The TUC wrote to the government on 7 November 2022 calling for urgent action to be taken to tackle the disability pay gap. TUC figures show that the disability pay gap has increased to 17.2% (from 16.5% in 2021) and is larger for disabled women who earn 35% less on average than non-disabled men.
The TUC has recommended that the government legislate to introduce mandatory disability pay gap reporting for employer with more than 50 employees. It also proposes an accompanying duty on employers to produce action plans identifying steps that will be taken to address such gaps. It has also called for more funding to be given to the EHRC to enforce disabled workers' rights to reasonable adjustments. In addition the TUC wants the EHRC to update their statutory code of practice to include more examples of adjustments, the legal framework for reasonable adjustments to be strengthened and a "day one" right to flexible working to be introduced for all.
A consultation was launched back in December last year on disability workforce reporting. It aimed to explore disability workforce reporting for large employers with 250 or more employees and acknowledged that evidence around the use of the existing voluntary reporting framework was limited. The voluntary reporting framework provides support to employers to voluntarily report information on disability, mental health and wellbeing in the workplace.
The consultation covered how workforce reporting might be stepped up, including both voluntary and mandatory reporting practices. In terms of potential mandatory reporting, the focus of the consultation was on the publication of the proportion of employees in a workforce who identify as disabled and whether a standardised approach to collecting disability workforce data should be adopted. It also looked at whether there are alternative approaches that could also be taken to enhance transparency and increase inclusive practices.
The consultation closed on 25 March 2022 and a response was due to be published by 17 June 2022. No response has been published to date.
