The Women and Equalities Committee (WEC) is today (Thursday, 30
April) launching a new inquiry on access to
flexible working for disabled people.
MPs on the cross-party committee, chaired by Labour MP , will examine the implications
for disabled workers and jobseekers of flexible working policies,
legislation and guidance as part of WEC's Equality at work focus.
WEC will consider why the cultural shift since the Covid-19
pandemic towards greater acceptance of flexible working has not
yet had a substantial impact on the employment rate of disabled
people and the disability employment gap.
Greater flexibility around hours, shift patterns and where to
work, whether remotely, at home, in an office or other workplace,
or a hybrid combination, has the potential to allow disabled
people with a range of impairments to overcome barriers to paid
work.
Yet the gap between employment rates of disabled and non-disabled
people remains stubbornly high. The latest DWP official statistics, showed
that the employment rate for working age disabled people in Q2
2025 was 52.8%, compared to 82.5% among non-disabled people.
The inquiry will analyse the differences in people's experiences
of flexible working across different types of disability or
impairment and among disabled people with a range of other
protected characteristics. It will also explore flexible working
across different sectors of the labour market and its effects on
disabled people's recruitment, retention and progression at work.
Women and Equalities Committee (WEC) Chair and Labour MP
said: “Flexible
working has become far more mainstream in the UK's working
culture since the Covid-19 pandemic. This shift should have been
an opportunity to tackle discrimination against disabled workers
and jobseekers.
“Yet the gap between employment rates of disabled and
non-disabled people remains stubbornly high. The Committee's
timely new inquiry will examine the reasons for this, looking
across sectors to assess whether there are further legislative or
policy steps the Government could take to increase disabled
people's access to flexible working.
“WEC's inquiry will analyse the impacts on disabled workers
of employers' ‘back to the office' mandates and identify best
practice examples of access to flexible working for disabled
workers.
“Through this call for evidence and forthcoming
parliamentary sessions the Committee will examine the likely
effectiveness of the flexible working provisions in the
Employment Rights Act 2025 for disabled workers and jobseekers.
It will also assess the clarity of the law, and people's
awareness and understanding of it, around employers' Equality Act
reasonable adjustment duties in relation to flexible working,
making recommendations for change where
needed.”
Terms of reference for the call for evidence:
The Committee invites written submissions through the inquiry website
addressing any or all of the issues raised in the following terms
of reference by Friday, 26 June 2026.
- Why has the cultural shift since the Covid-19 pandemic
towards greater acceptance of flexible working not yet had a
substantial impact on the employment rate of disabled people and
the disability employment gap?
- Are there differences in disabled people's experiences of
flexible working across different types of disability or
impairment and among disabled people with a range of other
protected characteristics, for example their age, sex, and race
and ethnicity?
- What are the experiences of flexible working of disabled
people across different sectors of the labour market?
- What evidence is there about the impacts of flexible working
on disabled people's progression in work?
- To what extent will the flexible working provisions in the
Employment Rights Act 2025 benefit disabled workers and
jobseekers? Are there further legislative or policy steps the
Government could take to increase disabled people's access to
flexible working?
- How clear and well understood is the law around employers'
Equality Act duties to provide flexible working options and
associated aids and equipment as "reasonable adjustments"?
- How effective is the Equality and Human Rights Commission in
enforcing disabled people's rights to flexible working? What
steps could the Commission take to improve understanding,
compliance and enforcement?
- To what extent can disabled people access the aids and
equipment they need to work flexibly via the Government's Access
to Work scheme? What changes could be made to make the scheme
more effective in this regard?
- What are the impacts on disabled workers of employers' "back
to the office" mandates?
- Are there best practice examples of access to flexible
working for disabled workers? How can these be spread across
sectors to benefit a much greater proportion of disabled people?
