OCCUPATIONAL SAFETY OF PERSONS WITH DISABILITIES IN THE CONTEXT OF SOCIAL RESPONSIBILITY OF BUSINESS

Abstract

Current trends in ensuring sustainable business development are based, inter alia, on the diversification of the workforce. Provision with the workplaces to people with disabilities allows the company gaining many benefits due not only to compliance with the legislation, but also to improve the management system of opportunities to implement projects on corporate social responsibility. Taken together, this allows the company demonstrating its strengths, gain competitive advantage and investment attractiveness. The downside of this issue is the possible additional investment in adapting the workplace to the needs of worker with disability and an increased risk of injury. Occupational safety, as a powerful system of organizational and technical measures, allows not only minimizing the costs of business to ensure the employment of people with disabilities, but also to help implement programs of corporate social responsibility. The article analyzes the role of occupational safety in the implementation of projects on corporate social responsibility and presents the results of a survey of stakeholders on the problems of employment of people with disabilities in the organization. It is shown that negative expectations of employers about the possible increasing of injuries, as well as the need for additional investment to adapt workplaces to the special needs of people with disabilities, even with an understanding of the importance of this issue and positive impact on company development create obstacles to development of this area. An effective solution to this issue is to intensify the company's efforts to improve the management system of occupational safety and the use of powerful tools of organizational and technical measures to adapt the workplace and work process to the needs of socially vulnerable groups.