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Cuts to UK disability support that could push hundreds of thousands of people into poverty are about getting those “trapped on benefits” into work, according to the government.
But the promise that work pays may ring hollow for many of those affected. Disabled people are on average paid nearly a fifth less than their non-disabled co-workers, according to the Trades Union Congress. The “disability pay gap”, which has worsened since 2013, is equal to £2.35 an hour, or 54 days a year when employees with disabilities are working for free.
As the government seeks to cut its welfare bill and get more people into the labour force, experts warn such inequalities are a barrier to disabled people entering and progressing in jobs. To support more into work, they say the government must push to ensure more balanced pay, rather than cutting benefits.
Bailey Smith, a sustainability manager and DEI consultant who uses a wheelchair and is neurodivergent, says one factor contributing to the pay gap is inequality in training, something they have experienced in past jobs.
“Where others would have the opportunity for promotions through training experiences, I was excluded from these with excuses of ‘you’re only desk based’ or that ‘the training wasn’t wheelchair accessible’,” says Smith. That has stifled career progression and resulted in lower pay than colleagues with similar roles.
The experience of a lack of development trapping people in low-paid occupations without much career progression is not uncommon. “After a long period of labour market failure . . . many disabled workers have been left without proper support to progress in work,” Nicola Smith, director of policy at the TUC, says. “Too many . . . have been written off.”
The shortfall in earnings hits harder because disabled people often have to make their cash go further. Scope, a UK charity, says this “disability price tag” amounted to an extra £1,067 a month last year. Costs range from bills for specialised medical equipment, over-the-counter medicines, or paying for taxis because of mobility issues.
These additional costs are one of the purposes of personal independence payments, which under the reforms will be subject to more stringent eligibility criteria. Scope estimates about 16 per cent of Pip claimants — roughly 600,000 people — are in work. They may use the support to help access employment, for example to make commuting easier.
Kiera Roche, an amputee who is the founder and chief executive of LimbPower, a charity for people with limb impairment, says disabled people are “scared to death” about losing government support. “When you are living on the breadline, where are you finding this money?”
However, welfare cuts are only a part of what the government says is its broader mission of “helping people into good work and financial independence”.
Last month, it launched a consultation that could lead to companies with more than 250 employees being legally required to report on pay differences between their disabled and non-disabled staff. Ministers are also introducing a £1bn employment package offering tailored help for disabled people and those with long-term health conditions to enter work.
“The broken social security system we inherited is failing people who can and have the potential to work, as well as the people it’s meant to be there for,” the government said.
James Taylor, executive director of strategy at Scope, says he was disappointed ministers “slipped out” the consultation “on the same day as [they] announced one of the biggest cuts to disability benefits in recent memory”. Benefit cuts would only serve to “compound” the inequalities created by the pay gap, he adds.
Meanwhile, advocates such as Bailey Smith say more people can thrive in work — if employers offer support such as assistive technology, hybrid working and workplace training. “Disabled people cannot succeed if their work needs are not met.”
