A cross-departmental taskforce made recommendations aimed at reducing public sector sickness absence.
Source: Managing Sickness Absence in the Public Sector, Health and Safety Executive, HSE Books (01787 881165), Cabinet Office and Department for Work and Pensions | House of Commons Hansard, Written Ministerial Statement 8 December 2004, columns 100WS, TSO (0870 600 5522)
Links: Report (pdf) | Hansard | DWP press release | TUC press release
Date: 2004-Dec
A report reviewed evidence on the employment of disabled people in the public sector. It said that disabled people were less likely than non-disabled people to work in the public sector: between 1998 and 2003, around 11 per cent of working age disabled people had public sector jobs, compared with 18 per cent of non-disabled people.
Source: Michael Hirst, Patricia Thornton, Melissa Dearey and Sue Maynard Campbell, The Employment of Disabled People in the Public Sector: A review of data and literature, Disability Rights Commission (08457 622633)
Links: Report (Word file) | Summary (Word file)
Date: 2004-Dec
Researchers surveyed the characteristics of participants in the New Deal for Disabled People.
Source: Laura Adelman et al., New Deal for Disabled People: Survey of Registrants Report of cohort 1 waves 1 and 2, W213, Department for Work and Pensions (0114 209 8299)
Links: Report (pdf) | Summary (pdf)
Date: 2004-Dec
A research report provided findings on how employers in the Job Retention and Rehabilitation Pilot areas managed sickness absence. Almost all employers interviewed allowed employees to return to work on reduced hours to ease their return, gradually building up the number of hours worked over time.
Source: Katharine Nice and Patricia Thornton, Job Retention and Rehabilitation Pilot: Employers management of long-term sickness absence, Research Report 227, Department for Work and Pensions (0113 399 4040)
Links: Report (pdf) | Summary (pdf) | DWP press release
Date: 2004-Dec
A study summarized the evidence on the costs and benefits of return-to-work and rehabilitation schemes, drawing both on overseas research and on a sample of new United Kingdom case studies. It concluded that such schemes might significantly reduce or contain the liability costs of employers. But this would only be achieved if an effective combination of employer-led return-to-work practices were implemented along with more clinically oriented healthcare and vocational rehabilitation.
Source: Michael Wright, David Turner, Ali Antonelli, Mark Bendig and Sara Marsden, Cost and Benefits of Return to Work and Vocational Rehabilitation in the UK, Association of British Insurers (020 7600 3333)
Links: Report (pdf)
Date: 2004-Nov
A report presented the findings of research designed to establish awareness of, and attitudes towards, vocational rehabilitation. It also considered vocational rehabilitation approaches among key stakeholders in the private and voluntary sectors. There was widespread recognition that the term vocational rehabilitation was not readily understood by most people.
Source: Andrew Irving, Dorothy Chang and Ian Sparham, Developing a Framework for Vocational Rehabilitation: Qualitative Research, Research Report 224, Department for Work and Pensions (0113 399 4040)
Links: Report (pdf links) | Summary (pdf) | DWP press release
Date: 2004-Oct
The government said that early results from incapacity benefits pilots ('Pathways to Work') showed an increased rate of movement off benefit into work, training, or rehabilitation schemes.
Source: Press release 11 October 2004, Department for Work and Pensions (020 7712 2171)
Links: DWP press release | Guardian report
Date: 2004-Oct
The government launched a new framework to help people who became ill to stay in their jobs and prevent them leaving the workforce prematurely.
Source: Building Capacity for Work: A UK framework for vocational rehabilitation, Department for Work and Pensions (020 7962 8176)
Links: Framework (pdf) | DWP press release | TUC press release
Date: 2004-Oct
Charities contracted to deliver the New Deal for Disabled People reportedly accused the government of putting a cap on the scheme, because they had been too successful and were in danger of spending the funds allocated to them 15 months early.
Source: The Guardian, 27 October 2004
Links: Guardian report
Date: 2004-Oct
A trade union report warned the government not to believe the 'myth' that there were easy savings to be made by cracking down on invalidity benefit claimants. The vast majority of the 1.5 million who received invalidity benefit were either too ill to work without suffering real pain and fatigue, or wanted to work but could not find a job - often due to employer prejudice.
Source: Defending Incapacity Benefit, Trades Union Congress (020 7467 1294)
Links: Report (pdf) | TUC press release
Date: 2004-Oct
A report explored levels of awareness of the Disability Discrimination Act on the part of qualifications bodies, and their perceptions of how the provisions would affect their existing practices.
Source: Jennifer Hurstfield, Jane Aston, Hannah Mitchell and Helen Ritchie, Qualifications Bodies and the Disability Discrimination Act, Report 417, Institute for Employment Studies, available from BBCS (01482 224626)
Links: Summary
Date: 2004-Sep
A report provided a descriptive analysis of job brokers delivering the New Deal for Disabled People. Nearly half (49 per cent) of the brokers were from the voluntary sector, a quarter (24 per cent) from the public sector, and a fifth (21 per cent) from the private sector. Typically, they delivered NDDP services to 2-5 local authority areas. Over a half (53 per cent) were registered charities.
Source: Siobhan McDonald, Abigail Davis and Bruce Stafford, New Deal for Disabled People: Report of the Survey of Job Brokers, W197, Department for Work and Pensions (0114 209 8274)
Links: Report (pdf) | Summary (pdf)
Date: 2004-Aug
A report synthesized the findings from early research with participants, employers and those charged with delivering, the New Deal for Disabled People programme. Over half of the eligible population had heard of NDDP and/or a job broker operating in their local area. Participants tended to have positive views about the service they had received from brokers; advisers were seen to be well informed about work related issues. Of those people registering with NDDP up to November 2003, 32 per cent had gained paid work; and of these participants 39 per cent had achieved sustained employment.
Source: Bruce Stafford, New Deal for Disabled People (NDDP): First Synthesis Report, W199, Department for Work and Pensions (0114 209 8274)
Links: Summary (pdf)
Date: 2004-Aug
Researchers tested alternative non-experimental evaluation methods that might be used to evaluate the impact of the New Deal for Disabled People against an experimental benchmark. They said that the challenge of interpreting that evidence for NDDP remained 'formidable'.
Source: Larry Orr, Stephen Bell and Robert Kornfeld, Tests of Nonexperimental Methods for Evaluating the Impact of the New Deal for Disabled People (NDDP), W198, Department for Work and Pensions (0114 209 8274)
Links: Report (pdf)
Date: 2004-Aug
The law Lords ruled that there was a duty on employers to make reasonable adjustments for disabled people if they became unable to carry out the job they were in due to their disability. This duty included considering whether it was reasonable to transfer the disabled person to another vacant post, even if that post was at a higher grade.
Source: Archibald (Appellant) v. Fife Council (Respondents) (Scotland), UKHL 32 (Session 2003-04), House of Lords Judicial Office (020 7219 3111)
Links: Text of judgement | DRC press release
Date: 2004-Jul
A report said the careers of doctors were being blocked because of discrimination based on disability, ethnicity, sexuality, and gender. Discrimination was widespread throughout the National Health Service, and not enough was being done to tackle it.
Source: Career Barriers in Medicine: Doctors experiences, British Medical Association (020 7383 6164)
Links: Report (pdf) | BMA press release | Guardian report
Date: 2004-Jun
A report said that 92 per cent of employers were found to believe that it would be 'difficult or impossible' to employ someone with a sight problem - thereby risking unlawful discrimination against blind and partially sighted jobseekers.
Source: Mark Baker and Philippa Simkiss, Beyond the Stereotypes: Blind and partially sighted people and work, Royal National Institute of the Blind (020 7388 1266) and Action for Blind People
Links: Report (Word file)
Date: 2004-Jun
The government began consultation on the scope of vocational rehabilitation programmes, designed to help people overcome health or disability-related barriers they might face in returning to work.
Source: Developing a Framework for Vocational Rehabilitation: Discussion paper, Department for Work and Pensions (020 7962 8176)
Links: Consultation document (pdf) | DWP press release
Date: 2004-May
The government announced the beginning of pilot projects, from 6 April 2004, designed to induce people on incapacity benefits into employment through a return-to-work credit of 40 a week lasting for a year.
Source: House of Commons Hansard, Written Ministerial Statement 1 April 2004, columns 105-106WS, TSO (0870 600 5522)
Links: Hansard | Guardian report
Date: 2004-Apr
A report explored businesses awareness of, and responses to, the Disability Discrimination Act (DDA) and changes to the legislation planned for October 2004. Most workplaces that had employed a disabled person (83 per cent), and most businesses which provide a service to the public (74 per cent), had made or planned to make adjustments to assist disabled people. But evidence of a lack of understanding of the diverse nature of disability was found, shown by the fact that adjustments for customers tended to be changes to physical accessibility, rather than to communication, staff training, or the way services were provided.
Source: Simon Roberts et al., Disability and Business: Employers and service providers responses to the DDA in 2003 and preparation for 2004 changes, Research Report 202, Department for Work and Pensions (0113 399 4040)
Links: Report (pdf links) | Summary (pdf) | DWP press release
Date: 2004-Jan