15 December 2006 - Publication of DWP research report 400
Key Findings and Publication of DWP Research:
‘Economic and social costs and benefits to employers of retaining, recruiting and employing disabled people and/or people with health conditions or an injury: A review of the evidence.’
A research report published today by the Department for Work and Pensions provides findings from a review of the scientific evidence of the costs and benefits to employers of employing disabled people. It also identifies the limitations of estimating these monetary and non-monetary benefits.
Experts were selected from a range of disciplines to write individual chapters and commentaries. Only evidence considered by the authors to be scientifically robust was included in the review.
Key Findings
- Many benefits are claimed for businesses that employ disabled people. Employers cite access to a wider pool of skills, improved morale, better retention rates and similar indirect business benefits.
- Many employers fear that employment of disabled people will lead to costly workplace adjustments yet employer surveys suggest that the costs of adjustments for disabled workers are small and in many cases zero. However this is not an indication of the potential costs to employers of making adjustments for disabled people in the future.
- The nature of a person’s impairment is heavily correlated with his or her labour market outcomes. Employment rates are much lower for people with learning disabilities and mental health conditions than for people with sensory or physical impairments.
- Hard evidence on values for costs and benefits to employers of employing disabled people is nearly impossible to find.
- To avoid violating the DDA, employers must understand its definition of disability and its coverage of impairments. Research shows, however, that many employers use informal and intuitive notions of disability and are more likely to regard as disabled those workers with visible physical impairments rather than those with mental or progressive illness.
- Many employers believe that disabled people are less productive than non-disabled people. The relationship between disability and productivity is not a simple one. How well the employer matches the disabled worker to the job and the extent of support offered can be important. The combination of technological advance and innovative policy can also improve the labour market outcomes of disabled people.
- Employers believe and evidence confirms that disabled people are more likely to be absent from work because of sickness than are non-disabled people. However, it is important to note that while this may be true on average for all disabled employees; this varies greatly and is not true of every individual disabled person.
- The reasons for the concentration of disabled people in low-pay and low-skill jobs are unclear.
- Policy developments should consider differences between small and large employers, public and voluntary sectors and between people with mental and physical impairments.
Note to Editors
- The Disability Discrimination Act [1995] prohibits discrimination against disabled people in a range of circumstances, covering employment, education, transport, and the provision of goods, facilities, and public functions.
- ‘The economic and social costs and benefits to employers of retaining, recruiting and employing disabled people and/or people with health conditions or an injury: a review of the evidence,’ is published today in the DWP Research report Series; report number 400. A summary and copy of the report are available on the DWP website at http://www.dwp.gov.uk/asd/asd5/
Please contact Paul Noakes for a hard copy of the report on 0207 962 8557 or paul.noakes@dwp.gsi.gov.uk
DWP Press Office: 0207 238 0766
Out of hours: 07659 108883
Public enquiries: 0207 712 2171
Website: www.dwp.gov.uk