Disability employment gap

The Government is aiming to halve the disability employment gap — the difference between the employment rates of disabled and non-disabled people. We welcome this new emphasis on work for disabled people. This shift, away from a primary concern with benefit levels, towards employment opportunities and the benefits of working, should be seen as an important change in how government views the role of disabled people in our economy and society. At current employment levels, halving the gap would require over one million more disabled people to be in work. Achieving this will require a clear focus on the role that employers and in-work support must play, as well as careful consideration of the necessary role of benefits. The Government will struggle to achieve its objective if it cannot bring employers on board, and enhance in-work support. Employment opportunities must be opened up to more disabled people and employers helped to see how taking on disabled people, and retaining employees who become disabled, could be good for their businesses. Some employers may need additional financial support and incentives to take on disabled people, and a great many could benefit from access to more practical, tailored, specialist advice at the point of need. To achieve the Government’s ambitions a more co-ordinated and strategic approach to working across Departmental boundaries will be needed. The Government should produce a Disability Employment Strategy that aims to bring together and develop the initiatives it has already announced across Departments, and to make our country a world leader in disability employment. Recent years have seen an increase in the number of disabled people in work, but too many disabled people are still being left behind in the labour market. Many employers still fail to recognise fully the abilities and value of disabled staff, and disability all too often means dropping out of work entirely. At a time when low unemployment should increase employer demand for disabled people, the Government has a chance to introduce incentives and programmes to make sure that it achieves its goal. The Department acknowledges that improving disabled people’s employment rates must be a priority. It must now ensure that its programmes, resources and planning match its ambition.