National disability charity, Sense, has responded to the
government announcement that they plan to get one million more
disabled people in work over the next 10 years.
According to ONS figures, disabled people are twice as likely to
be unemployed as non-disabled people. About 80% of
non-disabled people are in work compared with just under 50% of
disabled people.
Richard Kramer, Deputy CEO of national disability
charity, Sense, said:
“We want ambition to be matched by action that tackles barriers
to work.
Disabled people want to work, but there are barriers that prevent
them from finding work and progressing in employment. These
include negative attitudes from employers and recruitment
agencies, inaccessible workplaces and inflexible working
practices.
It’s important that all disabled people who want to work,
including those with more complex conditions such as
deafblindness, have the opportunity to do so. For this to
happen we must see real changes in policy, legislation and
employer attitudes.
We look forward to reviewing the detail of how the government
plan to turn this ambition into a reality.”
To help get more disabled people into work, Sense has been
calling for:
-
· Support
for everyone who wants to get into work, regardless of the
benefits they claim or their assessed level of disability. This
support is currently only available to disabled people who
receive certain benefits or those deemed ‘capable’ of working,
and not to others. This needs to change.
-
· Employment
support that is tailored to people’s needs. People with complex
communication needs may require specialist support that is
different to the more general disability help available
-
· Training
for advisors, assessors and employers to increase their knowledge
and understanding of complex communication needs
- ·
