Large organisations should reveal the numbers of disabled people they employ to help build a more inclusive society, argued the Minister for Disabled People, Health and Work Sarah Newton.
With around one-fifth of the working age population living with a disability or health condition, the government has launched a new framework to encourage businesses to report how many of their staff have a disability or health condition.
The voluntary framework will also call on businesses to set out how they are currently supporting their disabled employees.
The latest employment figures show more than half of disabled people are now in work, with almost a million more disabled people in the workplace over the last five years.
The Prime Minister Theresa May said: “I am committed to creating a society where we empower disabled people, celebrate their talents, and enable them to achieve their hopes for the future.
“But the disability employment gap is still too wide. I call on employers in every sector to take an honest look at how many disabled people they employ.
“I ask them to look at the support they are offering and how accessible their workplaces are so everyone can be given the chance to reach their full potential at work.”
The call follows the announcement that the 10,000th business has signed up to the Disability Confident scheme, which focuses on the role employers play in ensuring disabled people are recruited, retained and supported in their careers.
The Access to Work scheme has also been instrumental in helping disabled people to get in and stay in work by paying for support in the workplace – up to £57,200 per person per year. This is part of the measures in place that form the government’s 10-year strategy to get one million more disabled people in work by 2027.
Scope Director of Policy and Research Anna Bird concluded: “Data on disability is crucial for employers to understand what action they need to take to recruit and retain disabled people.
“The government must ensure that this information shapes future approaches to increasing disability employment. This will be vital in realising the ambition to get one million more disabled people into work by 2027.”
