Equality and Human Rights Commission (EHRC) – Supplementary written evidence (YDP0058)

Executive summary

Young disabled people are disadvantaged by barriers they face because of both their disability and their age, and experience employment and pay gaps.[1],[2],[3]  Evidence suggests these gaps may be linked to the barriers to participation young disabled people face when entering the labour market,[4],[5] including through routes such as apprenticeships,[6],[7] with the pandemic making many issues worse.[8]

Evidence suggests children with a statement of SEN were less likely to have had access to careers guidance,[9] and a lower proportion of students in special schools had access to a qualified careers adviser.[10] We highlight concerns including inaccessible provision of guidance,[11] and insufficient information on accessibility in the workplace.[12]

Various employment support mechanisms are in place to address the barriers young disabled people face. However, we are concerned that schemes have not been adequately evaluated for effectiveness and are not appropriately tailored to young disabled people’s needs. 

The Equality Act 2010 provides extensive protection from disability discrimination, including the reasonable adjustments duty.[13] Under the Act, disability discrimination is asymmetrical (i.e. a non-disabled person will not be discriminated against if they are treated less favourably than a disabled person, therefore it is not unlawful to treat disabled people more favourably than non-disabled people).

The Equality Act also permits employers to take positive action measures to address underrepresentation and low participation of young people with specific types of impairment where there is evidence of under-representation or disadvantage.[14] Additionally, the Public Sector Equality Duty requires public bodies (and those carrying out public functions such as delivering services on behalf of public bodies) to give appropriate consideration (due regard) to the need to: eliminate unlawful discrimination, harassment and victimisation; and advance equality of opportunity between people who share protected characteristics and those who do not.[15] 

However, enforcement of Equality Act protections may be particularly difficult for young disabled people, with individuals unlikely to either be aware of their rights, confident enough to bring a claim or have the financial means to do so.[16]

Our key recommendations to the UK Government include:

• Addressing the real-terms funding cut the Commission has faced by increasing funding to enable us to continue to carry out our full statutory mandate and meet expanding regulatory obligations.
• Introducing a mandatory duty on employers with more than 250 staff to monitor and report on disability in the workforce, appropriately disaggregated by impairment type and other protected characteristics such as age.
• Improving data in relation to employment, careers guidance and apprenticeships.
• Providing Disability Employment Advisors and Jobcentre Plus work coaches with targeted training that covers the barriers young disabled job seekers face and the needs of specific impairment groups.
• Supporting compliance with the Public Sector Equality Duty in relation to employment support schemes, the provision of careers guidance, and access for pupils to education and training providers.
• Supporting schools to adopt a rights-based approach and ensure that teacher training and continued professional developments includes mandatory human rights education.

8 October 2023