Government documents: Disabled people’s rights: the UK’s 2019 report on select recommendations of the UN periodic review

This response to the United Nations' review of the rights of disabled people includes details on the progress the UK is making in supporting disabled people in employment.

Key findings

• The government’s goal is to see one million more disabled people in employment between 2017 and 2027, as set out in ‘Improving Lives: The Future of Work, Health and Disability’. In the first two years, the number of disabled people in employment increased by 404,000, making the total number of disabled people in work 3.9 million.
• The government wants to make flexible working common practice as current analysis shows that disabled workers are more likely to work part time or have differing hours/locations of work. It is consulting on whether employers should have a duty to consider if a job can be done flexibly and make that clear when advertising a role.
• From the end of 2019, more than £40m is being invested into a new Intensive Personalised Employment Support Programme. Over four years this will support 10,000 disabled people, who are at least a year away from moving into work.