Disability Employment Mark Holders for Social Enterprises

Find out more about the pioneering businesses supporting disabled people and embedding equality, diversity and inclusion throughout their organisations.

Disability Employment Mark The new Disability Employment Mark has been designed specifically to recognise businesses that provide extra employment support for disabled and otherwise disadvantaged people, who face the greatest barriers to work.

This unique accreditation was launched in April 2019 and updated following the pilot assessments in March 2022. The learning from the early cohort has led to a new merged accreditation standard, the Disability Employment Mark.

We are delighted to showcase the organisations who are leading the way as exemplar employers, committed to providing valuable support to those people that encounter the greatest barriers to work, enabling them to find and maintain meaningful employment.


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Watford Workshop employees

Britain’s Bravest Manufacturing Company

Britain's Bravest Manufacturing Company logo

Britain’s Bravest Manufacturing Company (BBMC) is a social enterprise which directly employs over 100 people, more than 70% of whom are veterans, have a disability or both.

BBMC manufactures a range of products for both the public and private sector. This generates almost £6m in revenue, meaning that even more employment opportunities are available for injured or impaired ex-forces personnel and people with disabilities and health conditions.

BBMC is a division of Royal British Legion Industries (RBLI). Established in 1919, RBLI is an independent national charity aiming to provide employment, training and support to members and veterans of the British Armed Forces, their families and dependents; as well as those with a disability or health condition and those who have been long term unemployed.


BBMC employees in factory

“As a socially-thriving, commercial enterprise now in its 100th year of providing crucial employment support to injured veterans and people with disabilities, we are immensely proud to have been awarded the Social Enterprise Disability Employment Mark.

This mark is the recognition of our commitment to improve the lives of people in need of support, each and every day.”



Haven Products Ltd

Haven Products logo

Haven Products is a social enterprise; the unique attribute being that the majority of their highly skilled workforce comprises disabled and disadvantaged adults.

Haven offers high quality services and solutions to businesses in the areas of External and Internal Signage: Data Scanning: Textile manufacturing and Workwear: Printing and Mailing.

Haven offers a competitive, professional and sustainable alternative to mainstream suppliers, and is actively looking for new contracts of all sizes.


“We are pleased to be involved with this new Mark. It underlines our commitment to providing sustainable employment and development opportunities to disadvantaged people.”


MTIB

MTIB logo

MTIB (Merthyr Tydfil Institute for the Blind) is a charity set up in the 1920’s to support blind miners in South Wales. Since it has developed into a progressive and innovative pan-disability organisation, which now not only employs over 50 staff at their HQ and Supported Business Manufacturing Unit in Merthyr Tydfil, but also supports over 200 disabled and disadvantaged people annually to move closer to and into employment.

Over 90% of their staff have a disability or health condition and they actively promote the work of Supported Businesses and the route into work these businesses offer nationally.

MTIB is a Disability Confident Leader as well as holding both Matrix and IIP accreditations, where they use their status as a Leader in the Sector to promote and encourage organisations to employ a diverse workforce.


MTIB employees

Richard Welfoot

“We are proud to take up the Social Enterprise Disability Employment Mark, which demonstrates and validates the quality of our work in supporting disabled and disadvantaged people into employment.

We see the development of a dedicated Supported Employment Mark as a positive step forward for the sector.”


Watford Workshop employees
Watford Workshop employee

Watford Workshop

Watford Workshop logo

Watford Workshop has been providing hand packing outsource solutions to customers across the UK and worldwide for over 55 years. These projects vary from retail reworks, promotional packing, electrical assembly to simple packing or direct mail collation.

However, Watford Workshop is no ordinary workplace. It has an extra ordinary workforce. By providing employment, work and life skills training to adults with disabilities, Watford Workshop gives an opportunity to gain work experience, independence, confidence, dignity and respect and where possible, a transition into mainstream employment.

By providing mixed ability adults with Work Experience, Skills Training and Employment, Watford Workshop helps them to achieve greater independence, become more integrated into the community and where possible move them on to mainstream employment.


“We are very proud to be one of the first to gain the Social Enterprise Disability Employment Mark. During the application process, we realised how modest we were about our achievements. Completing this has been a great exercise in truly recognising the fantastic work that we do for adults with disabilities and holding this Mark, confirms this.


Yateley Industries

Yateley Industries logo

Yateley Industries works to sustain and increase the opportunities for people with disabilities in rewarding employment, both in its internal employment opportunities and in mainstream work. Having an occupation which is fulfilling enables people with disabilities to be a valued and integral part of society.

Yateley Industries operates one of the few remaining supported factories that help vulnerable adults to do paid meaningful work and training intended to help progress them into mainstream employment.

It also provides a contract packing/assembly service for several local businesses, using specialised packing and cutting machines for shrink wrapping hardware. Other projects have included packing hair care products, assembling vehicle lighting components and small motor parts, bottling glue, labelling CDs and mailshots as well as packing car accessories.


Photo of a man sat at a desk sorting through paperwork

“Yateley Industries is passionate about supporting our customers to achieve the very best they can, and providing a quality service is central to our customers achieving that.

The Social Enterprise Disability Employment Mark is an invaluable tool, which provides us with a framework not only to test ourselves, but to give us impartial feedback to enable us to continually improve our operations.