Closing the disability employment gap

Yesterday, we – alongside Greater Manchester Disabled People’s Panel, Sense and Money and Mental Health – gave evidence to the Government inquiry on employment support for Disabled people.

Currently, one in four of the working-age population are Disabled. And Disabled people are twice as likely to be unemployed as non-Disabled people at huge cost to our and our collective wellbeing; almost two-thirds of all people living in extreme poverty are Disabled.

The disability employment gap has consistently stood at nearly 30 percentage points, and the inquiry aims to understand how to make routes into work easier for Disabled people who can work to close that gap.

How do we close the employment gap?

The focus needs to be on removing the barriers to work rather than ‘fixing’ Disabled people. Disabled people want to use our talents and earn a decent living, but the many barriers to getting and keeping work prevent this.

Long-term specialist employment support for Disabled people, delivered locally, is crucial. But the readiness of employers to employ Disabled people is key. They need to be empowered and supported to recruit, employ and retain Disabled people. For example, through an employment advisory service they can rely on to give good-quality advice.

Deaf and Disabled People’s Organisations have a central role to play in delivering this expert advice and support to employers and Disabled people, and need investment to allow us to do this.

Finally – and crucially – the system needs to be carrot rather than stick. There is no evidence that threats or sanctions get Disabled people into work. Quite the opposite; if threatening people works, the employment gap wouldn’t exist to the extent that it does.

Disabled people want to be able to trust that the system is working for not against us. If we can be confident that engaging in the system will lead to employment with no financial threat, we will.

The full recording of the committee is available on Parliament Live.