Rethinking Work for Disabled People

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Disclaimer: This article is for general information and awareness purposes only and does not constitute legal, medical, or financial advice. Employment experiences and health conditions vary from person to person. Readers are encouraged to seek appropriate professional guidance before making decisions relating to work, benefits, or well-being. References to proposed organisations and initiatives reflect aspirations in development.

Government Reforms, Inclusive Opportunities, and New Models for Change

The UK Government has announced plans to introduce “robust reforms” aimed at helping employers recruit more disabled people, as part of wider efforts to support individuals with long-term health conditions back into meaningful work. Led by the Department for Work and Pensions (DWP), these changes include a revamp of the Disability Confident Scheme, which currently partners with around 19,000 employers across the UK.

The intention is to move beyond symbolic participation and toward genuine inclusion, strengthening employer accountability, improving support for small and medium-sized businesses, and ensuring disabled people’s lived experiences shape workplace standards.

While these reforms are a positive step, employment gaps remain significant. Disabled people and those who are long-term sick are still far less likely to be in work than their non-disabled peers, often due to inflexible job structures, stigma, and lack of tailored support.

Expanding Opportunity: Employment or Franchise Pathways

Alongside traditional employment, there is growing interest in more flexible models that recognise disabled people not only as employees, but also as potential entrepreneurs.

One emerging idea is for inclusive businesses to offer two possible routes:

• Traditional employment, with contracts, reasonable adjustments, and workplace support
• Franchise or micro-enterprise opportunities, allowing individuals to run semi-independent business units under an established brand or framework

This dual-pathway approach could help address common barriers such as rigid working hours, limited career progression, or recruitment practices that disadvantage people with disabilities. It also opens the door to autonomy, confidence-building, and long-term financial independence for those who may thrive outside conventional employment structures.

The Value, and Limits, of Traditional Employment

Conventional employment remains essential and offers clear benefits:

✔ Pros

• Stability: Regular income, employment rights, and job security
• Support structures: Access to workplace adjustments, mentoring, and management
• Career development: Opportunities for training and progression

⚠ Challenges

• Barriers to entry: Standard recruitment processes and interview formats can disadvantage disabled candidates
• Limited flexibility: Fixed schedules and narrowly defined roles may not suit fluctuating health conditions
• Inconsistent implementation: Employer schemes vary widely in quality and accountability
• Stigma around long-term sickness: Extended time out of work can reduce confidence and narrow employer expectations

These challenges highlight why reform must go beyond policy statements and focus on practical, lived outcomes.

What the Disability Confident Reforms Aim to Achieve

The updated Disability Confident framework seeks to:

• Encourage employers to progress beyond entry-level commitments
• Provide tailored guidance for smaller businesses
• Build peer networks to share inclusive best practices
• Place disabled people’s voices at the centre of scheme development

If delivered effectively, these measures could help close employment gaps and foster more supportive workplace cultures.

The Pros and Cons of Supporting Disabled and Long-Term Sick People Back to Work

✔ Benefits

• Improved well-being: Purposeful work can enhance mental health, confidence, and social inclusion
• Economic participation: Greater employment reduces reliance on benefits and supports productivity
• Broader talent pools: Employers gain access to diverse skills, perspectives, and experiences

⚠ Risks and barriers

• Job suitability: Some roles offered to people returning from long-term sickness are low-paid or physically demanding
• System complexity: Fear of losing benefits and navigating bureaucracy can discourage people from trying work
• Delayed support: Slow access to workplace adjustments can undermine successful transitions

For many, the issue is not unwillingness to work, but lack of appropriate, flexible, and supported opportunities.

Why Some Employers Are Reluctant to Employ Disabled People

Despite strong equality legislation in the UK, many employers remain hesitant to employ disabled people. This reluctance is often rooted not in discrimination alone, but in perceived risk, cost, and lack of understanding around reasonable adjustments, workplace health and safety, and insurance liabilities.

Perceived Health & Safety Risks

Some employers fear that employing a disabled person may expose them to increased health and safety risks, particularly in environments involving physical tasks, machinery, or high public interaction.

Commonly cited health-related concerns include:

• Increased risk of slips, trips, or falls
• Fatigue-related incidents or reduced stamina
• Manual handling limitations
• Sensory impairments affecting awareness (e.g. sight or hearing)
• Stress-related conditions or mental health crises in high-pressure roles
• Risk of relapse or fluctuating conditions requiring time off
• Workplace emergencies requiring additional evacuation planning

While these risks are often manageable, employers may lack the knowledge or confidence to assess them properly.

Employers’ Liability Insurance Concerns

Another key concern is insurance. Some employers believe, correctly or incorrectly, that employing disabled staff may:

• Increase employers’ liability insurance premiums
• Trigger more frequent risk assessments
• Require specialist health and safety audits
• Increase the likelihood of workplace claims

In reality, many insurers assess roles and risk management, not disability itself, but misconceptions remain widespread, especially among small businesses.

Cost of Reasonable Adjustments

Employers may also worry about the financial impact of reasonable adjustments, particularly where they believe costs must be paid out of pocket.

Adjustments employers may fear having to fund include:

• Specialist office furniture (ergonomic chairs, sit-stand desks)
• Assistive technology (screen readers, speech-to-text software)
• Adapted IT equipment or bespoke software
• Noise-cancelling equipment or private working spaces
• Flexible or reduced working hours
• Remote or hybrid working arrangements
• Adjusted performance targets or phased returns
• Modified duties or reallocation of tasks
• Physical adaptations to premises (ramps, handrails, accessible toilets)
• Additional training for managers and staff
• Extra supervision or support time

For micro-businesses and SMEs, these perceived costs can feel overwhelming, even though support schemes and grants often exist.

Lack of Awareness, Not Lack of Ability

Crucially, many employers are unaware that:

• Not all adjustments are expensive
• Many disabled people require minimal or no adjustments
• Support schemes exist to help cover costs
• Inclusive workplaces often see higher loyalty, retention, and productivity

The issue is frequently fear of the unknown, rather than the reality of employing disabled people.

Why This Matters for Future Generations in Wales

If Wales is to meet its Future Generations goals, creating a more equal, resilient, and prosperous nation, these barriers must be addressed openly.

Platforms like DisabilityUK.org and DisabledEntrepreneur.uk can help by:

• Educating employers on realistic risk management
• Challenging myths around cost and insurance
• Sharing lived experience from disabled workers and founders
• Promoting best-practice, inclusive employment models
• Encouraging policy reform that supports small businesses

True inclusion requires understanding, not avoidance, and future generations deserve workplaces built on knowledge, fairness, and opportunity.

How DisabilityUK.org Could Help Bridge the Gap

A proposed charity, such as DisabilityUK.org aims to support disabled people, the long-term sick, and those who are unemployed by combining advocacy with practical assistance.

Potential areas of support include:

• Employment navigation: Helping individuals understand rights, benefits, and workplace options
• Skills and confidence building: Providing guidance, training, and pathways into both employment and self-employment
• Employer partnerships: Working with businesses to design inclusive roles and dual pathways (employee or franchisee)
• Advocacy and awareness: Promoting accountability, accessibility, and long-term cultural change

By connecting individuals, employers, and policymakers, organisations like this can help translate government intentions into real-world outcomes.

Conclusion

Reforming schemes such as Disability Confident signal important recognition that more must be done to improve employment prospects for disabled and long-term sick people. But policy alone is not enough.

Real progress requires flexible employment models, reliable workplace support, and organisations committed to inclusion in practice, not just in principle. Expanding opportunities through both supported employment and franchise-style entrepreneurship empowers people to work in ways that suit their health, skills, and ambitions.

With collaboration, innovation, and compassion, the UK can move toward a future where disability is not a barrier to contribution, but a valued part of a diverse and resilient workforce.

Get Involved: Become a Trustee or Partner with Us

If you are passionate about making a real difference and want to help drive positive change for disabled people in Wales, we invite you to get involved with DisabilityUK.org. Whether you’re interested in becoming a trustee, donating or investing, contributing your expertise, or partnering with us to bring our mission to life, we welcome your support. Reach out to us today to start the conversation and explore how we can work together to create a more inclusive, sustainable future for all.

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Further Reading:

• Major DWP change to get millions of people back to work
• Access to Work: get support if you have a disability or health condition: What Access to Work is – GOV.UK
• What the ‘back to work’ budget means for disabled people | Disability charity Scope UK
• Health and safety for disabled people at work – HSE
• Employing disabled people and people with health conditions – GOV.UK
• What employers should do – Supporting disabled people at work – Acas
• Health and safety and disability law in the UK | Business Disability Forum
• What reasonable adjustments are – Reasonable adjustments at work – Acas
• Disability-related absence – Supporting disabled people at work – Acas
• https://disabledentrepreneur.uk/category/futuregenerationswales/