Disabled people’s organisations (DPOs) have criticised a major government review on workplace health for excluding their input, raising concerns about ministers’ commitment to genuinely co-producing disability-related policies.
Concerns over lack of disabled people’s involvement in government review
The government recently published draft plans aimed at establishing Britain’s first workplace health system, designed to encourage more inclusive workplaces and improve health support for employees. The report, authored by Sir Charlie Mayfield – chair of the Keep Britain Working programme – describes progress towards better workplace health provision and improved data on health and inclusion.
Despite claims that Sir Charlie’s taskforce has been “building and testing” these plans with “employers, providers, places, unions and disabled people”, there is little evidence in the report of meaningful engagement with disabled people or DPOs. Key suggestions from leading DPOs — such as creating more flexible part-time roles, tackling discrimination and enforcing employment rights — have been overlooked. Notably, the report fails to mention “equality” or “discrimination” at all.
DPOs excluded from a central role
The government’s influential Access to Work (AtW) and Disability Confident schemes receive only brief mention in the report, despite ongoing criticism. Members of Parliament have highlighted AtW’s persistent issues, including lengthy delays, poor communication and inaccessible processes, while Disability Confident has been described as “lacking accountability and ‘teeth’” by Sir Charlie himself in last year’s initial review.
A Department for Work and Pensions (DWP) press release supporting the report quoted mayors, employers and the CBI business group, but made no reference to any DPOs. Although DWP stated that DPOs were among the employers involved with Keep Britain Working, their own list suggests only two DPOs were included among nearly 200 “vanguard” employers. One leading organisation revealed it had to decline involvement due to lack of government funding.
Overview of the Workplace Health System plans
The report outlines Sir Charlie’s vision for improving workplace health, such as encouraging employers to have early conversations about employee health, promptly agreeing and implementing workplace adjustments, and maintaining regular contact during health-related absences. The aim is not to “eliminate illness” or force all economically inactive people back into work, but to better support people to “be better in work” and reduce avoidable work loss.
Sir Charlie stated: “We’ve had a National Health Service for almost 80 years. We’ve never had a Workplace Health System.” He emphasised the need for a system that connects welfare, NHS services and productivity data to improve support for disabled and ill workers.
DPOs call for genuine co-production and concrete action
However, leading DPOs argue the review has kept disabled people “firmly on the outside” and lacks detailed measures to support disabled workers.
Svetlana Kotova, director of campaigns and justice at Inclusion London, said: “While there are many positive aspects to the report, we are disappointed to see that it contains few concrete measures for how employers can support disabled people to stay in work.” She added that DPOs had called for more flexible roles, tackling discrimination and enforcing existing rights, and urged genuine co-production in future policy development.
Alex Pearl, policy and campaigns officer for Disability Rights UK, criticised the government for not providing funding to enable DPOs to participate fully as vanguard employers. She said: “DPOs are firmly on the outside of the Mayfield review; we’ve been invited to two update meetings over the past year.” Pearl stressed that only disabled people truly understand what helps them remain in employment and noted the report lacks concrete actions to support those acquiring impairments or health conditions.
Caroline Collier, chief executive of the Campaign for Disability Justice, welcomed constructive support for retaining work but highlighted two concerns: limited engagement with disabled people restricting effectiveness, and a focus on job retention rather than the greater challenge of accessible employment access for disabled people.
Government response and ongoing engagement
The DWP maintained that disabled people’s views have been regularly gathered through advisory groups such as the Independent Disability Advisory Panel and the Disability and Access Ambassadors programme. A spokesperson said: “Disability inclusion is a priority for the Keep Britain Working programme as it tests and builds the Workplace Health and Support System.”
Despite these assurances, the experience of DPOs suggests a significant gap remains between government rhetoric and the meaningful involvement required to co-produce policies that truly address the needs and rights of disabled workers.
Original source: Read the original article.