Increasing Access for Persons with Disabilities: The case of Safaricom

Introduction Safaricom strives to be an equal opportunity employer and as such employs qualified persons with disability. Safaricom is cognizant of the requirements of the Persons with Disabilities Act 2003 and strives to meet the requirements as stipulated. For entry level positions we do lower the threshold in order to give special consideration for people with disabilities. Over the years the company has enhanced its facilities and benefits to accommodate the employees who fall in this category.

Statistics of Staff with Disabilities in Safaricom The table presents some statistics on staff with disabilities in Safaricom. i.e. Nature of disabilities and the employees in each category. Some staff fall in two categories where they may use either a wheel chair or crutches necessitated by the disability e.g. polio, spinal injury etc. By way of summary, we have 42 staff with different forms of disability which accounts for over 1.5% of our permanent employee headcount. NATURE OF DISABILITY Numbers Arthritis (crutches) 1 Physical Epileptic 1 Physical Crutches 5 Physical Amputee of limb(s) 4 Physical Polio 5 Wheelchair spinal/polio/meningitis 5 Physical (either arm or leg) 4 Visual Impaired 8 Physical Wasted Muscle Limb(s) 9 42

Measures to Accommodate SWDs The measures the Company has put into place to make its working environment friendly to Staff with Disability (SWD) include the following:; Installation of ramps at every entry point to buildings This enables easy access for those who use wheelchairs and crutches as stairs present challenges. This includes our office buildings, retail shops and our contact centre. Disable friendly washrooms This ensures privacy and enough room to move around when answering a call of nature. It ensures other staff do not barge in or get impatient queuing for facilities. Comprehensive medical cover extended to invalid equipments In addition to the normal medical cover given to staff, SWDs have been provided with an equipment cover to cater for the purchase and wear and tear of their equipment.

Measures to Accommodate SWDs Disable friendly Lifts in our buildings. Our buildings have lifts that are wide and large enough to ensure staff who use wheel chairs can fit in comfortably even when other staff are in the lift. The sensors are also maintained to ensure ample time when wheeling in. We are also in the process of building disable friendly lifts at the Call Centre facility.. Facilitation of tax exemption services with KRA. In line with the Act, the company has ensured SWDs with exemption certificates from KRA enjoy the tax exemption up to Ksh. 150,000 as per income tax guidelines. Availability of Special PC (software) for the Visually Impaired Staff at their workstations. This has ensured that the letters are sufficiently enlarged to make them visible and colors conducive to the level of sight.

Measures to Accommodate SWDs Flexible working arrangements. This provides SWDs options with regard to their working and therefore be able to choose suitable travel times. Regular facilitation of Cabs/Taxi services to and from work Involvement and inclusiveness in decision making This enables the staff to have open forum where they communicate the issues that affect them and how best the company can address them. Staff with disabilities also have a representative at the Safaricom Staff Council which meets the CEO every two months.