Disabled workers effectively ‘stop’ earning for the year from Thursday 7 November as a result of the pay gap between them and non-disabled workers.
According to analysis by the Trades Union Congress (TUC), the disability pay gap is now 17.2%, meaning that non-disabled employees now earn on average £2.35 an hour more than disabled workers.
The pay gap in the year to Spring 2024 went up by 2.6 percentage points from 14.6% in 2022-23 and is at the same level as two years ago in 2021-22. The disability pay gap was at its highest just before the pandemic in 2019-20, when it hit 19.6%.
TUC’s analysis of labour force figures from the Office for National Statistics showed that, for an employee working 35 hours a week, disabled employees lose out to the tune of £82.25 a week, or £4,300 a year. The pay gap is even starker for disabled women, because median pay for non-disabled men is 31% higher than it is for disabled women.
According to the union, outgoings can often be higher for disabled people, such as higher gas and electricity bills; home adaptations; hearing or other sensory equipment; powering manual or electric mobility aids; and higher food bills to support their conditions.
This means that on average, disabled people have to pay out an additional £1,010 a month to secure the same standard of living as a non-disabled person.
The government has proposed introducing mandatory disability pay gap reporting as part of its pre-election manifesto and is also set to limit the use of zero-hours contracts.
According to the TUC, disabled workers are a third more likely to be on a zero-hours contract than non-disabled workers, and disabled women from black and ethnic minorities are three times more likely to be in precarious work than non-disabled white men.
General secretary Paul Nowak said employers should not wait for mandatory disability pay gap reporting to be enshrined in law. In the meantime, employers can take steps such as analysing data from disabled workers and their experiences of processes such as recruitment and promotion. They could also take proactive measures such as introducing reasonable adjustment passports, or positive action initiatives such as open days specifically for disabled people.
He said: “Everyone who works for a living deserves to earn a decent living. But under the last government, the pay gap for disabled workers just kept getting worse. Urgent action is now needed to improve opportunities for disabled workers. Labour’s commitment to introduce mandatory disability pay gap reporting is a welcome first step. This government’s Employment Rights Bill will also help tackle insecure employment; something disabled workers are disproportionally affected by. We need an economy that allows disabled people to thrive, not one that traps them in poverty.”
