THE DISABILITY PAY GAP
How disabled employees earn less than their colleagues
PEOPLE with disabilities earn significantly less than those without - and it’s been getting worse.
New data published by the Office for National Statistics shows that at the end of 2017, workers who did not have a disability earned an average £14.50p an hour.
Those who had a disability, meanwhile, earned just £12.30p an hour.
It means that in a working year which equates to around 1,856 hours - disabled people earned £4,046 less than those without.
The hourly wage gap of £2.20p is in fact the greatest difference recorded since comparable records began in 2013.
Back then, the gap was £1.50p an hour.
The data shows men with a disability face a bigger pay gap than women.
At the end of 2017 disabled men were paid an average hourly wage of £13.20p - some £2.60p less than the £15.90p men without disabilities were earning.
Disabled women earned £11.60p an hour - some £1.40p less than the £13.00p paid to non-disabled women.
The disability pay gap can be partly explained by the higher number of disabled people in part-time roles, which have lower average hourly pay than full-time jobs. Human rights campaigners admitted it was a complex issue but said it was important to keep trying to close the gap. Rebecca Hilsenrath, chief executive of the Equality and Human Rights Commission, said: “The causes of the disability pay gap are complex and vary, depending on the nature of the disability. “There isn’t a simple magic fix but by voluntarily publishing pay gap data, employers will make an important contribution by assisting understanding as to why they exist.
“Everyone has the right to work in an environment that helps them achieve their full potential and flexible working policies and improved education outcomes for those with a disability could go a long way to helping reduce the gap.”
A spokesperson for the Department for Work and Pensions said: “Over 600,000 more disabled people have moved into work in the last four years, which is great news. “But we want to go much further, and we are committed to seeing one million more disabled people in a role where their talents are valued. “Our Access to Work scheme provides financial support to ensure someone’s disability or health condition doesn’t hold them back at work, and it can cover transport to work, workplace adaptations, and support workers. We’ve recently increased the Access to Work grant by over a third so that individuals can receive up to £57,200 a year.”