Over half (58%) of disabled people feel at risk of losing their
jobs and one in two (53%) have experienced bullying or harassment
at work because of their impairments, according to new research
by disability charity Scope.
Ahead of the closing of the Government consultation on work,
health and disability, the survey of disabled people has
highlighted the issues disabled people face in work and the risk
they face falling out of work.
The Government has made a welcome commitment to halving the
disability employment gap. Yet the employment gap between
disabled people and the public has remained static at nearly 30
percentage points for the past decade.
The research also found that:
· One in five (21%) go as far as hiding their disability from
employers.
· One in eight disabled people (13%) have been overlooked for a
promotion
· One in four (24%) say their current employer is not supportive
of their disability
Catherine, 47, from Yorkshire said:
"I've been disabled for five years and a wheelchair user for
three. I had been working for my employer for 13 years when my
condition began to affect my work.
“I fought hard not to let it affect my job and got support
through Access to Work in order to keep working. I asked for a
very minor adjustment to my workload but was told by my employer
that I wasn't fit for work, but if I went on sick leave my job
would be at risk.”
Mark Atkinson, chief executive at disability charity Scope, said:
“There is no reason why someone with a disability should be
discriminated against at work or feel at risk of losing their
job.– this level of exclusion in the work place is not
acceptable.
“These figures demonstrate that employers and Government need to
be doing much more to support disabled people in the workplace.
“Disabled people are pushing hard to get jobs and progress in
their careers but the labour market is stacked against them.
“It’s clear that support for disabled people both in and out of
work place need to radically improve.
“If the government is serious about halving the disability
employment gap it must set out reforms which not only lead to a
change in employer attitudes but also offer disabled people
better access to in work support.”
In October 2016, the government launched its Green Paper on work,
health and employment. Scope wants to see this consultation lead
to a significant change in attitudes and expectations, with
employers taking a proactive approach to ensuring workplaces
inclusive and flexible and disabled candidates and employees are
treated fairly.
Ends
For further information or interview requests, please contact the
Scope Press Office on 020 7619 7200 or email
pressoffice@scope.org.uk
Notes to editors
Research carried out by Opinium Research between 20 and 28
December 2016 surveyed 501 disabled UK adults. Of those surveyed
216 were working aged disabled people in work. The results
reflect the experience of this group. The sample has been
weighted to reflect a representative audience.
Additional information
There are 12.9 million disabled people in Britain.
The government’s Improving Lives green paper on work, health and
disability closes on the 17 February 2017. It is the first step
that should lead to legislation that overhauls how we support
disabled people into work, and back them once they are in work.
Additional evidence
· Scope polled 1,009 disabled adults in the UK during August
2016. Respondents were asked if employer attitudes to disabled
people have improved since the London 2012 Paralympic Games in
2012. 85% said that employer attitudes haven’t changed in the
last four years.
http://www.scope.org.uk/press-releases/more-disabled-people-in-work
· The Office for National Statistics Labour Force Survey figures
for the period June to September, 2016 and the five quarter
Longitudinal Labour Force Survey from March 2015 to June 2016.
Scope analysis reveals that:
· The employment rate for non-disabled people has increased by
0.4 percentage points since this time last year.
· The disability employment gap is 32.2 percentage points.
· In work disabled people are more than twice as likely to fall
out of work than non-disabled people (10.1% of employed DP fall
out of work compared to 3.8% of non-DP).
· 1.7m working age disabled people not in work for over 5 yrs
(48% of all who are out of work).
