set out by the government Disability Confident scheme to ensure we are an accessible and inclusive firm for people with disabilities, long term health conditions, mental health conditions and those who are neurodiverse.

We’re a signatory of the Valuable 500 – a global business collective made up of 500 CEOs and their companies, innovating together for disability inclusion.

Where we are now

Disabled colleagues firm-wide / 8% 1-Oct-22 spot count (FY21: 8%)

Disabled colleagues at senior level / 8% 1-Oct-22 spot count (FY21: 8%)

Disabled graduate and apprentice joiners / 8% FY22 (FY21: 10%)

Disabled new experienced hires / 4% FY22 (FY21: 7%)

These figures are based on those that have declared this information to us (83% of employees).

Find out more about representation across our firm here. You can also find out about our 2022 Pay Gaps and how we’re addressing them here.

Our disability action plan

Leadership and culture In 2016 we were one of 13 organisations to achieve Disability Confident Leader status at the inception of the Department for Work and Pensions programme. We are proud that our leader status was validated again in 2020. In 2022, we introduced training to our new student joiners on recognising the strengths of neurodiversity and managing physical and mental wellbeing as part of their induction. We also produced a learning task within KPMG’s new inclusion, diversity and equity training which focused on disability inclusion. And at senior levels of our firm, we’ve seen an increase in representation – 7% of our Partners have declared themselves as having disabilities or long-term conditions.

Our collective voice As well as being recognised as a Disability Confident Leader, we're also a long-standing partner member of the Business Disability Forum and a global signatory of the Valuable 500. We have representatives on the Disability Confident Business Leaders Group, Business Disability Forum Presidents Group and on the This Is Me Steering Committee. In March 2022 we became a founding member of Neurodiversity in Business and we're also a founding member of the MindForward Alliance.

Business Disability Forum’s Disability Smart Awards – winner of Workplace Experience Award and COVID-19 innovation 2021

Talent From a recruitment perspective, we ensure that candidates requiring additional support or an adjustment have access to specific guidance, via our careers website. Our external recruitment efforts are supported by dedicated disability-focused partnerships with organisations such as MyPlus Consulting and Employability.

We also run specific events for disabled students and use those events to attract students to KPMG, better understand our applicant pool and inform our attraction activity and support.

In 2018 we started working with Auticon, an IT and compliance consultancy that only recruit consultants with an Autism Spectrum Condition. Our Audit and Technology teams now work alongside Auticon consultants, which helps us to build our understanding of neuro-diverse talent and the value our differences can bring.

Employee Networks
Our WorkAbility and BeMindful Employee Networks help to promote awareness of disability and mental health. They also provide a community and safe space for those with lived experiences, and a platform for all colleagues to become allies. More recently, we’ve established dedicated communities for Neurodiversity and Cancer too.

Inclusive recruitment

In September 2022, we introduced a new flagship student recruitment event - Thrive - focussed on disability. Thrive was designed to connect with students with disabilities and long-term health conditions and create an authentic space to discuss how we support people to bring their full self to work. During the event, students were introduced to our WorkAbility network and Neurodiversity Community, and were encouraged to share their stories and learn more about career paths and life at KPMG.

Helen Cooke, CEO and Founder of the disabled student support organisation, MyPlus, joined the sessions to share her expertise, alongside our Student Recruitment team, who led sessions on our programmes and application processes.

We've also hosted events alongside Blind in Business, who help people who are blind or have partial sight get into the world of work more easily. This included sessions on how to spot strengths and prepare for interviews, before running mock interviews with KPMG colleagues.

Our newest communities: Neurodiversity and Cancer

As a firm, we’re committed to breaking down barriers and helping people with all forms of disability to thrive. Whilst our WorkAbility network aims to provide an accessible environment where we can all feel included, we recognise that colleagues with physical disabilities might have different needs to those with long-term conditions or are neurodiverse.

To help provide better support to colleagues with a range of conditions, we’ve created two new communities within our network, focused on Neurodiversity and Cancer.

“The WorkAbility network is continually looking for ways to expand and offer better support to our colleagues, particularly with our new ways of working” says Liz, Co-Chair of the WorkAbility network. “We know that neurodiversity and Cancer are experienced by many of our colleagues and we wanted to ensure we continue to provide safe environments for colleagues and share their experiences with those in similar situations.”

A platform to learn, develop and network

In 2002, when Mark was 19, he started working in the city, having deferred university for a year. He felt like his options were endless. This changed weeks later when a doctor told Mark he would be registered as severely sight impaired (blind). "At the time I thought my life was over," says Mark. "Looking back, it made me the person I am now."

Mark came across KPMG's disability network and felt it gave him a platform to develop, learn and access an incredible network of individuals both inside and outside of KPMG. He became chair of the WorkAbility network and says that this became a springboard to his career in Inclusion, Diversity and Equity. "I am proud to work for a company that values difference," says Mark. "And I'm proud to work alongside people that want you to create, and achieve, your own ambitions".

Mark / Manager

Connecting to the world with new ways of working

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