People who are disabled or have a health condition are far less likely to be in work than non-disabled people in good health.
Across England and Wales, just 49% of those who are disabled or have a health condition are in work. For everyone else this figure is 80% . This is a problem that has persisted over the last decade despite recent increases in the overall employment rate.
At Citizens Advice Reigate & Banstead we’re strongly aware of this problem among our clients.
Recently, the government outlined an aim to halve this gap by 2020. This ambition is welcome and timely. As the population ages and people work for longer, many more people will need to balance the demands of work and managing a health condition.
Citizens Advice has launched a new programme of research seeking to understand what needs to change to narrow the gap. It looks at age and geographical data. Read the full national story.