The government is to overhaul a flagship initiative that helps disabled and sick people to move into work include tailored support for SMEs.
The Disability Confident scheme was launched by the previous Conservative government in 2016 and around 19,000 businesses are signed up. The voluntary initiative accredits employers based on how well they support workers with disabilities. There are three levels of accreditation.
Two thirds of employers agree that joining the scheme had a positive impact on their organisation, but the Keep Britain Working review by Sir Charlie Mayfield, published last November, said that it “lacks teeth”.
The government today said it introducing changes aimed at improving Disability Confident including providing specific support tailored to the needs and capabilities of SMEs.
It is also reducing the time employers can remain at the entry level from three years to two, and removing the option for them to renew at this level to encourage employers to progress up the scheme.
Other changes are peer-to-peer support to share good practice, and improving guidance to reflect the views and voices of disabled people.
“Disability Confident – with around 19,000 employers signed up – has enormous potential. For too long, though, it has not delivered enough support for disabled people, or for employers who want to recruit, retain and develop disabled people.
“That’s why we are improving the scheme, through robust reforms to ensure a better service for all, including through greater support for SMEs and improving access to resources for employers.”
Tina McKenzie, policy chair, Federation of Small Businesses, said:
“Ensuring that the great work done by countless small businesses to support disabled employees can be captured and recognised is an important step, and we look forward to seeing how Disability Confident can be shaped in other ways to make it as relevant and useful to small firms as possible.”
Criticism of Disability Confident
Some disability groups said the reforms do not go far enough.
James Taylor, an executive director at Scope, told the BBC that the scheme “lacks the teeth, lacks the funding and probably lacks the ambition too”.
Also commenting on the changes, professor Kim Hoque from Kings College London, who co-authored research into the scheme in 2023, said: “The only bit with teeth is stopping people staying at Level 1 indefinitely.
“The rest looks incredibly fluffy – more of the same failed status quo.”
Roisin Jacklin, RNIB policy lead, said:
“Overhauling the Disability Confident scheme is needed. People with sight loss still face barriers despite interviewing with or being employed by a Disability Confident employer.
“Only one in four registered blind and partially sighted people of working age are in employment – an employment gap twice that of disabled individuals overall. Around 11,000 people with sight loss are currently seeking employment.
“If the reforms are to work, we need far reaching change. Currently, it is possible to reach the highest level of the scheme without actually having a disabled employee. If the UK government is serious about supporting more disabled people into work, measures need to be introduced to ensure that Disability Confident employers recruit disabled people and provide supportive and inclusive work environments.”