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Inclusion, Diversity and Equity

Disability

We empower our people to thrive with us.

We celebrate our differences at KPMG. Disabilities can take many different forms, so we have specific support in place for colleagues who are neurodivergent, those with physical disabilities, and those with long-term conditions. We work with our firm’s Digital Accessibility team and other networks to ensure our firm is fully inclusive. We help colleagues come as they are and thrive in the workplace.”

KPMG UK Disability Employee Network (WorkAbility) chairs

Commitments and recognition

We’ve committed to increasing our disability representation at partner level to 15% by 2030.
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.
We’ve signed up to the Working with Cancer pledge, which recognises the impact on colleagues of cancer diagnosis, treatment and recovery, ensuring they have the support they need.

Where we are now

Disabled colleagues firm-wide / 7% 1-Oct-23 spot count (1-Oct-22: 8%)
Disabled colleagues at senior level* / 8% 1-Oct-23 spot count (1-Oct-22: 8%)
Disabled graduate and apprentice joiners / 5% FY23 (FY22: 8%)
Disabled new experienced hires / 4% FY23 (FY22: 4%)

*Senior colleagues includes Partners, Directors and Senior Managers

These figures are based on the total headcount as at 1 Oct 2023. This includes those that have undeclared responses, and those who have chosen to respond with “prefer not to say”.

Find out more about representation across our firm here. You can also find out about our 2023 Pay Gaps and how we’re addressing them here.

Our disability action plan

Accountable leaders 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 2023. We’ve set ambitious 2030 targets to increase disability representation to 15% at partner level, and have already seen an increase – 8% of our Partners have declared themselves as having disabilities or long-term conditions.
Our broader impact 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 Award for Inclusive Recruitment 2023
Inclusive Environment Our WorkAbility, BeMindful and Neurodiversity 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 also established a dedicated community for Cancer.

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 an understanding of neuro-diverse talent and the value our differences can bring.

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.

We 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.


Equitable experiences
In 2022 we launched our Inclusion ID. The inclusion ID is a living record of adjustments agreed between an employee and their manager and or required team to support colleagues in how, when and where they want to work. We also have a library of anonymised personal perspectives called “This is me” designed to help colleagues understand the variety of conditions and impairments colleagues have and the different adjustments they require.

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 Auticon.
We’ve signed the Working with Cancer pledge

50% of us will get cancer in our lifetime1, yet 50% of us are afraid to discuss a diagnosis with our employer.2 At KPMG, we want our people to come as they are and feel supported, understood and valued. That’s why we’ve signed the Working with Cancer pledge.

By signing, we’re reaffirming our commitment to creating an inclusive and supportive workplace not just for our colleagues affected by cancer, but for all those affected by long-term conditions. We have set an ambitious target to have 15% of our Partners to have shared they have a disability or long-term condition by 2030, and it’s important that we recognise the full breadth of conditions that this will encompass, including both visible and non-visible.

Our pledge revolves around two clear commitments:

  • Providing support: We have dedicated support systems and resources in place to assist colleagues who are diagnosed with cancer or are caring for someone with cancer. This support includes engaging with impacted colleagues, providing access to counselling services, and guidance on managing work responsibilities during treatment and recovery and for those with a terminal illness.
  • Flexible work arrangements: We understand the importance of flexibility in accommodating the needs of our colleagues dealing with cancer and those in recovery with cancer treatment. We will work with individuals on a case-by-case basis to explore and implement workplace adjustments, such as flexible working hours, remote work options, reduced workloads, or temporary reassignments, to ensure their well-being and recovery are prioritised.

“We want everyone at the firm to feel supported, no matter what they’re going through, and we’re committed to making our workplace as open, inclusive and caring as possible. Our firm’s WorkAbility employee network is focused on those impacted by a disability or long-term condition, and this includes have a dedicated cancer community. We’ve worked directly with this community to ensure our Working with Cancer pledge recognises the impact of cancer diagnosis, treatment and recovery, ensuring they have the support they need.”


Lisa Fernihough, former Chief People Officer at KPMG UK

1. British Journal of Cancer and International Agency for Research on Cancer
2. About the Pledge - Working with Cancer Pledge

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 Networks and communities: Neurodiversity, Dementia/Alzheimer’s 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 neurodivergent.

To help provide better support to colleagues with a range of conditions, we’ve created two new communities within our Workability network, focused on Dementia/Alzheimer’s and Cancer. And our Neurodiversity community became it’s own stand alone network in October 2023 following its growth in the previous year.

“The WorkAbility network comprises colleagues with many different lived experiences of disability” says Emily, Co-Chair of the WorkAbility network. “Dementia/Alzheimer’s and Cancer are conditions that so many of our colleagues and their loved ones experience. We want to ensure we continue to provide safe environments for all colleagues to share their experiences and get support”

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
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