A Herbert Smith Freehills (HSF) litigation partner has launched a charity for City professionals with disabilities.

City Disabilities, an independent charity which is not affiliated to the firm, aims to provide support and guidance through a mentoring programme for individuals with a disability working in the City, or students training to do so.

"The idea came as a result of meeting people with disabilities after a lecture I gave about working as a disabled solicitor in March," said HSF partner Robert Hunter (pictured), one of three founders of the charity.

"Mentoring is key to helping people coming into the City understand what they will face. Speaking to people in the same profession or organisation will give them a clearer idea of the obstacles."

Fellow co-founder, Bootle Hatfield solicitor Kate Rees-Doherty, said:"We are hoping to reach people who have had a bad experience in a work environment and give support to them and give support to people with a hidden disability." 

The charity is particularly keen to work with individuals whose disability is unknown to their employer.

Non-disabled people are over three times more likely than disabled people to earn £80,000 or above and twice as likely to be board level directors, according to a 2010 report by Disability Rights UK.

Furthermore, 75% of people with disabilities who could keep a disability or health condition hidden at work did so, while those with mental health conditions were four times more likely to keep their condition hidden, compared with other disabilities .

Although independent from any firm or organisation, City Disabilities aims to work within organisations helping to bridge the gap which it sees as existing between diversity policies and the reality of a work environment.

"I have to say it does not have a high enough profile," said Kayleigh Farmer, Hunter's executive assistant and the third founder of the charity. "It is one of those things City firms say as a tick box to tick off but the people who tick the boxes do not have a good enough understanding to be ticking it off."