UK Disability History Month 

UK Disability History Month 2024 is a time to celebrate the achievements and contributions of individuals with disabilities, while also raising awareness about the challenges they face. This month provides an opportunity to promote understanding, acceptance, and inclusion within our communities.

Disability is a broad term that encompasses a variety of physical, mental, sensory, and cognitive impairments. These impairments can significantly impact a person's ability to perform everyday activities, but they do not define the individual. The Equality Act 2010 defines a person as ‘disabled’ if they have a physical or mental impairment which has a substantial and long-term adverse effect on their ability to carry out normal day-to-day activities.

Disabilities can be visible or invisible, and they affect people of all ages, races, and backgrounds.

The Importance of Disability Awareness

Raising awareness about disabilities is crucial for several reasons:

• Promoting Inclusion: By understanding the challenges faced by individuals with disabilities, society can create more inclusive environments that accommodate everyone's needs.
• Combating Stereotypes: Awareness helps dispel myths and stereotypes, promoting a more accurate understanding of what it means to live with a disability.
• Advocating for Rights: Awareness efforts can highlight the importance of protecting the rights of individuals with disabilities and ensuring they have equal opportunities in all areas of life.

In the UK, around seven million people of working age with a disability or long-term health condition, yet only about half of them are in work (Disability & Employment | Factsheets | CIPD).

The employment of disabled people 2024 statistics compiled using data from the Labour Force and Annual Population surveys produced by the Office for National Statistics (ONS), reveal that since 2013, the earliest comparable year, up to the start of the pandemic (March 2020) the general trend in disability employment was positive. There had been strong growth in the number and rate of disabled people in employment and a narrowing of the gap between the rate of disabled and non-disabled people in employment (the disability employment gap).

The pandemic initially reversed these trends with year-on-year changes showing a fall in the disability employment rate and a widening of the disability employment gap in 2020.

The latest quarterly data for April to June 2024 shows that since the same quarter in 2023, the rate has increased by 0.1 percentage point and the gap has decreased by 0.6 percentage points (these changes were not statistically significant).

• there were 5.5 million disabled people in employment in the UK in Q2 2024. This is an increase of 310,000 on the year.
• the disability employment rate was 53.0% in Q2 2024, compared to 81.6% for non-disabled people. For disabled people, there is an increase of 0.1 percentage points on the year (this change was not statistically significant)
• the disability unemployment rate was 6.9% in Q2 2024, compared to 3.6% for non-disabled people. For disabled people, this is a decrease of 0.3 percentage points from last year (this change was not statistically significant)
• the disability economic inactivity rate – where the person self-reports that they are not in or looking for work - was 43.1% in Q2 2024, compared to 15.4% for non-disabled people. For disabled people, this is an increase of 0.1 percentage points on the year (this change was not statistically significant)
• however, the number of working-age disabled people has increased by 580,000 on the year. This means that the 0.1 percentage point increase in the disability economic inactivity rate equates to an increase of 260,000 in the number of economically inactive disabled people between Q2 2023 and Q2 2024
• the disability employment gap was 28.6 percentage points in Q2 2024. This is a decrease of 0.6 percentage points on the year (this change was not statistically significant)
• on average, between 2014 and 2023, disabled workers moved out of work at a higher rate (8.6%) compared with non-disabled workers (4.9%). Workless disabled people moved into work at nearly one-third of the rate (10.1%) of workless non-disabled people (27.2%)

How to get involved in Disability Awareness Month and cultivate an inclusive workplace

There are many ways to participate in Disability Awareness Month and support individuals with disabilities:

• Find out what events are going on around the UK and near you - Events – UK Disability History Month including the Launch of UK Disability History Month 2024 - Online – Thursday 14 November 2024, 18:00–20:00. You can Register here. Speakers will examine how the employment for disabled people has changed going back more than two hundred years and what lessons we can learn to create a modern day inclusive right to work.

• Watch this short film “Disability Talking.” The drivers of the employment disadvantage for disabled people that we see in statistics such as the disability employment gap are uncovered as four disabled people describe the barriers and supports that they encounter in the workplace. Watch Disability Talking now.

• Arrange a talk, interactive workshop, or panel discussion – provide your employees with the opportunity to hear from inspirational figures who have overcome physical and mental hurdles to thrive in their respective sectors. View the profiles of these Disability Awareness Speakers | The Diversity & Inclusion Speakers Agency.

• Create an accessible work environment – allow disabled people to have the same access to the workplace as their non-disabled colleagues by making reasonable adjustments such as wheelchair ramps/lifts, quiet rooms for noise sensitivity, Braille signage, adaptive desks/chairs and investing in Digital Accessibility Tools such as screen readers or speech recognition software, colour contrast checkers etc.

• Maintain a flexible approach - concerning hours, location, homeworking/hybrid arrangements and making the necessary adjustments at home or in the office.

• Host a training session - ensure all employees understand the importance of accessibility and support line managers to navigate conversations with employees and implement reasonable adjustments. The Chartered Institute of Personnel Development and the Department for Work and Pensions Disability Confident Scheme published a practical guide on recruiting, managing and developing people with a disability or health condition (Disability Confident and CIPD: guide for line managers).

• Access Acas advice hub - ensure employees with disabilities get the best support at work by accessing guidance and expertise (Disability at work | Acas).

• Join the Recruitment Industry Disability Initiative (RIDI) - an initiative to create disability confident employers by raising awareness and removing barriers to reduce the UK disability employment gap. You can use their resources and Disability Inclusion Calculator to see how you measure up and calculate your disability employment gap. Using the Clear Kitonline toolkit and Clear Assured self-assessment framework will also help you identify and remove any barriers in recruitment processes (https://ridi.org.uk).

• Sign up to the Disability Confident Scheme and display the badge on adverts to show you encourage applications from disabled people - this scheme was developed by employers and disabled people’s representatives to provide guidance, good practice and resources to help employers recruit from the widest possible pool of talent and demonstrate how all employees are treated fairly (Disability Confident - dwp.gov.uk).

• Review recruitment methods - consider advertising jobs on websites and in publications designed for disabled people and make the adverts accessible, e.g., use text that a screen reader can understand instead of an image with text embedded into it, and use a large font in print adverts. Consider including a reasonable adjustment statement by offering documents in a more accessible format i.e., candidate briefs. Guarantee disabled people an interview if they meet the minimum criteria and publicise this in the advert with the two ticks symbol.

Disability History Month is a time to reflect on the progress made and the work that still needs to be done to achieve a truly inclusive society. By promoting understanding and acceptance, we can ensure that everyone, regardless of their abilities, has the opportunity to thrive and contribute to their communities.

Lizzy Turek

Client Research Associate