Call for companies to report on disability pay gap

• Aparna Sreevalsan
• 4 January, 2022

By: Aparna Sreevalsan

DISABLED workers get paid a third less than their non-disabled counterparts, authors of a Trade Union Congress Labour Force Survey have revealed.

According to the data, this year, non-disabled workers earn 16.5 per cent more than the disabled workers who meet the criteria of a disabled person under the Equality Act.

Last year, it was 20 per cent; only a slight reduction in the disability pay gap is visible in the current statistics. The 2020-2021 statistical report (09 Nov 2021) says non-disabled workers receive £13.45 per hour while pay for workers with disabilities is £11.55. per hour. These statistics relate to around third quarter (Q3) and fourth quarter (Q4) of 2020, and first quarter (Q1) and second quarter (Q2) of 2021.

Researchers also found that disabled women earnt a 1/3 of what non-disabled workers were earning, with disabled women getting £11.10 and non-disabled men getting £14.60. Disabled men workers get £12.38 and non-disabled women workers get £12.53 per hour.

“Disabled workers have been hit hardest by Covid-19. Many have been pushed into financial hardship and left without a safety net,” said Frances O’Grady, TUC general.

More disabled workers (22 per cent) were concerned about losing their jobs than others (11 per cent).

“With a cost-of-living crisis looming we need urgent action from ministers. As we saw with the last financial crisis disabled people are all too often first in line for redundancy, and those who keep hold of their jobs face a yawning pay gap”

“Disabled people deserve much better. We need mandatory disability pay gap reporting to shine a light on poor workplace practices that fuel inequality at work. Without this, millions of disabled workers will be consigned to years of lower pay and in-work poverty,” O’Grady continued.

The pay gap data was published along with the survey results which discloses that 40 per cent of disabled workers have faced financial difficulties during the pandemic than those without disabilities.

Trade Union Congress (TUC) is a national organization of British trade unions. It was founded in 1868, held annual conferences of independent unions to promote trade union principles.