Easy Read - 7th Report - Employment support for disabled people: Disability at Work

Key findings

• Too many disabled people do not feel they have a good working environment, with employers reluctant to make reasonable adjustments and often implementing them slowly.
• Workplaces are frequently not accessible, forcing disabled people to request more reasonable adjustments; accessibility must improve if the Government wants to increase disabled employment and reduce benefit costs.
• The Equality Act 2010 should be amended to require employers to provide written responses to reasonable adjustment requests within 2 weeks and to state reasons for refusals.
• Small employers should not pay equally for the Workplace Health Provision until its effects are proven, and the Government should provide financial support and explore international funding models.
• Employers need better information about disability rights, support to be more inclusive in recruitment, and incentives to employ disabled people; data collection on disabled employees should become mandatory for large employers.

Recommendations

• Amend the Equality Act 2010 to require employers to respond in writing to reasonable adjustment requests within 2 weeks, stating whether the employee is legally disabled, at substantial disadvantage, and reasons for any refusal.
• Research the effects of flexible and remote working on productivity and the impacts of paid disability-related medical appointment time and AI recruitment tools on disabled people.
• Establish clear government guidance on assistive technology accessibility to make it easier for disabled people to use.
• Launch public awareness campaigns via TV, radio and social media about disability employment rights and increase funding for the EHRC.
• Provide more information about the Workplace Health Provision by end of 2026 and ensure smaller employers receive occupational health services.
• Mandate disability inclusion training for all employers and managers.
• Encourage employers to be more inclusive and support disabled people in securing employment, not just retaining it.
• Require employers to make workplaces accessible including flexible working and inclusive recruitment practices; monitor whether the Workplace Health Provision improves job retention.
• Delay small employer charges for the Workplace Health Provision until effects are proven; explore alternative funding models such as higher contributions from larger employers.
• Provide direct financial support to employers to offset perceived costs and risks of employing disabled people.
• Give financial support to smaller employers to implement Keep Britain Working recommendations and hire disabled people, informed by international best practices.
• Require employers to report to the Government on their disabled workforce numbers and types of disability represented.
• Mandate reporting on disabled employees for employers with more than 250 staff; ensure consistent disability definitions across reporting.
• Involve organisations working with employers and disabled people in the Workplace Health Provision; establish single contact point (phone, email, website) for support.
• Research whether adjustment passports, flexible working equity, remote/hybrid working satisfaction, and differential employment costs for disabled workers exist.
• Establish research on whether adjustment passports help employees obtain reasonable adjustments more easily and identify which adjustments work best for different disability groups and job types.

Key actors

Work and Pensions Committee, House of Commons, UK Government, Employers, Disabled people, EHRC (Equality and Human Rights Commission)