Taylor said \u201cit is right that employers step up\u201d and \u201cit is good to see some already committed to improving as vanguards\u201d, but he said he hopes that more businesses follow.<\/p>\n
Advertising helps fund Big Issue\u2019s mission to end poverty<\/p>\n
The government has committed to investing \u00a31 billion annually in disability employment support by the end of the decade, but Scope is calling for continued investment and government action to support disabled people to stay in work.<\/p>\n
<\/p>\n <\/a><\/p>\n Some experts have reservations about the review. Mikey Erhardt, policy lead at Disability Rights UK<\/a>, called the Keep Britain Working review \u201cyet another government-commissioned report\u201d which \u201cblames disabled people for not working\u201d.\u00a0<\/p>\n The review calls on employees to take \u201cpersonal responsibility\u201d. It said that \u201cwork can be demanding\u201d and \u201csetbacks are part of life\u201d, and that \u201cdisengaging from work and potential support leads to detachment and dependency\u201d while \u201cstaying connected to work supports recovery and resilience\u201d.\u00a0<\/p>\n Erhardt claimed that the review \u201cfundamentally misunderstands that people are disabled by societal and workplace barriers, not just by their health conditions\u201d.<\/p>\n He points out that it comes at a time when the government is believed to be cutting schemes like Access to Work, which supports disabled people in the workplace. The Big Issue has reported on the wave of cuts to Access to Work<\/a>, with some people having seen their support slashed by more than two-thirds.<\/p>\n \u201cThis review fails to unpick just how broken our economy is,\u201d Erhardt said. \u201cJust 2.5% of those off work as long-term sick move into work every year, and they are predominantly in jobs that are poorly paid, strenuous and insecure, such as couriers, domestic cleaners, bar staff, coffee shop staff, security guards, warehouse operatives and farm labourers.<\/p>\n Advertising helps fund Big Issue\u2019s mission to end poverty<\/p>\n \u201cNone of these jobs are the ones the government is shouting about in its growth strategy \u2013 yet, in towns and cities across the country, especially in deindustrialised areas, they are all that exist.<\/p>\n \u201cDespite acknowledging the dangers work poses to many disabled people, the review, like many before it, focuses mostly on employers and what can be done to support them, with little concrete suggestions to bolster disabled people\u2019s rights in the workplace. We struggle to see the impact it will have.\u2019\u201d<\/p>\n Employers lose \u00a385bn a year as a result of sickness, turnover, and lost productivity, the Keep Britain Working review finds.<\/p>\n Tom Pollard, head of policy at mental health charity Mind<\/a>, said that the report \u201crightly recognises \u201cthat the system is already under strain and that without timely investment in support, especially for young people, the challenges will only deepen\u201d.<\/p>\n But he added: \u201cOur mental health is heavily shaped by wider systemic issues, including poverty<\/a>, discrimination and trauma. Employers have a vital role to play in prevention and support, but they cannot solve these challenges alone and we need to also see a clearer strategy for tackling these drivers of poor mental health and improving mental health services.\u201d<\/p>\n Mind wants to see \u201cemployers\u2019 ambitions go beyond meeting the minimum legal requirements and instead push the boundaries of what good practice looks like\u201d.<\/p>\n Advertising helps fund Big Issue\u2019s mission to end poverty<\/p>\n The review considers practices that work in countries including the Netherlands and Denmark, which are believed to have much more effective systems for keeping employees in good health. The Mental Health Foundation<\/a> is calling on the government to consider emulating their approaches.<\/p>\n \u201cThe UK government must also play a role in recognising and rewarding those employers who lead the way on fostering positive workplaces, for example through grants and certification schemes, and disincentivising those who fail to do so,\u201d said Mark Rowland, chief executive of the Mental Health Foundation.<\/p>\n \u201cUltimately, employment is only one of a range of factors that impact our mental health. We need to see action across society if the UK government is to help more of us stay mentally healthy, including a focus on helping people access preventative support much earlier in their mental health journey.\u201d<\/p>\n This review comes at a time when trust in the DWP is low among disabled people and those with long-term health conditions, following months of government announcements around benefit cuts. It was forced to U-turn on cuts this summer, but only after significant backlash from Labour MPs<\/a>.<\/p>\n As they set out plans for disability benefit cuts, ministers repeatedly stressed that they wanted to see more disabled people in work.<\/p>\n Mencap<\/a> has found that 86% of people with a learning disability who are not in work want a paid job, but there are \u201ccurrently too few inclusive roles and training opportunities to support them into employment\u201d.<\/p>\n Advertising helps fund Big Issue\u2019s mission to end poverty<\/p>\n Jon Sparkes, chief executive of Mencap welcomed the review and said: \u201cChange is urgently needed for people with a learning disability to access simple adjustments \u2013 such as more accessible communication or on the job support to help them get bedded into a role.\u00a0\u00a0<\/p>\n \u201cWe look forward to working with more employers on creating inclusive workplaces, and hope that this review will not only boost the economy but also create a fairer society \u2013 helping people with a learning disability to get onto the career ladder and reach their full potential.\u201d<\/p>\n The DWP has already announced that Jobcentres<\/a> around the UK will be \u201coverhauled\u201d and there will be a greater focus on locally-driven support, as well as a youth guarantee to ensure that every young person is either in work, education or training.\u00a0<\/p>\n However, charities have long called for greater support to address the barriers disabled people face to accessing employment.\u00a0<\/p>\n RNIB\u2019s chief strategy and public affairs officer, Vivienne Francis, said: \u201cWe cannot continue with a situation where people with sight loss are unnecessarily falling out of the workplace, whether that\u2019s because employers don\u2019t know how to support them or because of systems not working.\u201d<\/p>\n Around 11,000 people with sight loss are currently looking for employment. Francis added: \u201cThis review marks an important first step in fixing this and must be a turning point towards lasting change.\u201d<\/p>\n Advertising helps fund Big Issue\u2019s mission to end poverty<\/p>\n Do you have a story to tell or opinions to share about this?\u00a0Get in touch and tell us more<\/a>.\u00a0<\/p>\n Change a vendor\u2019s life this Christmas.<\/strong><\/p>\n Buy from your local Big Issue vendor every week \u2013 or support online with a\u00a0vendor support kit<\/a>\u00a0or a\u00a0subscription<\/a>\u00a0\u2013 and help people work their way out of poverty with dignity.<\/strong><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"These \u2018vanguard\u2019 employers \u2013 including big names such as British Airways and Mayoral Combined Authorities, alongside small businesses…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":550899,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[5018,3,4],"tags":[748,2781,347,3374,393,4884,13975,11525,1144,712,16,15,1764,596],"class_list":{"0":"post-550898","1":"post","2":"type-post","3":"status-publish","4":"format-standard","5":"has-post-thumbnail","7":"category-britain","8":"category-uk","9":"category-united-kingdom","10":"tag-britain","11":"tag-department-for-work-and-pensions","12":"tag-disability","13":"tag-employment","14":"tag-england","15":"tag-great-britain","16":"tag-health-and-wellbeing","17":"tag-learning-and-employment","18":"tag-northern-ireland","19":"tag-scotland","20":"tag-uk","21":"tag-united-kingdom","22":"tag-wales","23":"tag-work"},"share_on_mastodon":{"url":"https:\/\/pubeurope.com\/@uk\/115497692942592966","error":""},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/550898","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=550898"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/550898\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/550899"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=550898"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=550898"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=550898"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}![\"\"](\"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/11\/XMAS-SUBS-12-800-X-250.png\")
<\/p>\n