Deaf News: SignHealth, Sense and RNID sign Disability Employment Charter calling for government reform of Access to Work

The UK Government needs to reform its Access to Work and Disability Confident schemes in order to address disadvantages encountered by working disabled people – according to a new charter signed by Deaf charities released today.

The document – produced by nine organisations including Disability Rights UK, Scope and the University of Warwick – is backed by SignHealth, RNID and Sense, and contains nine actions for the Government to take to “[improve] disabled people’s employment outcomes”.

Kamran Malik, CEO of Disability Rights UK, said: “Disabled people face a range of hurdles in finding and progressing in work, which just shouldn’t be there. The Charter simply and powerfully sets out the concerted actions that Government needs to take to move the dial forward.

“It’s not enough to tinker round the edges, we need a bold plan to bring down the barriers.”

Among the nine recommendations are calls for employers with more than 250 employees to publish annual data on the number of disabled people working at their organisation, and for Statutory Sick Pay to be increased to the European average.

It also reads: “The government should: remove the [Access to Work] support cap; ensure application/renewal processes are efficient, personalised, and flexible; entitle disabled job-seekers to ‘in principle’ indicative awards; facilitate passporting of awards between organisations and from Disabled Student’s Allowance to AtW; and increase awareness of AtW support.”

The calls follow the publication of the Government’s National Disability Strategy earlier this year, in which they announced a passport for “all disabled students” leaving university to “raise awareness of Access to Work in schools and universities”.

A passport will also be trialled to allow for “smooth transitions between job roles”, the government said.

Elsewhere, a report by The Limping Chicken last month revealed the impact of delayed payments for Access to Work providers and claimants, with companies owed thousands by the Department for Work and Pensions.

“SignHealth supports the Disability Employment Charter because we know Deaf people face huge barriers to work which impacts their overall health and wellbeing. 

“We are committed to recruiting, retaining and developing Deaf people and call for others to do the same. The government needs to work with disabled people to improve access and inclusion, address issues with the Access to Work scheme, and better monitor employment and pay gaps. 

“This will radically improve our wellbeing and create a more equal society,” Abigail Gorman, SignHealth’s Policy and Public Affairs Manager said in a statement.

Elsewhere, the charity Sense, which supports deafblind people and those with complex disabilities, said the “significant gap” in employment rates between disabled and non-disabled people “has to change”.

CEO Richard Kramer said: “Schemes such as Access to Work and Disability Confident are important, but need to be reworked to deliver more meaningful change for disabled people, particularly those furthest away from the marketplace. 

“Society must work towards being truly accessible for all, from public transport to accessible offices, to remove the barriers which exclude disabled people from finding and staying in work.

“We will continue to highlight what needs to change and tackle disability employment discrimination, which is why we’re joining together with other organisations in signing the Disability Employment Charter.”

Meanwhile, an RNID spokesperson said policies introduced by ministers “have not been bold enough” to tackle barriers faced by deaf and disabled people in the workplace.

“A third of business leaders don’t feel confident employing someone with hearing loss – which is a serious barrier for deaf people looking for work. And, when deaf people overcome that barrier and find work, they are likely to have to battle either their employer or Access to Work to get the support they need. 

“Implementing the policies in this charter would address these barriers and move closer to creating a society in which deaf and disabled people can pursue their career on a level-playing field,” they said.

The Department for Work and Pensions has been approached by The Limping Chicken for comment.

By Liam O’Dell. Liam is an award-winning Deaf freelance journalist and campaigner from Bedfordshire. He can be found talking about disability, theatre, politics and more on Twitter and on his website.

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Update – 17:00: In a statement to The Limping Chicken, a Government spokesperson said: “The National Disability Strategy sets out probably the widest-ranging set of practical actions to improve the lives of disabled people ever developed, including improving inclusion in the workplace and tackling the disability employment gap.

“Through our Green Paper, we are also exploring ways the welfare system can better support the needs of disabled people and people with health conditions to enable them to live independently and access work.”