Closing the Disability Employment Gap: What is the National Disability Strategy?
The UK’s disability employment gap is alarming. Figures show there is nearly a 30% gap between the employment rate of disabled and non-disabled people. This is in addition to a 20% disability pay gap. The pandemic has caused further disadvantages for disabled workers, during which they have been hit hardest with redundancy, furlough and reduced hours.
Disability employment gap causes
Disabled workers have a phenomenal amount to contribute and they want to work, but are often overlooked for reasons such as having gaps on their CV or ill health. Misconceptions, stereotypes and stigma surrounding their condition(s) are also persistent challenges in both finding and retaining work.
Once in the workplace, disabled workers often deal with many additional barriers such as accessibility, lack of job progression and lack of flexible working. Additionally, capability or sickness absence procedures can be problematic for disabled workers as these can often serve as a way to be managed out of a job.
Paradoxically, emerging alongside the disability employment gap is the rise in labour shortages seen across the country. Despite these labour shortages, the invisible talent pool of disabled people is still not being utilised. Clearly the UK Government's strategy of getting one million more disabled people in work by 2027 is falling short.
National Disability Strategy
This is not to say that the government has not made attempts to positively transform disabled people’s everyday lives and work. In July 2021, the government launched the highly anticipated National Disability Strategy. The strategy contains around a hundred and twenty actions based on a wide range of issues ranging from employment, transport and technology, to leisure and arts. It sets out commitments from each government department.
Some of these actions will be implemented over the coming year, while others require a longer-term trajectory. While many have welcomed this move to the social model of disability, questions have risen around the strategy, and its ability to close the disability employment gap.
Strategy aims
The strategy has promised to provide more support to help disabled people into work, as well as help finding new work when they have lost their job. There are proposed changes to Access to Work, including using an Access to Work Adjustments Passport.
The strategy also touches on how public transport can be improved, including bringing in a statutory duty for rail to improve accessibility. This is vital as many disabled people rely on public transport to travel to work. These are some of the actions which can hopefully go some way to closing the disability employment gap.
Criticisms of the strategy
Unsurprisingly, the strategy has come under fire. A major criticism is how the government has failed to outline how and when it intends to close the disability employment gap. This is essential in holding the government accountable and to keep on track.
Additional questions have emerged surrounding funding for the strategy. Many have claimed how it’s not sufficient for long-term transformational change. Without adequate funding, many of its measures will be unable to provide the needed support required to reduce the disability employment gap.
Disturbingly, the lack of disabled people consulted for the strategy has led to the High Court ruling the strategy as unlawful in January 2022. Real and significant change in reducing the disability employment gap must involve the input and lived experience of disabled people.
The Disability Charter
In order to call the government to act and improve on the shortcomings of the strategy, the Disability Employment Charter was launched. Supported by disability organisations, trade unions and academics, the charter outlines the steps needed to tackle the disadvantages and barriers within UK workplaces for disabled people.
Nine areas of action
The charter consists of nine areas of action which include:
· Employment and pay gap reporting
· Supporting disabled people into employment
· Reform of Access to Work
· Reform of Disability Confident
· Leveraging government procurement
· Workplace adjustments
· Working with disabled people and their representatives
· Advice and support
· National progress on disability employment
These measures, if implemented, would herald a positive change in closing the disability employment gap.
Employment & pay gap reporting
A key area of the charter includes employment and pay gap reporting. This calls for large employers to publish data annually, outlining the number of disabled people they employ and any pay gaps. The aim of this is to recreate the success of gender pay gap reporting, which resulted in many employers taking steps to resolve the gender pay gap as they had been sufficiently embarrassed by the figures that they had to report.
Overcoming the disability employment gap will require more substantive actions than the strategy currently provides. The government will need to act on the nine areas of action outlined by the charter if it’s serious about closing the gap. Disabled workers have so much talent and expertise to deliver. Now more than ever, the government must act in implementing real change for the disabled workforce.
Written by Sophie Holcroft