It may be useful to consider the following:
About 20% of the UK population have a disability. This equates to approximately 12 million people. In addition, they are estimated to have an annual spending power of £50 billion. Disabled people do not just represent an untapped pool of potential employment talent, they also represent a large percentage of the UK’s customer base.
In terms of potential recruits, the Disability Rights Commission Briefing of June 2005 – based on information provided by the Government’s Labour Force Survey 2004 indicates that:
- There are 6.8 million disabled people of working age in the UK – this equates to one fifth of the total working age population. 52% are male and 48% female.
- Disability rates increase with age . 9% of 16 – 24 year olds are disabled. For the 50 to retirement age group, this rises to 40%.
- The unemployment rate for disabled people is nearly twice that of non disabled people, 7% compared with 4%.
- Employment rates vary considerably according to the type of disability . People with mental health problems are the least likely to be in employment and those with unseen disabilities are the most likely.
Some additional facts:
- Disability is often associated with wheelchairs, but only 5% of disabled people use wheelchairs.
- Only 3% of people who are registered blind will have no sight at all.
- Disabled people have no more likelihood of being generally ill than their non-disabled colleagues. In fact, they are likely to take less time off sick.
- Adaptations, if required, can be easy and cheap. In 44% of cases it costs less than £50 to make the required reasonable adjustments.
