Employment & Pensions Blog: The Barriers to Getting Disabled People into Work - The Keep Britain Working Initiative

The last year has seen an increased focus on the role employers can play in ensuring people with ill health or long-term disabilities are able to access work. Following the recent attention grabbing-headline that 1 in 5 working age people are out of work and not actively seeking employment, the Labour Government published its Keep Britain Working Review. The Citizen’s Advice Bureau (CAB) has now published its own “Shut out of work” report that aims to highlight some of the issues faced by the disabled people they advise, and what can be done to lower these barriers. 

The Barriers

The Office of National Statistics state that only 53% of disabled people are currently in work, and the CAB report highlights that a significant number of those people want to work but are unable to because workplaces are inflexible, they are offered insufficient support, or they face discrimination. 

Since April 2024, all employees have the statutory right to request flexible working from the first day of their employment, the right to request a change to their hours, times or place of working. Despite this, research from the Resolution Foundation indicates that only 9.4% of people starting new jobs are able to begin working flexibly, and the CAB finding just 4% of jobs are advertised as hybrid or remote despite many of those same positions being offering flexibly to existing staff. For many disabled people, the ability to work flexible hours or from home gives them the scope they need to manage their condition and can allow them to access jobs they otherwise wouldn’t be able to. As more applicants are looking at flexible working as a selling point, employers may find that properly advertising the flexibility they already offer gives them access to a wider pool of talent both disabled and otherwise. 

Another significant barrier is the lack of robust occupational health support available to disabled employees. Just 45% of workers have access to occupational health services, with the result that 41% of disabled people in work do not request adjustments at all, even where such adjustments could reduce sickness absence or improve productivity. Failing to invest in effective occupational health provision often proves far more costly for employers in the long run because it leads to increased sickness absence, the loss of skilled and experienced staff, and a higher risk of legal claims.  

The final barrier is discrimination. The CAB report identifies a persistent stigma around disabled people that results in unsuccessful applicants, underestimated employees and unfair dismissals. According to the report, a fifth of disabled people avoid telling their employer about their disability, and the predominant reason for this is fear of repercussions from their employer.

What can Employers Do?

As pessimistic as the statistics read, the Keep Britain Working Review and the proposed changes in the Employment Rights Act 2025 show that the Government wants these barriers addressed to get more disabled people into the workplace.  

On 29 December 2025, the Government announced funding for small and medium businesses so line managers can receive occupational health training. Further incentives and support are being proposed, so that new ideas can be tested on volunteer employers before seeing wider rollout. 

The Fair Work Agency is due to be established in April 2026 and will have the power to bring discrimination claims on behalf of workers. The Government sees the Agency as a catalyst for change, with the power to take a proactive approach to enforcing the Equality Act 2010 and moving the burden of challenging discrimination away from disabled people themselves.

If businesses or individuals require assistance with any disability discrimination issues in the workplace, please contact a member of our Employment Team.