For far too long disabled people have not enjoyed the same employment opportunities as the wider working age population. The employment gap between disabled and non-disabled people has remained persistently large, at approaching 30%, and there is no evidence that significant change is in sight.
For some groups of disabled people, the overall employment gap masks a far bleaker picture. The PDA and other signatories to the Disability Employment Charter believe that the time has come for substantive new government measures to address the employment disadvantage disabled people continue to experience.
Paul Day, PDA Director said “The PDA have a proud history of supporting individual employed or student members that have been subject to mistreatment, by their employer or place of learning, relating to their disabilities. The Ability network is one of our Equality, Diversity & Inclusion networks through which we can also take proactive steps to prevent discrimination and create a better employment environment for all. As part of that work we are pleased to sign the Disability Employment Charter.
We recognise that if the government implements the measures the Charter outlines, this will not just level up disabled people’s employment opportunities, increase disabled people’s job satisfaction, and reduce disability pay gaps, but it will also benefit the taxpayer and support the UK’s post-pandemic recovery by providing employers with the widest possible talent pool and addressing skills shortages.
The Disability Employment Charter proposes a set of vital measures that, if implemented in a concerted manner, would substantially shift the dial on disability employment and provides government with a road map for change as it develops the next phases of its National Disability Strategy.
The Charter consists of nine areas of action. Each of the nine areas contain several specific asks that we believe will help engender significant improvements to disabled people’s employment outcomes:
- Employment and pay gap reporting.
- Supporting disabled people into employment.
- Reform of Access to Work (AtW).
- Reform of Disability Confident.
- Leveraging government procurement.
- Workplace adjustments.
- Working with disabled people and their representatives.
- Advice and support.
- National progress on disability employment.
Download the full charter here:
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