Overview
The United Kingdom's disability employment framework rests on three pillars:
- Legal protection — The Equality Act 2010 prohibits disability discrimination and requires reasonable adjustments
- Employer engagement — The Disability Confident scheme encourages employers to hire and retain disabled workers
- Financial support — Access to Work provides grants for workplace adaptations and support workers
The UK's disability employment gap was 29.7 percentage points in Q2 2025: the employment rate was 52.8% for disabled people and 82.5% for non-disabled people (DWP, The employment of disabled people 2025).
The Equality Act 2010: Disability Provisions
Definition of Disability
Under section 6 of the Equality Act 2010, a person has a disability if they have a physical or mental impairment that has a substantial and long-term adverse effect on their ability to carry out normal day-to-day activities.
Key elements (Schedule 1):
- Long-term: the effect has lasted at least 12 months, is likely to last at least 12 months, or is likely to last for the rest of the person's life; effects that are likely to recur count as continuing
- Treatment is disregarded: an impairment is treated as having a substantial effect if it would have that effect without treatment or aids (glasses and contact lenses are the exception)
- Working life: in employment cases, normal day-to-day activities include participating fully and effectively in working life on an equal basis with other workers
Specific provisions:
- Cancer, HIV infection and multiple sclerosis are automatically treated as disabilities
- Progressive conditions are covered once they have some effect, if that effect is likely to become substantial
- People who have had a disability in the past are also protected
The Duty to Make Reasonable Adjustments
This is the central employer obligation (sections 20–21 and Schedule 8). It applies when an employer knows, or could reasonably be expected to know, that someone is disabled — so employers should think ahead rather than wait to be asked. The duty applies in three situations:
- Where a provision, criterion or practice puts a disabled person at a substantial disadvantage
- Where a physical feature puts a disabled person at a substantial disadvantage
- Where a disabled person would be at a substantial disadvantage without an auxiliary aid
Examples of reasonable adjustments:
- Flexible working hours or remote working
- Changes to performance management or attendance policies
- Providing software, specialist equipment, or different formats
- Allocating duties, changing workstation location, or modifying the role
- Providing a support worker or mentor
What is 'reasonable'? Acas guidance says employers should consider whether the adjustment will remove or reduce the disadvantage, whether it is practical, whether it is affordable, and whether it could harm the health and safety of others. Access to Work funding can help with costs, but it is not a substitute for the employer's legal duty.
Prohibited Conduct
- Direct discrimination (section 13): less favourable treatment because of disability
- Indirect discrimination (section 19): a neutral provision that disadvantages disabled people without justification
- Discrimination arising from disability (section 15): unfavourable treatment because of something arising in consequence of disability (e.g., dismissing someone for disability-related absences), unless it is a proportionate means of achieving a legitimate aim
- Harassment (section 26) and victimisation (section 27)
Enforcement
Employment tribunal claims for disability discrimination must normally be brought within 3 months of the act complained of, although the tribunal can allow a longer period if it considers this just and equitable. Anyone who wants to make an employment tribunal claim must first notify Acas for early conciliation.
Disability Confident
Disability Confident is a voluntary employer scheme run by the Department for Work and Pensions (DWP). It has three levels:
| Level | Name | Requirements |
|---|---|---|
| Level 1 | Disability Confident Committed | Sign up to five core commitments (including offering an interview to disabled people who meet the minimum criteria) and at least one activity |
| Level 2 | Disability Confident Employer | Self-assessment across two themes: getting the right people for your business, and keeping and developing your people |
| Level 3 | Disability Confident Leader | Self-assessment independently validated; narrative on leadership activities (e.g. encouraging employers in the supply chain); public reporting using the Voluntary Reporting Framework |
In March 2025, DWP reported that the scheme has over 19,000 members, who report over 12 million employees working in their organisations.
The interview commitment: Disability Confident employers commit to offering an interview to disabled people who meet the minimum criteria for the job, so they can demonstrate their skills, talent and abilities.
Evidence on effectiveness: Levels 1 and 2 are self-assessed, with no external check. DWP told Parliament in 2025 that it is considering options to make the validation process more robust.
Access to Work
Access to Work is a government grant scheme run by DWP in England, Scotland and Wales. It pays for support beyond the reasonable adjustments an employer is legally obliged to make, including:
- Support workers (such as BSL interpreters, job coaches or travel buddies)
- Specialist equipment and assistive software
- Physical changes to the workplace and adaptations to vehicles
- Travel costs for people who cannot use public transport
- Mental health support (a tailored plan and one-to-one sessions with a mental health professional)
Key Facts (2024-25)
| Metric | Value |
|---|---|
| Spending on Access to Work provision | £321 million |
| People who received funding | 74,200 |
| People with mental health or learning conditions who received funding | 37,900 |
| Maximum annual award per person (2024-25 and 2025-26) | £69,260 |
Source: National Audit Office, The Access to Work scheme (February 2026)
How to Apply
Employees apply online or by phone. DWP typically approves support for three years at a time. There is no income test — employed people can get support however much they earn or have in savings.
Criticism: Access to Work has growing delays. The average time to process an application rose from 28 working days in 2021-22 to 66 working days in 2024-25, and 62,100 applications were waiting for a decision at 31 March 2025 (NAO).
The UK Disability Employment Gap in Context
In 2017 the government set a goal to see one million more disabled people in work by 2027. It announced in May 2022 that the goal had been met early: the number of disabled people in employment rose by 1.3 million between Q1 2017 and Q1 2022. By Q2 2025 there were 5.5 million disabled people in employment.
However, the employment rate gap between disabled and non-disabled people remains wide, and the number of economically inactive disabled people rose from 3.4 million in 2018/19 to 4.2 million in 2024/25.
Commonly cited constraints include:
- Employer attitudes and inaccessible recruitment practices
- Sickness absence and attendance policies that inadvertently disadvantage disabled employees
- Financial uncertainty for people moving from benefits into work
- Access to Work processing delays relative to rising demand
Sources
- Equality Act 2010: https://www.legislation.gov.uk/ukpga/2010/15/contents
- Acas: Reasonable adjustments at work — https://www.acas.org.uk/reasonable-adjustments; Early conciliation — https://www.acas.org.uk/early-conciliation
- DWP: Disability Confident guidance for levels 1, 2 and 3 — https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/disability-confident-guidance-for-levels-1-2-and-3
- DWP: Access to Work — https://www.gov.uk/access-to-work
- DWP (2025): The employment of disabled people 2025 — https://www.gov.uk/government/statistics/the-employment-of-disabled-people-2025
- National Audit Office (2026): The Access to Work scheme — https://www.nao.org.uk/reports/the-access-to-work-scheme/
Last reviewed: September 2026.