Bath MP, Wera Hobhouse, has coordinated a cross party letter to
the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions – signed by 25 MPs
from seven different Parties – calling on Government to act now
to redress the harm done to disabled workers during the Covid-19
crisis. The letter was sent last week and calls on Government to
“act urgently to put in place support measures, such as a Jobs
Guarantee for newly unemployed disabled people”.
This follows the campaign launched three weeks ago by Bath’s MP
which highlighted new statistics by Leonard Cheshire showing that
“42% of employers were discouraged from hiring disabled job
applicants due to concerns around supporting them properly
through the pandemic. A fifth admitted they were less likely to
hire a disabled person overall.”
Wera Hobhouse said:
“Last week marked 25 years since the landmark Disability
Discrimination Act was passed in Parliament. And yet this new
research from Leonard Cheshire suggests that we are moving
backwards - we cannot simply accept the disproportionate impact
that Covid-19 is having on disabled people in the workplace.
“I am pleased to have so much cross-party support for this
campaign – MPs from many different parties and regions care about
the future of disabled people in our workforce.
"Government has been cavalier about the impact the Pandemic is
having on disabled people, both in the workplace and beyond. It
is shocking that disability was only mentioned once in the
Government’s Plan for Jobs.
"The Government must now act to put in place measures to ensure
that disabled people do not become permanently excluded from
employment as a result of the pandemic. This must become a moment
to tackle entrenched inequalities, not allow them to deepen still
further.”
ENDS.
Notes to Editors:
Full wording and signatories of the letter:
Dear Thérèse,
This week marks the 25th anniversary of the Disability
Discrimination Act. However, recent research from Leonard
Cheshire highlights the risk that Covid-19 will further entrench
the existing structural inequalities in the labour market.
We write as a cross-party group of MPs to express our concerns
about Leonard Cheshire’s findings and to urge you to put in place
support measures to help disabled people who have lost their jobs
return to work, as a matter of urgency.
Covid-19 has disproportionately affected the lives of disabled
people, from changes to social care to difficulties in accessing
food. Research shows that disabled people have also carried the
greatest burden in the pandemic. Should this be compounded by a
reduction in their ability to access work, they will continue to
carry this burden long after the pandemic.
Leonard Cheshire’s research shows that 71% of disabled people
employed in March have been impacted by loss of income, furlough,
unemployment or other damaging effects as a direct result of the
pandemic. Furthermore, 42% of employers were discouraged from
hiring disabled job applicants due to concerns around supporting
them properly through the pandemic. A fifth admitted they were
less likely to hire a disabled person overall.
Despite all of this, disability was only mentioned once in the
Government’s Plan for Jobs.
We are concerned that these findings represent a jobs crisis for
disabled people. Government must act urgently to put in place
support measures, such as a Jobs Guarantee for newly unemployed
disabled people.
It is also essential that the welfare safety net works for
disabled people. In particular, we urge you to scrap the
five-week wait for Universal Credit, which causes real hardship
for claimants.
In a worrying trend, only 33% of employers reported that they
employed a disabled person, compared to 49% in 2018. We also urge
you to consider longer-term measures, including the introduction
of mandatory reporting for large employers on their performance
in employing disabled people. This would help ensure that the
pandemic does not exacerbate the stigma surrounding disability in
the workplace.
Disabled people should not have to hold lower expectations for
job security or career satisfaction. It would be unacceptable if
– 25 years after this landmark piece of legislation – the
Covid-19 pandemic were to squander progress towards equality in
the workplace.
Thank you for your attention. We look forward to hearing from
you.
Yours sincerely,
Liberal Democrat Spokesperson for Equalities
Rt Hon MP
Rt Hon MP
Dr
Rt Hon MP
Dr
