A person has a disability if they have a 'physical or mental impairment and that impairment has a substantial or long-term adverse effect on the individuals' ability to carry out normal, day-to-day activities'... Even in times of awareness on issues such as gender and race equality in employment, disabled people are still under-represented in the labour market.
Contents
United Kingdom
The employment rate for disabled people of working age in the UK is 45%, whereas those without a disability it is 77%. This is in spite of The Equality Act 2010 requiring employers to make reasonable adjustments for a disabled person so they are not at a 'substantial disadvantage'. However this Act, and previous acts, has had a positive impact, for example, Sainsbury's has recruited over 2,000 disabled people within four years, Marks & Spenser's have taken on over 1,000 disabled people , and BT has provided sustainable opportunities for over 300 disabled people since 2003. Despite this positive action, statistics show that only 33% of disabled people are employed full-time, compared to 60% of non-disabled people. It is clear from these statistics that disabled people are denied parity of participation in economic terms as less than half the disabled population are employed, and even less again are employed full-time, thus there are significant obstacles in their way to participate fully in the economic sphere. Not all of the UK has adapted The Equality Act 2010, which in turn has led to inconsistency in the UK. Northern Ireland still operate under The Disability Discrimination Act 1995. While the statistics above show that there was an increase of employment of disabled people within certain companies, this Act has not been as effective as was hoped, as employers were allowed to discriminate against disabled employees, as long as it was justified within the Act. For more consistency and in an effort to promote businesses employing more disabled people Lord Freud claimed that businesses should be able to employ disabled people for below the minimum wage. Freud claims that businesses would be more willing to employ disabled people as they will not be at a loss if disabled people do not perform at the same level as non-disabled people. Freud claims that other countries have similar approaches in place and it is worth looking at the approach different countries have adapted.
Denmark
Denmark operates an inclusive labour market through a series of employability programmes aimed at integrating people with disabilities into the workplace. The flex Job scheme was introduced in 1998 to bridge the gap in employment of disabled people by allowing employers to hire those with a reduced work ability at a rate which is then subsidised by the government in order to meet the minimum wage. The Flex Job scheme along with other programmes such as the 'ice breaker' scheme and the Skaane job scheme have been seen as having a positive impact on the Danish labour market as participation by those with disabilities has increased greatly since 1998. Unlike many of its European counterparts, Denmark does not use a quota system for employing disabled people because it is viewed as placing disabled people in a special category, and instead favours an inclusive and active labour market approach. Denmark's disability employment rate is higher than the OECD average, with 52% of disabled people in employment. However, the number of people in receipt of disability pensions remains high. The number of disabled people living in poverty in Denmark is also above the OECD average at 24.8%.
France
The three leading pieces of legislation for disabled workers in France are; The French Labour Law ("Code du Travail"), the 1987 Disability Employment Act ("Loi numero 87-517 du 10 juillet 1987 en faveur de l'emploi des travailleurs handicaps") and The 2005 Disability Act ("Loi numero 2005-102 du 11 février 2005 pour l'égalité des droits et des chances, la participation et la citoyenneté des personnes handicapées"). The Employment of Disabled Workers Act 1987 outlined a quota system for the employment of disabled persons. It stipulated that any company with a workforce of more than 20 employees must ensure that at least 6% of their personnel are disabled workers. Quota objectives are achieved by a combination of sanction and incentive: employers evade paying the penalty as far as possible and are encouraged to recruit and retain people with disabilities through the prospect of financial support. Evidence suggests that many employers prefer to pay the contribution rather than consider employing a person with a disability. EU SILC data for 2009, compiled by ANED, illustrated that the employment rate for disabled people (aged 20–64) in France was 49.8%, in comparison to 72.1% for non-disabled people (51.5% for disabled men and 48.4% for disabled women)
United States
Disabled citizens in the United States receive Medicare insurance and social security benefits to varying degrees. For those that seek employment for therapeutic or economic reasons The Fair Labor Standards Act is applicable. The United States of America implemented the 'Fair Labor Standards Act 1938'. This was an attempt to facilitate the large number of disabled servicemen returning from the front lines "to the extent necessary to prevent curtailment of opportunities for employment". Section 14(c) provides the employers with a method of paying their disabled employees less than applicable federal minimum wage minimum wage. The Secretary of Labour issues certificates that align wages with the employee's productivity.
At present there are 420,000 S.14 employees being paid less than the minimum wage of $7.25 per hour. Administratively, the wage for the disabled was informally set at 75%. Those working in sheltered work centres have no minimum floor for their wage. Recently bills such as the 'Fair Wages for Workers with Disabilities Act' 2013 have been proposed in an attempt to repeal S.14(c) but are yet to receive adequate support in congress.
Creating opportunities for disabled people in the workplace
Making the workplace more inclusive for all of those who are discriminated against is part of a much wider campaign, and is not merely a matter just for legislation. In regard to disabled people in particular, 'The Disability Discrimination Act: A Guide for Managers and Employers' suggests a number of guidelines for employers to avoid discrimination. These include understanding the social dimension of disabilities, recognising the diverse nature of disabilities, avoid making assumptions, finding out disabled people needs and seeking expert help. This in turn combines fulfilling the legal aspect of avoiding discrimination and changing social attitudes.