An article examined the coalition government's efforts to assist disabled people off benefits and into paid employment, focusing on the migration of Incapacity benefit claimants on to employment and support allowance. The reform agenda individualized the problem of disability, placing too much emphasis on disabled people's employability while neglecting broader societal barriers to their full and equal labour market participation. Given these shortcomings, it seemed unlikely that the coalition's approach would help disabled people to make the transition from welfare to work.
Source: Ruth Patrick, 'All in it together? Disabled people, the coalition and welfare to work', Journal of Poverty and Social Justice, Volume 20 Number 3
Links: Abstract
Date: 2012-Nov
The third independent review report was published on the operation of the work capability assessment. It said that the assessment continued to be portrayed in an extremely negative light, often fuelled by adverse media coverage, representative groups, and 'political points scoring'. But although there were reports of individual cases where people had been poorly treated by the process, the government could be 'reasonably pleased' with what it had achieved. A further period of radical reform to the process was not needed, but some areas for improvement remained.
Source: Malcolm Harrington, An Independent Review of the Work Capability Assessment – Year Three, Department for Work and Pensions
Links: Report | Government response | Hansard | DWP press release | Citizens Advice press release | Labour Party press release | Mind press release | Rethink press release | RNIB press release | Scope press release | TUC press release
Date: 2012-Nov
A survey examined disabled people's experiences of the work capability assessment. Almost 70 per cent were not aware that they could ask for a recording of the assessment. 74 per cent said that it was difficult for them to travel to the assessment centre. Almost half (47.5 per cent) were not aware that they could ask for a home assessment. 64 per cent of those that said their doctors were told not to provide written support said this was because of pressure by the Department for Work and Pensions.
Source: What s Your Experience of the Atos/Work Capability Assessment (WCA)? Survey Responses, Disabled People against Cuts (with Black Triangle/Social Welfare Union)
Links: Report | DPAC press release
Date: 2012-Nov
A campaign group report examined the operation of the work capability assessment. It set out the experiences of more than 70 claimants who had been wrongly assessed, humiliated, badly treated, and forced to go to tribunal to secure the benefits to which they were legally entitled.
Source: The People's Review of the Work Capability Assessment, We Are Spartacus
Links: Report | Ekklesia report | Guardian report
Date: 2012-Nov
An article examined policies in liberal welfare states that encouraged people receiving disability benefits to participate in the labour market, using examples from the United States, the United Kingdom, and Australia. Active labour market programmes were analyzed in the context of international disability rights and neoliberal discourse. The article explored the extent to which new approaches to activation policies were facilitating parity of participation, and factors that influenced the effectiveness of the policies.
Source: Sarah Parker Harris, Randall Owen, and Robert Gould, 'Parity of participation in liberal welfare states: human rights, neoliberalism, disability and employment', Disability & Society, Volume 27 Number 6
Links: Abstract
Date: 2012-Oct
An article examined the role of National Health Service professionals within the Pathways to Work initiative (2003–2011) for incapacity benefits claimants. NHS staff had played a key boundary-spanning role in facilitating partnerships, based on an ability to engage with the values/practices of other partner organizations (especially Jobcentre Plus) and a willingness to challenge established professional boundaries and ways of working. More recent policy initiatives had abandoned the partnership approach in favour of more familiar models of contracting out, and NHS professionals had been excluded from the delivery of health/employability services: this might negatively affect the quality and range of health-related services available to people on incapacity benefits.
Source: Colin Lindsay and Matthew Dutton, 'Promoting healthy routes back to work? Boundary spanning health professionals and employability programmes in Great Britain', Social Policy and Administration, Volume 46 Number 5
Links: Abstract
Date: 2012-Sep
A survey found that more than 8 out of 10 family doctors said that they had patients who had developed mental health problems due to the work capability assessment (used to determine eligibility for employment and support allowance). More than 1 in 5 (21 per cent) had patients who had had suicidal thoughts as a result of undergoing, or fear of undergoing, the assessment.
Source: Press release 4 September 2012, Rethink Mental Illness
Links: Link removed
Date: 2012-Sep
The National Audit Office was reported to have found 'weaknesses' in the contract between the government and Atos, the private firm paid to carry out fit-to-work medical assessments. It said that the Department for Work and Pensions had failed to penalize Atos for 'underperformance', and had not set 'sufficiently challenging' targets.
Source: BBC report, 17 August 2012
Links: BBC report | Guardian report | Public Finance report
Date: 2012-Aug
An article examined the United Kingdom-wide literature on barriers to work for disabled people. Four main barriers to work among incapacity benefits claimants could be identified: employment practices, employability, health, and policy failure. Qualitative research data from four of the Pathways to Work areas was used to show how these themes applied in Wales. The author indicated ways in which the Welsh Government could provide support in order to reduce the impact of the barriers concerned.
Source: Aimee Grant, 'Barriers to work for incapacity benefit claimants in Wales', Contemporary Wales, Volume 25 Number 1
Links: Abstract
Date: 2012-Aug
An article presented findings from research with service users of 'Pathways to Work' (an employment programme for people on disability benefits which ended in 2011). Greater recognition was needed of the heterogeneity and diverse levels of need among disability benefits claimants, and the limited effectiveness of incentives and sanctions. Government policy on conditionality obscured messages about the availability of personalized support.
Source: Katharine Weston, 'Debating conditionality for disability benefits recipients and welfare reform: research evidence from Pathways to Work', Local Economy, Volume 27 Number 5-6
Links: Abstract
Date: 2012-Jul
An article examined wage discrimination against disabled persons in 11 European countries from the European Community Household Panel (1995-2001). It estimated wage equations for persons with disabilities hampering them in daily activities, for those not hampered, and for non-disabled people. Most countries showed no relevant wage differential against disabled workers not so hampered, compared with non-disabled workers. Where it existed, it related mainly to low-productivity characteristics, not wage discrimination. However, compared with non-disabled workers, disabled workers hampered in daily activities suffered from low-productivity characteristics and wage discrimination.
Source: Miguel Malo and Ricardo Pagan, 'Wage differentials and disability across Europe: discrimination and/or lower productivity?', International Labour Review, Volume 151 Issues 1-2
Links: Abstract
Date: 2012-May
The equality and human rights watchdog said that disabled people continued to be put at a disadvantage in the workplace – even though closing the employment gap between disabled workers and non-disabled workers could increase the performance of staff across the board.
Source: Working Better: The perfect partnership – Workplace solutions for disabled people and business, Equality and Human Rights Commission
Links: Report | EHRC press release
Date: 2012-May
Researchers examined the experiences and outcomes of the 'fit note', from the perspectives of employers and employees. The evidence suggested that the fit note was likely to have reduced sickness absence by improving employers' management of sickness absence and facilitating earlier returns to work.
Source: Mumtaz Lalani, Pamela Meadows, Hilary Metcalf, and Heather Rolfe, Evaluation of the Statement of Fitness for Work: Qualitative research with employers and employees, Research Report 797, Department for Work and Pensions
Notes: The statement of fitness for work ('fit note') was introduced on 6 April 2010, replacing the previous medical statement (the 'sick note').
Date: 2012-Apr
A paper examined the fact that European countries with high senior employment rates had the highest levels of job satisfaction despite an older and more physically limited workforce. This paradox could be explained by heterogeneous levels of job quality: better working conditions might enable older workers with disabilities to remain satisfied and employed. Improved job quality was a major factor in successful active ageing strategies.
Source: Catherine Pollak, Employed and Happy Despite Weak Health? Labour market participation and job quality of older workers with disabilities, Working paper 45, Institut de Recherche et Documentation en Economie de la Sante (Paris)
Links: Paper
Date: 2012-Mar
The coalition government published its response to an independent review of disability employment support. It accepted the recommendations in the report and said that funding should focus on helping individuals, rather than supporting factory businesses. Remploy – which provided work for people with disabilities – would close 36 of its 54 factories by the end of 2012.
Source: Disability Employment Support: Fulfilling Potential – Government s response to the consultation on the recommendations in Liz Sayce s independent review 'Getting In, Staying In and Getting On', Cm 8312, Department for Work and Pensions, TSO
Links: Response | Summary | Hansard | DWP press release | Disability Rights UK press release | Labour Party press release | Scope press release | TUC press release | Unite press release | BBC report | Guardian report
Notes: Sayce report (June 2011)
Date: 2012-Mar
An article compared activation policies for claimants of disability and long-term sickness benefits in the United Kingdom and Denmark. The concept of an inclusive labour market strategy was crucial to assisting these groups into work. In Denmark both the role of the social partners and subsidized employment were significant. In the UK governance had been constrained, and insufficient attention had been paid to income security.
Source: David Etherington and Jo Ingold, 'Welfare to work and the inclusive labour market: a comparative study of activation policies for disability and long-term sickness benefit claimants in the UK and Denmark', Journal of European Social Policy, Volume 22 Number 1
Links: Abstract
Date: 2012-Feb
A report presented the findings from the first year of the 'Fit for Work Service' pilots, designed to test different approaches to supporting people in the early stages of sickness absence working in small and medium-sized enterprises to get back to work as quickly as possible. Respondents to the client survey were generally positive about their overall experience of the service.
Source: Jim Hillage (with others), Evaluation of the Fit for Work Service Pilots: First Year Report, Research Report 792, Department for Work and Pensions
Date: 2012-Feb
A research note analyzed the socio-economic situation of working-age people with disabilities using European Union level data. It looked at the way disability varied between men and women, age groups, and levels of educational attainment. It also examined how employment and the risk of poverty and material deprivation differed between people with and without disabilities. It reviewed the literature on disability policy initiatives, and also discussed methodological issues.
Source: Asghar Zaidi, The Situation of Working-Age People with Disabilities Across the EU, Research Note 5/2011, Social Situation Observatory (European Commission)
Links: Research note
Date: 2012-Feb
An article examined the factors influencing work-related sickness absence, based on case data reported by family doctors between 2006 and 2009. 53 per cent of cases involved musculo-skeletal diagnoses, and 31 per cent involved mental ill-health diagnoses. 81 per cent of mental ill-health cases were reported to result in sickness absence, compared with 50 per cent of musculo-skeletal cases. Public sector employees incurred sickness absence more frequently than those from the private sector. Within employment groups, levels of sickness absence were inversely proportional to the level of self-employment.
Source: Louise Hussey, Susan Turner, Kevan Thorley, Roseanne McNamee, and Raymond Agius, 'Work-related sickness absence as reported by UK general practitioners', Occupational Medicine, Volume 62 Issue 2
Links: Abstract
Date: 2012-Feb