With the government announcing its reforms to reduce the amount the state spends on welfare for people with disabilities and long-term health conditions, Rob Moss explores the Pathways to Work green paper and examines the possible implications for employers.
Liz Kendall, the work and pensions minister, addressed the House of Commons yesterday with stark facts facing the UK economy. Ten per cent of working-age people claim sickness or disability benefits. One in eight young people – almost 1 million people – are not in education, employment or training. The number of people out of work due to long-term sickness totals 2.8 million.
Pathways to Work
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Furthermore, the number of people claiming personal independence payments (PIPs) is set to double this decade, from 2 to 4.3 million, with claims rising faster among young people and for mental health conditions.
“Our Pathways to Work green paper sets out decisive action to fix the broken benefits system,” said Kendall. “Creating a more proactive, pro-work system for those who can work. And so we protect it for those who cannot work; now and for the long-term.”
On the benefits front, the green paper, Pathways to Work: Reforming Benefits and Support to Get Britain Working, the consultation which was launched yesterday, proposes:
- Tighter eligibility criteria for PIPs from November 2026, potentially resulting in reduced payments for many people
- More frequent, face-to-face reassessments for many people claiming PIP, but no more for review for those with the most severe, long-term conditions
- Work capability assessments for incapacity benefits will be scrapped in 2028, with people facing only one assessment, based on the current PIP system
- Incapacity benefits under universal credit will be frozen for existing claimants at £97 per week and reduced to £50 per week for new claimants, although those with the most severe conditions who will never be able to work will receive an additional premium
- People aged under 22 will no longer be able to claim incapacity benefit top-ups on universal credit.
On the employment front, perhaps the biggest change is that welfare claimants will be given a “right to try” work, without the risk of losing their benefits.
Triggering reassessments
Last month, a DWP survey on work aspirations showed that 54% felt worried they would not get their benefits back if they tried paid employment that did not work out, and 60% agreed with the statement: “I am worried DWP will make me look for work that I’m not suitable for if I ask for help.”
This, says the consultation, demonstrates that people fear engaging with employment support. So the government is proposing to establish in law the principle that work will not lead to a reassessment. Legislation will guarantee that trying work will not trigger a reassessment of circumstances.
The government will also consult on creating a new “Unemployment Insurance” for those who have made national insurance contributions, meaning people receive the income they need alongside the right employment support to get back into work. This would replace certain types of Employment and Support Allowance and Jobseeker’s Allowance benefits.
The final chapter of the green paper, states the success of the proposed reforms depends on a “strong and dynamic” labour market that is “accessible and inclusive”.
To support disabled people into work, workplaces need to be able to accommodate their needs.
“We want to galvanise a cultural shift to ensure that accessibility and workplace adjustments are fully embedded into recruitment and retention practices,” said the government.
Inflexible employers
Some disabled people find employers to be inflexible in changing working practices or implementing reasonable adjustments and similarly, employers are often perceived to be “untrained and uninformed” about disability. When asked, just 23% of employers reported that they provided workplace adjustments to support disabled staff and staff with long-term health conditions.
The consultation asks how the government can support a “shift in culture and practice” around workplace adjustments. It wants to reform support on workplace adjustments so it is more “active, supportive and ensures we support employers to fulfil their legal obligations”.
Access to Work
The DWP also want to reform its Access to Work, the scheme that provides tailored support for disabled people and people with health conditions.
Spending on the scheme is expected to cost £385 million in 2025-26, up from £142 million in 2019-20, but it still only supports around 60,000 – around 1% – of working disabled people.
The scheme has not changed significantly since it was established in 1994, despite changes in the types of disability that people report, and huge changes in the labour market and technology.
The government wants to reform Access to Work so that it achieves the right balance between helping people access employment and helping them stay in work.
It wants to support employers “directly” to make workplaces accessible and inclusive, consistent with their legal responsibilities. It also wants to provide targeted funds to individuals to pay for workplace adaptations, beyond what could be considered reasonable adjustments for employers to make
The government also want to “shape the market” for aids, appliances and assistive technology, to reduce their cost and improve adoption.
“We want to create systemic change in the labour market,” says the green paper. “We want to ensure that employers create accessible and inclusive workspaces, and we recognise that more needs to be done to help employers meet their legal obligations.”
As it considers the future of Access to Work, the government wants to consider:
- the existing legal duties on reasonable adjustments in the Equality Act 2010
- the support the government currently provides to both employers and individuals
- advice and guidance available to both workers and employers
- and enforcement powers.
It said the entire system that underpins how we create workplaces that are welcoming and inclusive for disabled people needs to be a part of this process, and the role of organisations including the EHRC, Acas and the HSE.
The government is seeking views on how it can support employers, including SMEs, and ensure they know what workplace adjustments they can make; how it can directly fund employers and individuals so that Access to Work can reach as many people as possible; and how it can better define the roles of the EHRC, Acas and the HSE to achieve a “cultural shift in employer awareness” and action on workplace adjustments?
Devil in the detail
Ben Harrison, director of the Work Foundation at Lancaster University, said: “A number of the changes proposed by the secretary of state could have a positive impact on supporting more of those out of the labour market to enter work. But they risk being undermined by other measures which seek to deliver £5bn in welfare spending cuts which could hit the living standards of some of the most vulnerable people in society.
“A commitment to invest £1bn in new, more tailored employment support programmes and a new ‘right to try work’ for disabled people and those with long-term ill health could boost the number of people able to enter employment.
“But in reducing and constraining access to health-related benefits, the government risks prioritising short-term cost savings over effectively reforming the welfare system for the long haul. For example, new claimants to the health-related element of Universal Credit stand to be £40 per week worse off as a result of the changes proposed today.
“Indeed, with several cuts to health-related benefits due to be introduced ahead of new employment support becoming available, those impacted may be left without the support they need, or find themselves with little choice but to opt in to insecure and low-paid employment. This could further impact their health and wellbeing, and lead to them bouncing in and out of work, and remaining reliant on the welfare system.”
Stephen Evans, chief executive at the Learning and Work Institute, said: “Only one in ten out-of-work disabled people get help to find work, despite two in ten wanting to work. The green paper contains welcome steps to change that, including regular support conversations and a £1bn expansion of voluntary employment support.
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“But the devil is in the detail and it will take broad-based change to deliver lasting improvements to people’s lives and sustainable savings to the taxpayer. That includes joining up work, health and skills services, and working with employers to promote healthy workplaces and new ways of designing jobs. Short-term cuts often don’t deliver the hoped-for savings and do increase poverty. A more inclusive and supportive system can be a win-win-win for people, employers and taxpayers.”
The Pathways to Work consultation closes on 30 June 2025.
