Written evidence from SCOPE [PWC0013]

Summary

Scope welcomes the opportunity to respond to the Work and Pensions Select Committee’s inquiry into the Department for Work and Pensions’ preparations for changes in the world of work. Whilst the fourth industrial revolution will undoubtedly create exciting new opportunities for many disabled people in the world of work, it’s vital that present barriers are overcome to enable as many people as possible to benefit from future changes. This needs to include tackling barriers to disabled people both finding and staying in work.

1. What are the main challenges that DWP faces as a result of the “Fourth Industrial Revolution”? (Question 1)

1.1.         The Government’s white paper declared that “technological breakthroughs…are now heralding a fourth industrial revolution” which will “create new opportunities…for people, places and businesses” ([1]). But, at present, not all disabled people will be in a position to take advantage of these opportunities and benefit from them.

1.2.         The digital divide for disabled people is almost double that of non-disabled people ([2]). While the proportion of recent internet users is considerably lower for disabled adults compared with non-disabled adults (78 per cent and 95 per cent respectively) ([3]).

1.3.         Digital technology is already becoming an increasing part of DWP’s welfare and employment support programmes and the department is likely to become more reliant on technology to deliver its services in the future. This is starkly illustrated with Universal Credit’s design as ‘digital by default’.

1.4.         Digital technology also has a key role to play in helping government meet its aims on disability employment to get one million more disabled people into work by 2027 ([4]). The committee’s previous inquiry into assistive technology concluded that “assistive technology already makes a huge difference to the lives of disabled people” and could have “a transformative impact on the disability employment gap” ([5]).   

1.5.         But disabled people risk being left behind if the current digital divide between disabled and non-disabled people is not tackled. It is vital that the DWP starts to address this gap.

1.6.         As a start, we recommend that the DWP should develop an understanding of the digital and assistive technology needs of any disabled person who uses its services. Using this information, the DWP should develop an offer of digital technological support to help any disabled person who requires such support.

1.7.         The DWP must also ensure that any services it runs for disabled people are fully modernised, so they are not left behind by the fourth industrial revolution.

1.8.         At Scope, we have heard from disabled people on legacy benefits who have experienced problems with their claim, which were often due to such services being run using manual processes, leading to errors being made by officials. For example, the recent claim made by DWP officials at a recent select committee hearing that it is operationally difficult to increase legacy benefits in line with the £20 a week increase to Universal Credit claims ([6]).

1.9.         Whilst the DWP continue to pause the migration of disabled claimants over from legacy benefits to Universal Credit, the two sets of benefits will be in place for the foreseeable future. Unless DWP examines how its services are run and whether they need to be upgraded to meet the needs of its customers, then disabled people will continue to be short-changed by a system which does not help them.

1.10.     The DWP should review how its services are run, identify if they fully meet the needs of its users and if they need to be updated using technology.

2. What do we know about the possible likely impact on the labour market? (Question 2)

2.1.         The fourth industrial revolution has the potential to create barriers as well as opportunities. Much of the internet remains inaccessible to many disabled people, meaning that they are falling at the first hurdle when it comes to looking for work in the digital age.

2.2.         Scope’s research through The Big Hack programme ([7]) highlights some of the issues that technology presents disabled people, including when it comes to looking for jobs. One respondent told us it’s “impossible to find a website that caters to disabled people (when looking for jobs)”. Another respondent told us that companies’ recruitment sites for applying to jobs are “usually awful.”

2.3.         An increasing reliance on the internet within the labour market could continue to act as a barrier and further exclude these disabled people unless Government takes proactive steps to ensure that websites are made more accessible.

2.4.         If the Government is to meet its commitment to reduce the disability employment gap ([8]), Government must consider the impact on disabled people of the increasingly central role that the internet plays in both looking for work and doing work.

2.5.         Disabled people are increasingly in either part-time work, self-employment or on zero-hours contracts ([9]), which are often associated with the “platform economy”. The internet gave rise to the platform economy, and so it is likely that this will grow as digital becomes an even more central part of the labour market.

2.6.         The platform economy has positives and negatives implications for disabled people. Positively, it can enable more efficient skills-matching between workers and tasks. This is important for disabled people as they are more likely to report being in jobs that do not match their skill level ([10]), and disabled people are concentrated in low-skilled work.

2.7.         The platform economy also facilitates flexible working, which is of vital importance to disabled people; 25 per cent of disabled people with high support needs said that flexible working or modified hours helped them at work ([11]).

2.8.         However, the platform economy is associated with fewer workers’ rights, less job security, and less access to training or career progression ([12]). Disabled people also already report less access to training ([13]).

2.9.         This is significant as disabled people already struggle to access their rights in the workplace under the law, such as reasonable adjustments ([14]). We have also heard from many disabled people of their struggle to secure reasonable adjustments to which they are legally entitled from their employers.

2.10.     The association between the platform economy and part-time work is significant because data shows that disabled people in part-time work are twice as likely to move out of work as disabled people in full-time work ([15]).

2.11.     This means that whilst using the internet as a platform to find work can provide some benefits to some disabled workers, it could ultimately increase the risk of pushing other disabled workers out of employment altogether.

2.12.     The Government is committed to reducing the disability employment gap ([16]). But there is a risk that the platform economy will harm the Government’s efforts to do so. As part of an equalities assessment of the fourth industrial revolution, Government should consider the equalities impacts of the platform economy on disabled people.

2.13.     The fourth industrial revolution could have a significant impact on the number of, and types of, jobs available in the labour market through the expected automation of roles. The Centre for Social Justice ([17]) cites Bank of England estimates that overall, 35 per cent of jobs are at high risk of being displaced.

2.14.     The types of roles at risk in the fourth industrial revolution are expected to be routine jobs ([18]). DWP data shows that disabled people are more likely to be in routine roles such as administration, sales and processing/machine operating than non-disabled people ([19]).

2.15.     This suggests that disabled workers may be significantly more at risk of having their jobs automated. The DWP must therefore consider the impact of automation on disabled workers as part of its equalities impact assessment.

2.16.     We recognise that, as well as displacing jobs, the fourth industrial revolution will create jobs, particularly in growing and emerging technological fields.

2.17.     In recent years, there has been a polarisation of the labour market, with an increase in both low-skilled and high-skilled jobs, but a relative decrease in mid-skilled jobs ([20]). Disabled people are concentrated in low-skilled jobs, meaning that this polarisation could serve to disrupt disabled people’s career paths into higher-skilled roles.

2.18.     Whilst the distribution of disabled workers across different industries is largely like that of non-disabled workers, disabled people are much less likely to be in “professional, scientific and technical” jobs ([21]). In other words, not only are disabled people more likely to be low-skilled jobs, they are also much less likely to be in the industry where the majority of the new jobs created by the fourth industrial revolution would reasonably be expected.

2.19.     So, whilst the fourth industrial revolution may create new high-skilled jobs, it also risks further polarisation of the labour market. In order to ensure that the potential benefits of jobs growth brought about by the fourth industrial revolution are shared across society, Government must take steps to increase the accessibility of digital and technical jobs to disabled people.

3. Is there a need to consider new, long-term opportunities to addressing change in the labour market: for example, introducing a Universal Basic Income? (Question 3)

3.1.         The current system of financial support for disabled people who have a job but whose impairment or condition prevents them from working is too rigid.

3.2.         A clear example of this is Statutory Sick Pay (SSP). The current rule preventing disabled employees from being paid SSP for more than 28 weeks has resulted in many disabled people suffering from a fall in income of £90 a month when they switch to claiming Universal Credit ([22]). We have found that many disabled people found this sudden reduction in income difficult to manage. We have found that this has led to some disabled people with long-term health conditions using their annual leave when they are too ill to work so they don’t go over the 28-week limit ([23]).

3.3.         Additionally, the rules preventing disabled people from being paid SSP for their non-working days during a phased return to work mean they are financially penalised for doing the right thing by returning to work, whilst still trying to protect their health.

3.4.         By committing to pay up to 80 per cent of employee’s wages if that employee is unable to work, the Government’s job retention scheme (JRS) has allowed disabled people who are required to shield and therefore cannot work or return to work during the pandemic to still be paid a reasonable living wage ([24]).

3.5.         This has set a precedent for how disabled people could be supported in the future if their impairment or condition prevents them from working.

3.6.         The Government should ensure that any lessons learnt from the JRS are taken forward and inform the design of any similar initiatives in the future.

4. What support, advice and training should DWP offer to people who are looking to progress in work, or take up more hours? (Question 5)

4.1.         For many disabled people, being able to use accessible technology in the workplace can be transformative in allowing them to do their job. Research conducted by Scope found that 78 per cent of disabled people say that having access to digital technology is helpful or very helpful ([25]).

4.2.         The Government’s Access to Work scheme provides funding to help cover the cost of practical support for disabled people in the workplace. But Access to Work guidance on how employers are allowed to use the funding prohibits the purchase of any “standard equipment” ([26]).

4.3.         This precludes the purchase of modern equipment which are designed with accessibility in mind, for example iPads. Instead, disabled people are often given old-fashioned, clunky, and costly equipment which often don’t meet the needs of disabled workers as well as mainstream modern technology.  

4.4.         For disabled people, having access to equipment which is accessible when at work can be enormously beneficial to helping them do their job.

4.5.         For example, one disabled person told us his work “gave me large print for my iPad which helps (, as) tiny print (is a) big handicap to getting online etc”.

4.6.         Changing the Access to Work guidelines so it can be used to buy modern equipment with accessibility features would give disabled people the chance to shine in their job and move into more senior roles.

5. What is DWP’s role in ensuring that young people have the skills they need to get into and progress in work? (Question 6)

5.1.         Disabled people with all levels of higher qualifications are less likely to be in employment than non-disabled people, and the pattern of highest education level improving chance of employment is stronger for disabled people than non-disabled people ([27]).Young disabled people are more likely than non-disabled young people to be “NEET” (not in education, employment or training).

5.2.         Education level has also been identified as a key determinant in the level of risk of having one’s job automated due to the fourth industrial revolution ([28]).

5.3.         These factors highlight the need for the DWP to specifically consider disabled young people, ensuring that they get early, personalised careers support, as doing so will result in long-term benefits for both disabled people themselves and for the economy.

5.4.         The fourth industrial revolution represents an opportunity for the DWP to provide young disabled people with the chance to gain experience in new and developing areas of work.

5.5.         Employment support for disabled young people must be personalised and tailored to their specific needs. This is especially true in light of the varying employment rates for disabled people according to their main condition. For example, only 17.4 per cent of people with learning disabilities are in employment, compared to 66.6 per cent of people with severe disfigurements, skin conditions or allergies ([29]).

5.6.         Whilst recognising the opportunities that the fourth industrial revolution can bring, it is still important to keep in mind that technology or digital skills are not the only factors that determine whether or not a disabled young person can get into and progress in work.

5.7.         For employment to be truly inclusive and accessible to disabled people, employers need to be creative and adaptable in providing adjustments.

5.8.         We welcomed the Government’s proposal in the Health is Everyone’s Business consultation to introduce a new ‘right to request work(place) modifications’ based on health grounds ([30]). We know that many disabled people whose condition or impairment is already covered by law experience difficulties in securing reasonable adjustments, despite the legal duty placed on their employer. This includes cases where there is little to no cost involved.

5.9.         Employers refusing to agree reasonable adjustments often has negative consequences for disabled people. One of our research participants told us that the stress caused by his employer not letting him come in at a later time led to him having “a complete breakdown”. As a result, he had no option but to leave the workplace as he became too ill to work.

5.10.     This is especially pertinent for young people as data shows that people aged 16-24 are more likely to move out of work than older people ([31]).

5.11.     Disabled people, particularly those at the start of their careers, should not be made to feel as though they are being an inconvenience to their employers for working whilst also trying to manage their condition. Disabled people need to be confident that any request for flexible working will be taken seriously by their employer, regardless as to whether their impairment or condition fulfils the criteria of the Equality Act.

5.12.     Providing disabled people with a statutory right to request a workplace modification on health grounds will, we believe, help ensure young disabled people have the confidence that their employer will allow them to work flexibly around their impairment or condition.

June 2020