As well as committing to publishing a new National Disability Strategy, the Government has also committed to reducing the stubborn disability employment gap that exists in the UK. The CIPD has recently submitted evidence to the Work and Pensions Committee’s Inquiry  investigating the gap between the employment rates of disabled and non-disabled people and how the DWP can better support disabled people in the labour market. This inquiry is very much welcomed: we need urgent and sustained action on several fronts to make a quantifiable difference in narrowing the gap, particularly in the light of COVID-19 and the disproportionate impact of the pandemic on many people with a disability. 

Closing the disability employment gap

We welcome the progress reported in the latest House of Commons’ Library research briefing on closing the disability employment gap In April-June 2020, the employment rate for disabled people was 53.6% and the rate for people who are not disabled was 81.7%, a disability employment gap of 28.1 percentage points. Between April-June 2013 and April-June 2020, the disability employment gap reduced by 5.0 percentage points.

We need a considerable step change in public policy and employment practice relating to the support and management of people with a disability (and those with a long-term health condition) if the UK is to make significant progress in closing the disability employment gap. The latest ONS figures don’t capture the full impact of the ongoing health crisis and economic recession, including significant job loss in the labour market, on people with a disability. 

Furthermore, the disability employment gap relates to far more than the rate of disabled people in employment. 

As part of CIPD’s annual UK Working Lives survey we follow a panel of 2,000 workers to assess the impact of the pandemic on the quality of their working lives. The research shows that, overall, some disadvantages faced by workers with disabilities continue as before and others have worsened since the COVID-19 pandemic hit the UK. For example, assessments of workload were previously equal but have increased for those with disabilities; potentially creating a new disability gap. People with disabilities were already more likely to say that their jobs negatively affect their physical health and this gap has now widened since the pandemic (i.e. those with disabilities feel that work is less physically healthy for them). However, there is no difference in the impact of work on people’s mental health.

Overall we did not find a disability gap in people’s ability to work remotely during the lockdown, but the data (measured at July 2020, at one point in time) did find a disability gap in anxiety about returning to one’s normal workplace due to COVID-19, and workers with disabilities felt more pressure to return to work.

Meanwhile, a survey of 6,000 people by Citizens Advice, found more than a quarter (27%) of people with a disability were facing redundancy (compared with 17% of the overall working population) – increasing to 37% among those who said their disability had a large impact on their day-to-day life. Action is needed now to ensure this already disadvantaged group do not suffer increased disadvantage in the labour market going forward. It will be much harder for those with a long-term health condition/disability to re-enter the workforce if they do fall out of work. According to a report from Leonard Cheshire, seven-in-ten disabled people (71%) in employment in March this year were affected by the pandemic, either through a loss of income, being put on furlough or being made redundant. This increased to 84% for those aged 18 to 24.

What action is needed?

A DWP (2013) rapid review of international evidence from the European Union (EU) and Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development (OECD) was commissioned to establish ‘what works’ to help disabled people into employment and to remain and progress in work. The review highlighted that: 

• interventions should focus on both individuals and employers; 
• availability and awareness of support are important – many of the more successful interventions were small scale or have low take-up;
• early intervention is key, both to prevent individuals leaving employment due to the onset of an impairment, and to ensure early access to the right support for those on benefits;
• employment interventions are only one element of the range of possible initiatives; in particular, focusing on preventing individuals leaving work may have a greater impact on the numbers on disability benefits than employment programmes themselves.