Blog outlining more detailed response is now available here wearecitizensadvice.org.uk/our-response...

And the focus is largely on preventing people from falling out of work. While this is crucial, it’s equally important to address the barriers that prevent disabled people from entering work in the first place. We have further work on this coming out in the months ahead

It continues to echo some of the DWP’s misguided rhetoric around health conditions and disability. A clear example is the line: “frustration with work, still less ‘I hate my boss’ syndrome, are not health conditions.” This framing undermines genuine experiences of health-related barriers to work

However, it feels a bit too focused on the ‘carrot’. My concern is that this might simply reward employers already doing well on disability employment, without doing much - at least in the initial stages of the plan - to shift the behaviour of those falling short

Overall, it opens up an important conversation and puts forward some interesting proposals on how to better support disabled people and those with health conditions in the workplace. It also provides a good opportunity to showcase employers who are leading the way

Many thanks to @cjayanetti.bsky.social for their write-up of this piece in the @bigissue.com tinyurl.com/2rvs3n4t

The parts of our social security system that help make work pay for disabled people aren’t living up to their potential

To learn more about how the government could better incentivise work, read the report tinyurl.com/h7s67jp2 and this blog tinyurl.com/mpp5ydpj

“Right to try,” which prevents work from triggering a PIP review or WCA reassessment, is a step forward but doesn’t go far enough

Protections should extend to routine and future assessments, and DWP should adopt a more flexible approach when assessing people’s capacity for work /8

Step 3: better protect benefits when disabled people move into work

Employment can put health and disability benefits, Carer’s Allowance, and linked support (such as free prescriptions) at risk /7

Raising the work allowance would allow disabled people to keep more of their earnings before their benefits are withdrawn, making work more rewarding /6

Step 2: increase the level of the work allowance

Currently, someone on UC sees their benefits reduced after just 7.77 hours of work at the National Living Wage if they get housing support, or 12.93 hours if they do not /5

Rather than limiting access, the government should be expanding disabled people’s access to the work allowance if it wants to encourage more people into work /4

However, planned government reforms mean that nearly 50,000 people who currently receive LCW or LCWRA but not PIP daily living, will lose both UC health support and their work allowance /3