Government green paper calls for ambitious ideas to reduce disability employment gap
4 min read
Too few employers are currently ready or equipped to respond to employees who suffer from mental or physical illness, says Craig Tracey MP.
As the government considers how to best achieve its aim of halving the disability employment gap, I believe that the critical role of employers in supporting people who are in work to stay in work and, more positively, to reach their potential has been relatively neglected.
"Improving lives", the Government’s Green Paper on work, health and disability, is an excellent foundation to start filling that gap. The Department for Health and the Department for Work and Pensions are to be commended for working in partnership and for shining a light on the role employers can play in preventing people from falling out of work through ill health. 83% of disabled people acquire their disability during their working lives. We all know friends, colleagues, family members and constituents who have had a job then suffered a serious health problem.
When ill health does stop you from working long term, getting back to work can be a key milestone in your recovery and a big step towards feeling yourself again.
Effective support from employers can make an enormous difference to people’s physical, mental and emotional health and to their chances of returning to work. Sadly, the reverse is also true, with evidence showing that many employers do not create a culture where employees can feel comfortable disclosing their health problems. Ground breaking campaigns such as Time to Talk and Heads Together have done much to make it easier for people to speak about their mental health, for example. But too many people are still too scared to speak to their employer and too few employers are ready or equipped to respond in the right way.
Research by the Mental Health Foundation last year found that 45% of working people with a diagnosed mental health problem had not disclosed it to their employer in the past five years. Of those who had told their employer, only half reported mainly positive consequences. This creates a vicious circle - If employees do not feel they can disclose a health problem, then employers cannot hope to put in place the right support. The earlier those open, supportive conversations between employers and employees happen, the more effective the support will be.
The Improving Lives Green Paper proposes sensible reforms to Statutory Sick Pay to ensure people are not penalised financially from returning to work and putting in place a one stop shop for employers with information on the different things they can do to support staff and the return on investment they can expect to see from them.
While such measures are welcome, they will not alone bring about the vision set out in the Green Paper of a society where “everyone is ambitious for disabled people and those with long term conditions”, where jobs “actively support and nurture health and wellbeing” and where “everyone at risk of long term absence or falling out of work due to ill health gets early action as needed to stay in or return to work”.
The government itself acknowledges much more needs to be done – the Green Paper is a call for bold, ambitious ideas. I understand the response from individuals, charities, employers and others have been very encouraging, with thousands responding to the consultation.
Locally in my constituency of North Warwickshire and Bedworth, I have held a ‘disability confident’ meeting with a range of employers and the Council to highlight this issue and to support people and businesses. There is clearly an appetite for progress in this area and I would like to see the Government ensure this progress happens, particular with measures to support small businesses.
The Prime Minister has promised her government “will do everything we can to help anybody, whatever your background, to go as far as your talents will take you”. In my Westminster Hall Debate I intend to focus on what that means for employers of people with long term health problems and disabilities whilst extending the very important debate in this area.
Craig Tracey is the Conservative Member of Parliament for North Warwickshire and Bedworth
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