Dare Salon
DARE salon won Scotland’s Employer of the Year for its exemplary support towards staff with epilepsy in 2005.
John Cooper, owner of DARE, made a number of simple adjustments to ensure that he could retain a valued staff member. He has a flexible approach which includes making changes to working conditions, such as offering flexible hours, and how many hours disabled staff work. Staff are also given time off for medical appointments, ill health or changes to their condition, and all staff are now aware of what to do if a staff member has an epileptic seizure.
Mr Cooper says it's all about equal opportunities. "We believe in providing equal opportunities for all our staff. People should not be prevented from doing a good job just because they have a medical condition. Making these simple adjustments makes sense because we have managed to keep a great member of our team."
Understanding the needs of disabled staff has also helped DARE to improve its customer service, and the salon has many disabled customers including people with multiple impairments.