Disability pay gap - TUC report

The TUC has published a report looking at the disability pay gap. The current disability pay gap for all employees stands at 15.5%. This pay gap means that disabled people effectively work for free for the last 57 days (or 8 weeks) of the year and stop getting paid today. 

The analysis also found that disabled workers earn on average £1.65 per hour less than non-disabled workers, which is a gap of around £3,000 per year based on a 35-hour week.

The disability pay gap impacts on the lives of disabled workers. 

A TUC/GQR poll found that disabled workers are more likely to resort to going without basics to get by than other workers.

• 20% of disabled workers have put off buying children’s clothes due to lack of money, compared to 12% of non-disabled workers
• 34% of disabled workers have cut back on food for themselves, compared to 18% of non-disabled workers
• 35% of disabled workers have gone without heating on a cold day, compared to 17% of non-disabled workers

Not only are disabled people paid less, they are also less likely to be in employment than their non-disabled peers. Many disabled people who want to work face barriers to accessing employment.

Only around half (51.8%) of disabled people are in work, compared to more than four-fifths (81.6%) of non-disabled people – a gap of 29.8 percentage points.