Today is the day disabled workers begin ‘working for free’ for the rest of the year due to the pay gap with their non-disabled colleagues.
Disabled workers earn around a sixth less than non-disabled workers, according to research from the TUC.
It estimates the pay gap for disabled workers across the board is £1.90 an hour, equivalent to £66.50 a week.
Over the course of a year, disabled workers earn almost £3,500 less if they work a 35-hour week, meaning they effectively work for free from today (14 November) for 47 days of the year.
The TUC’s analysis shows that the disability pay gap is now higher, at 14.6%, than it was a decade ago. However, it has narrowed since last year, when it was 17.2%, or £2.05 an hour.
Disabled women face the biggest pay gap at 30%, or £3.73 an hour, compared to non-disabled men.
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The pay gap persists throughout disabled workers’ careers. According to the TUC, 25-year-old disabled employees earn £1.73 an hour less, and that hits a high of £3.18 an hour between the ages of 40 to 44.
The highest disability pay gap is in Wales, where it is 21.6% or £2.53 an hour, followed by the south east, at 19.8% or £2.78 an hour.
The research found that disability pay gaps also vary by industry. The biggest pay gap is in financial and industrial services, where the pay gap stands at 33.2% (£5.60 an hour).
Disabled workers also face challenges in accessing the labour market in the first place, the TUC found. Disabled workers are more likely to be on zero-hours contracts than non-disabled workers.
Disabled women and ethnic minority workers get the worst deal. Disabled black or ethnic minority women are almost three times as likely as white non-disabled men to be working in insecure employment (6.0% to 2.2%). This makes it harder for them to access necessary medical appointments as shifts can be unpredictable.
The TUC has reiterated its support for the Labour Party’s New Deal for Working People, which it says will be a “game changer” for workers’ rights.
Labour’s pledges for workers’ rights include introducing mandatory disability pay gap reporting if it’s voted into government at the next election.
TUC general secretary Paul Nowak said: “We all deserve to be paid fairly for the work we do. But disabled people continue to be valued less in our jobs market. It’s shameful there has been zero progress on the disability pay gap in the last decade.
“Being disabled shouldn’t mean you are given a lower wage – or left out of the jobs market altogether. Too many disabled people are held back at work, not getting the reasonable adjustments they need to do their jobs.”
He added that Labour’s proposed legislation would “shine a light on inequality at work”.
“Without this legislation, millions of disabled workers will be consigned to many more years of lower pay and in-work poverty,” he said.
Sandi Wassmer, CEO of the Employers Network for Equality and Inclusion, said the TUC’s findings matched many of the challenges reported by the disabled people it works with.
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“Firstly, disabled people generally find it more difficult to find employment and as a result of this are more likely to take lower-paid jobs and less likely to negotiate on salary. Secondly, opportunities for progression to more senior roles in the workplace for disabled people are more limited. And finally, disabled people are more likely to stay in the same job with the same company for longer and so are often taken for granted or miss out on the opportunity to negotiate a higher salary as they change roles,” she said.
“Although the world of disability is complex, with a multitude of different disabilities, each falling within a spectrum, the place to start is always the same. See the person as an individual, and make sure that the culture, leadership, and resources are in place so that they can thrive, which should be no different than for any other employee.”
