Many social enterprises employ disabled workers. This is part of the social value they generate and can also give them a unique selling point in their chosen market place.
In this live Q&A we will explore the challenges - and benefits - of employing disabled workers.
The issues we will consider are:
• the lessons which other businesses can learn from social enterprises that emply disabled people
• the grants and the assistance available to promote disabled employment
To learn more about the role that social enterprises play in employing disabled people - and the benefits of doing so - you can read an article by Jane Hatton of Evenbreak, a recruitment consultancy which works with disabled people, 'Why social enterprises should employ disabled people'.
Do get in touch if you'd like to be a panellist – email Joe Jervis for more details.
Also, if you'd like to leave a question, please do so in the comments section below, or come back to ask it live – and follow the debate – on Thursday 24 May, 1-3pm.
Remember - in order to be on the panel and also to participate, you need to register as a member of the Guardian social enterprise network, and log in. Click here to register.
Panel of experts
Temidire Odesanya, marketing officer, Social Firms UK
Social Firms UK is the membership body for Social Firms and Work Integration Social Enterprises (WISEs). A social firm is a market-led social enterprise set up specifically to create good quality jobs for people severely disadvantaged in the labour market and WISEs focus on improving their employment prospects though a wider range of work-based opportunities.
Paul Wilson, business writer, Pluss
Paul is business writer for the UK's largest Social Firm, Pluss, which specialises in disability employment services. It is provider of the DWP work choice programme, delivers specialist employment programmes for health trusts and several local authorities, and half of its 500 strong workforce has a disability. Paul is also vice chairman of the British Association for Supported Employment (BASE), and, in a separate career, has written six works of fiction, including 'The Visiting Angel'.
Ildi McIndoe, parent of daughter with Down's syndrome, social enterpreneur
Ildi recently formed a company to enable her daughter, who has Down's syndrome, to become employed. She has a strong interest in ensuring 'fair play' for people with learning disabilities.
Sally Reynolds, self-employed adviser to social enterprise
Sally is a self-employed adviser to social enterprise. She co-founded Social Firms UK in 1999 and was chief executive until the end of December 2011. She has acted as adviser to government departments and ministers around social inclusion and employment of disabled and disadvantaged people.
Adam Bradford, group director, Adam Bradford Enterprise and Investments Group.
Adam is a 19-year-old social entrepreneur and group director of the Adam Bradford Enterprise and Investments Group. He is an autism sufferer and passionate ambassador for equality in all business.
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