Report Shows Double Discrimination Faced By Older Disabled Workers

The research found that older Disabled workers are almost twice as likely to experience negative treatment when applying for jobs or promotions than their non-disabled peers. It also found that more than two in five Disabled people aged between 50 and 66 years old felt they had experienced negative treatment when applying for jobs or promotions in the past five years, compared to one in four non-Disabled people of the same age. Three in four thought having disability or a health condition put applicants at a disadvantage. 

Workplace experiences shared by research participants told of the barriers older Disabled workers face which include:  

• Being forced into retirement because employers were not open to reasonable adjustments to their roles 
• Being rejected in interviews and job applications because of their long-term health conditions 
• Workplace cultures that viewed requests for reasonable adjustments with suspicion and hostility 
• Feeling obliged to step back into more junior roles with lower pay due to the limitations imposed by their health condition, resulting in a reduced sense of worth 
• Staying in existing job roles because of uncertainty around whether a new role would make the same accommodations they currently experience. 

The report concludes with a raft of recommendations for both government and employers which include: 

• Employers should be supported and encouraged to consider the active involvement of older Disabled workers in shaping and co-producing workplace policies and practices. 
• Employers should be supported and encouraged to consider ensuring older Disabled people feel confident in communicating their workplace needs, for instance by promoting the use of ‘adjustment passports’. 
• Government needs to reform Jobcentre Plus and the National Careers Service, with a focus on culture, including specialist disability and age inclusive training.   
• Government should commission further research on how to best reduce the burden on ‘sandwich generations’, for instance through reforms to childcare and social care.  

Rebecca Lines, Project and Change Manager for Work at the Centre for Ageing Better, said: “The UK labour market is failing Disabled older people. Among 50-64-year-olds, the employment gap rate between Disabled and non-Disabled people is more than 30 percentage points. Our new research highlights how age and disability discrimination often overlap, creating deeper disadvantages for these workers and making it harder to stay in jobs or find new opportunities.” 

Dan White, Policy and Campaigns Officer at DR UK and Policy Lead on Employment said: “There is much talk from Government about a drive to get Disabled people into work and still the issues around accomplishing that remain.” 

“This report adds even more evidence to the fact that employment support for Disabled people is not only broken and  underfunded but also age discriminatory.” 

“The intersection of age and disability can create barriers which keep people with so much to offer out of the workplace. Participants spoke about how hard it is to access the reasonable adjustments, while others spoke of concerns about stigma, being perceived as less capable, or becoming defined by their disability in professional settings.” 

“Government and employers need to understand that support for Disabled people wanting to work must cover all age ranges and that, and I cannot repeat this enough, that only by co-designing with Disabled people, will we be able to make a positive difference - and in a way that benefits everyone who can and wants to work, anyone of any age.” 

Read the full report here.