Work without barriers. Sign the open letter

Dear Ministers,

We are writing to you as a group of charities and organisations to urge you to bring forward the Draft Equality (Race and Disability) Bill and ensure it is given parliamentary time so it can be passed into law.

Too many disabled people face barriers to getting into and staying in work, including negative attitudes and a lack of access to flexible working and reasonable adjustments. Scope’s research shows that disabled people are more than twice as likely to fall out of work as non-disabled people. If the Government is serious about tackling the disability employment gap, this must change.

Pay gap reporting is a vital step towards disability equality in the workplace. By publishing this data, employers can identify the barriers their disabled employees face and make changes to their working practices to remove these barriers and retain disabled talent. Publishing this data also demonstrates that an employer is serious about creating an inclusive workplace. Reporting builds trust and accountability: 36% of disabled people say they are more likely to consider working for an employer that publishes disability workforce data.

We were pleased to see the Government commit to legislate on this in 2024. However, two years later, we are still waiting for the bill to come before Parliament. The Government has an opportunity to take bold and proactive steps towards closing the disability employment gap by bringing this bill forward.

We welcome further opportunities to ensure that when disabled people do enter the workplace, they are properly supported. Too often, requests for reasonable adjustments are delayed or denied. While the Equality Act 2010 and Access to Work give disabled people the right to request adjustments, many employers lack the confidence or knowledge to put these into practice. We therefore welcome further steps the Government can take to address this issue, such as implementing the recommendations of the Work and Pensions Committee inquiry: Disability at Work.

Once again, we urge you to bring the Equality (Race and Disability) Bill onto the parliamentary agenda as soon as possible.

Yours sincerely,

John McLachlan, Interim CEO, Scope

Sir Robin Millar CBE, Chair of Trustees, Scope

Dr Shani Dhanda, Ambassador, Scope

Access to Work Collective

Arthritis UK

Asthma + Lung UK

Bipolar UK

Diabetes UK

Difference North East

Disability@Work

Disability Law Service

Disability Rights UK

Ethnicity Pay Gap Campaign

Epilepsy Action

Guide Dogs

Inclusion Barnet

Joseph Rowntree Foundation

Kidney Care UK

Mind

Mencap

Mental Health UK

Money and Mental Health Policy Institute

MS Society

MS Together

Muscular Dystrophy UK

National Autistic Society

National Rheumatoid Arthritis Society

Parkinsons UK

People Like Us

Rethink Mental Illness

RNIB

The ME Association

Thomas Pocklington Trust

Trussell

Voluntary Organisations Disability Group

The world of work needs to be fairer for disabled people. Too many of us face unfair and unnecessary barriers getting into and staying in work.

Work without barriers is possible. It starts when employers and the Government listen to disabled people.

The Government promised to make disability pay gap reporting mandatory for all large employers in their manifesto 2 years ago.

They have published draft legislation and consulted on this change, but they have not yet delivered on this promise and made it law.

This is more than a tick-box exercise. Pay gap reporting drives action and creates accountability.

Sign our open letter calling on the Government to stick to their promise.

Sign the open letter

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