The Work and Pensions Select Committee report on the Plan for Jobs and Employment Support was published today with recommendations aligned closely to those of Disability@Work in its written submission to the inquiry and in the Disability Employment Charter on Disability Confident (pp31-33 and 81-2), access to work (p49) and careers advice for disabled people (p52).

Briefing note

Disability@work outlines some key points from DWP’s annual report on disability and employment. This is a really valuable source of national statistics setting out the evidence on changes in disability employment and employment gaps since 2013. It will be of interest to organisations which seek to monitor disability-related disadvantage in the labour market and to hold the government to account on its commitments to reduce this disadvantage.

Briefing note

DWP celebrates one-million more disabled people in employment but has disability employment disadvantage really changed? Disability@Work unpick the trends and argue that nothing has changed in terms of disability employment disadvantage since government targets began in 2015.

Briefing note

Government can progress disability employment by introducing mandatory disability employment and pay gap reporting, prioritising disability employment metrics within Disability Confident and social value assessments in government contracts, and supporting union efforts to assist disabled employees. Many employers have signed the Disability Employment Charter supporting these measures.

Briefing note

The many benefits that accrue from organisations collecting and reporting on the proportion of disabled employees are dependent on the information being consistent over time and place, compliant with the legislation and have widespread coverage. This is most effectively and efficiently achieved where reporting is mandatory and where the questions, method of data collection and reporting statistics are fixed and published by government.

Briefing Note

An increase in working from home means that in 2020 36% employees conducted some work at home and working from home has become central to debates regarding the future of work. There is an assumption that this development will be particularly beneficial to disabled people. This briefing note summarises new research which suggests that such optimism may be misplaced.

Briefing Note

Government policy documents assume that small and medium-sized firms (SMEs) (private sector firms with less than 250 employees) are less likely to hire and retain disabled employees than large private sector firms (with 250+ employees). New research questions this and suggests that overall, SMEs should not be considered more problematic than large firms regarding the employment of disabled people.

Briefing Note

One of the questions asked within the consultation on the is. In our response to the consultation “Shaping Future Support: The Health and Disability Green Paper” we address the question “What more could be done to further support employers to improve work opportunities for disabled people through Disability Confident” and focus on thresholds for accreditation at levels 2 and 3; measuring disability employment outcomes; monitoring and reaccreditation processes; and movement through the levels.

Briefing Note

The origins of the Bill is sexual harassment at work. This D@W Briefing Note explains why The Bill should be broadened to include other protected characteristics with explicit reference to the case of disability.

Briefing Note

As the Committee recognises the importance of measurement, the re-instatement of a relative indicator, and the benefits of a basket of measures, we consider the strengths and weaknesses of Minister’s preferred measure and target.

Briefing Note

We review areas of policy Disability@Work discussed with the Minister for Disabled People, and with senior officials at the Cabinet Office Disability Unit and the Department for Work and Pensions (DWP), in the months preceding the publication of the NDS in the context of the NDS.

Briefing Note

The social interpretation of disability has broadened over time with increased public awareness and acceptance so that more individuals recognise and acknowledge that they have a health condition and/or that it is limiting. As disability changes in ways which are not related to changes in underlying health and functional impairment and/or their impacts on activity-limitation this has confounding effects on the analysis of trends in disability disadvantage. This briefing note examines the issue in the context of the government’s commitment to reduce the disability employment gap.

Briefing Note

The recession resulting from the COVID-19 pandemic is predicted to be one of the sharpest ever contractions in UK economic activity. This briefing note outlines the existing evidence on the labour market experience of disabled people over the economic cycle, and highlights the steps employers and the government could take to protect disabled people during the recession induced by the pandemic.

Briefing Note

The framework for Voluntary Reporting on Disability, Mental Health and Wellbeing was introduced by the government in November 2018. It is divided into two sections: a disability reporting recommendation; and a mental health and wellbeing reporting recommendation.

This disability@work briefing recommends changes to the first of these sections to require employers to report on the proportion of their workforce that is disabled using a standard definition of disability which captures those covered by the Equality Act.

Briefing Note

This briefing note makes a compelling case for mandatory organisational reporting on the pay and employment of disabled people. A single dashboard covering gender, ethnicity and disability is recommended based on aligned metrics across protected characteristics to stimulate peer competition and drive action through accountability.

Briefing Note

DWP announced new requirements for employers at Disability Confident level 3 to have disabled people on their payroll and to report on their disability employment metrics (Nov 2019). To strengthen these requirements further and achieve ‘an inclusive workforce’ this briefing note considers 1) further reforms required; 2) extent of employer engagement with Disability and 3) the need to look beyond Disability Confident.

Briefing Note

A key government policy to increase the number of disabled people in employment and improve their working lives was to encourage employer sign up to the Two Ticks ‘Positive About Disabled People’ scheme. However, this briefing shows Two Ticks had very limited impact, and argues Disability Confident (the successor scheme to Two Ticks) is unlikely to fare any better.

Briefing Note

D@W and Disability Rights UK provide a guide to senior executives and managers on disability related disadvantage in the workplace with a six-step road map towards disability inclusion.

Briefing Note

The employment gap associated with disability is greater than that for other protected groups. Yet we know less about the presence and impact of disability in the workplace and in the labour market than we do about race and gender. This Briefing Note identifies three approaches to addressing this information deficit.

Briefing Note

The answer depends on the question so that who counts as disabled depends on how disability is defined in the question. This Briefing Note starts with the legal definition and tracks changes in definition in Government surveys which seek to capture the population who is defined as disabled by the law.

Briefing Note