Call for firms to be honest about disabled workers

News Reporter LARGE companies are being urged to reveal how many disabled workers they employ under a drive to build more inclusive workforces.

The Government published a voluntary framework to help firms support disabled staff.

Prime Minister Theresa May said: “I am committed to creating a society where we empower disabled people, celebrate their talents, and enable them to achieve their hopes for the future.

“We’ve taken steps in the right direction with almost a million more disabled people in work over the last five years, and 10,000 businesses having signed up to the Disability Confident scheme. But the disability employment gap is still too wide. I call on employers in every sector to take an honest look at how many disabled people they employ. I ask them to look at the support they are offering and how accessible their workplaces are so everyone can be given the chance to reach their full potential at work.”

Sarah Newton, minister for disabled people, confirmed that 19 projects will receive a share of £3.9 million to help people with disabilities and mental health problems, stay in work and manage their conditions.

“Our voluntary reporting framework builds on our longstanding commitment to companies to help them in supporting their staff at all levels to create more inclusive workforces as we set out to achieve our ambition of one million more disabled people in work by 2027,” she said.

Rebecca Hilsenrath, chief executive of the Equality and Human Rights Commission, said: “Sadly our recent review of the state of equality in Britain found that prospects for disabled people are getting worse in many areas of life, and that disabled people are disproportionately working in low paid and insecure roles.

“Reporting on the percentage of disabled staff in the workforce will provide much-needed visibility on barriers that disabled people experience at work and help employers build working environments that allow everyone to reach their full potential.

“We encourage employers to make use of this framework and are calling for DWP to publish monthly reports on its uptake with a view to bringing in mandatory reporting.”

Anna Bird, of disability equality charity Scope, said: “This is a watershed moment – we will only be able to tackle disability unemployment if we understand the scale of the problem.

“We frequently hear from disabled people about difficulties they face – from negative attitudes and inaccessible recruitment processes to inflexible workplaces and difficulties getting adjustments. Data on disability is crucial for employers to understand what action they need to take to recruit and retain disabled people.”