Still Locked Out: Breaking down the barriers to disability inclusive employment
In October 2020 Leonard Cheshire published their “Locked Out of the Labour Market” research, warning that the Covid-19 pandemic was set to have a negative impact on the employment prospects and economic inclusion of disabled people unless urgent action was taken. The former Minister for Disabled People was kind enough to meet with them to discuss the findings of the report, and they are pleased to see DWP take action on some of our recommendations including increasing the number of Disability Employment Advisers in jobcentres.
Today, Leonard Cheshire have released the follow up briefing “Still Locked Out: Breaking Down the barriers to disability inclusive employment”, which shows that the pandemic is still having a significant impact on disabled people’s employment and livelihoods.
The new research and analysis – based on polling data provided by Savanta ComRes, reveals:
- 69% of disabled adults said that their work had been affected by the pandemic. This rises to 89% of disabled young people (aged 18-25 years old).
- One in five (20%) respondents who were in employment before the pandemic now say they have been placed on furlough or have applied for grants to top up their wages.
- One in five employers state they would be less likely to employ someone with a disability.
- Almost two thirds (63%) of employers would support a mandate for employers in businesses with a workforce over 250 to publish the data on the number of disabled people they employ
Additionally, just one in five disabled people have drawn on Access to Work, with almost two thirds of claimants waiting up to six months for support to be in place. The report can be accessed here: https://www.leonardcheshire.org/sites/default/files/2021-11/Still-Locked-Out.pdf
