Chloe Jepps’ letter on Britain’s missing workforce and discrimination in the workplace was very informative (26 December). However, it lacks any mention of disability. About 20% of adults in Britain are disabled in some way. Only 50% of disabled adults are in paid employment. Largely this is not because we do not want to work, it is because the workplace is inaccessible and reasonable adjustments never happen in practice. There are few legal remedies and limited assistance to assert the legal rights that disabled people have.
Employers often design workplaces to be as inaccessible as possible, especially in lower-paid work. Few places to sit down, few breaks, little chance to use the loo. Employers need to do better and design their processes for disabled people first, not last. This needs to be true for all employers, large and small, regardless of prestige.
The government needs to strengthen the monitoring of employment discrimination and increase regulatory action on companies that fail to adhere to the law already in place. Currently, the only remedy is through employment tribunals or civil action. The Equality Act is not an optional extra, but that’s how it’s treated by employers.
The government should reform the punitive benefits regime and instead provide support. Currently, people only deal with the Department for Work and Pensions because they have to. If they stopped treating disabled people like criminals and removed the fear, they could offer support and advice to access employment.
This would rely on the current Conservative government acting with compassion and intelligence, so the odds are roughly equal to my chance of an Olympic medal. A lettuce had more staying power than Liz Truss; I suspect the contents of my salad drawer have a higher capacity for intelligent thought and empathy for others than Rishi Sunak and cabinet.
Kathleen Foster
Bordon, Hampshire
