Employers to adopt disability-inclusive hiring under proposed regulations
Under the proposed framework, employers would be required to review their recruitment procedures to eliminate discriminatory requirements, provide accessible job advertisements and application channels, and make reasonable adjustments during interviews and recruitment assessments.
Agnes Nampeera, Acting Assistant Commissioner for Disability Affairs, poses for a photo with participants after opening the Community-Based Rehabilitation Stakeholders’ Dialogue. (Photo by Violet Nabatanzi).
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Employers in Uganda will be required to adopt disability-inclusive employment practices, eliminate workplace discrimination and provide reasonable accommodation for persons with disabilities under the proposed Persons with Disabilities (Employment) Regulations, 2026.
The draft regulations seek to ensure that persons with disabilities enjoy equal opportunities in recruitment, appointment, training, promotion and other employment processes in both the public and private sectors.
Presenting the proposed regulations during a community-based rehabilitation stakeholders’ dialogue at Hotel Africana on October 27, 2026, Wilson William Majwara, a senior programmes officer at the Ministry of Gender, Labour and Social Development, said the framework aims to strengthen equal employment opportunities, eliminate workplace discrimination and promote decent work for persons with disabilities in Uganda. The dialogue was organised by Katalemwa Cheshire Home.
Under the proposed framework, employers would be required to review their recruitment procedures to eliminate discriminatory requirements, provide accessible job advertisements and application channels, and make reasonable adjustments during interviews and recruitment assessments.
These adjustments could include providing sign language interpreters, accessible interview venues, alternative communication formats and appropriate assistive technologies.
The draft regulations further propose that applicants should not be denied employment merely because they require reasonable accommodation to perform the duties of a particular job.
Employers would also be required to provide reasonable accommodation and progressively eliminate physical, communication and digital barriers in workplaces to enable persons with disabilities to work effectively.
The proposed regulations also outline procedures through which employees and job applicants can request reasonable accommodation, with employers ordinarily expected to provide a reasoned decision within 14 working days.
The measures are intended to enable persons with disabilities to participate in the labour market and perform their duties on an equal basis with other employees.
Beyond recruitment, the proposed framework seeks to protect employees who acquire disabilities while in employment by requiring employers to consider reasonable adjustments, rehabilitation, flexible working arrangements and suitable redeployment.
It also seeks to prohibit disability-based harassment, victimisation and discriminatory termination of employment, in line with the Persons with Disabilities Act, 2020.
Once finalised and brought into force, the regulations are expected to strengthen implementation of the Act by providing clearer guidance to employers and employees on their respective rights and obligations.
The initiative forms part of the Government’s broader efforts to advance disability inclusion, equal opportunities and the participation of persons with disabilities in Uganda’s social and economic development.
The chairperson of Katalemwa Cheshire Home, Joseph Kasozi, said the regulations would help establish a framework within which people should operate, but their effectiveness would depend on enforcement.
“The regulations help in one way or another, especially because they provide a framework within which people should operate. Once the regulations are put in place and enforced, they can work,” he said.
Delivering a keynote address, Agnes Nampera, the acting assistant commissioner for Disability Affairs, who represented the commissioner for disability and elder affairs at the gender ministry, said services such as education, healthcare, HIV/AIDS services and gender-based violence interventions should be provided in accessible and equitable ways.
Nampera also emphasised the importance of involving persons with disabilities in planning, coordinating and monitoring services that affect them.
“Participation of persons with disabilities is essential,” she said.
Participants highlighted several barriers to employing persons with disabilities, including discrimination, negative perceptions and concerns among employers about the adjustments required in the workplace.
Early detection and prevention
Dr Moses Muwanga, the assistant commissioner in charge of disability at the health ministry, said disabilities should be identified as early as possible, including at birth, to facilitate timely intervention and support.
He also emphasised the importance of raising awareness about disability prevention.
Muwanga said women should take folic acid before conception, noting that it helps reduce the risk of neural tube defects, including spina bifida.
He called for increased public awareness of the causes of disabilities and the importance of early intervention.