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Brendan is the founding Chair of Sustainability for Housing. He has more than 20 years’ experience as a CEO in the social housing sector,...more
People with disabilities are being let down and deserve better employment opportunities
For people with disabilities, the chances to thrive in the workplace seem to be getting worse. Brendan Sarsfield urges action from across the board
Every six months we publish the Peabody Index, to ensure social housing tenants’ experiences are heard in public policy.
The index contains three main elements which tell us whether their circumstances are improving or getting worse.
First, we work with the Social Market Foundation, which provides an analysis of the macro-economic situation, such as income and employment trends.
This perspective is supplemented with a survey of 1,000 Peabody tenants, helping us to better understand their experiences. Finally, as well as tracking changes in incomes and employment over time, each report focuses on a different issue.
In our third report we focused on the London labour market experiences of tenants who are living with a disability.
This revealed some disturbing findings that surprised me and others. We knew that there were inequalities, but not this bad.
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London is often presented as a city of opportunity yet, for many, the stark reality tells quite a different story.
Despite steady employment levels, work still isn’t paying for many social tenants in the capital and the situation is even harder for jobseekers living with a disability.
They face substantial gaps in pay and employment compared with those living without a disability in London and elsewhere in the UK.
Our data suggests that tenants with a disability face considerable challenges getting into the kind of work they want and need. They are twice as likely to be unemployed and say they face barriers to employment. Several have recounted stories of discrimination and inflexibility by their employers.
“Despite steady employment levels, work still isn’t paying for many social tenants in the capital and the situation is even harder for job seekers living with a disability”
The government wants people to get out there and find a job but it is not that easy.
Twenty-three-year-old Blessing Odukoya lives in Hackney with her parents.
Our employment and training team has been supporting her in trying to overcome the huge barriers she faces as a result of her disability.
Ms Odukoya has cerebral palsy and has applied for many jobs this year. She says she has had job offers withdrawn because of her physical mobility challenges.
The stress of finding a quality job has also negatively affected her mental health and has hit her confidence. Her story really highlights the struggles that people with disability face in trying to find work.
There is also a troubling situation for the people who are in work. They tend to be paid less, are in more insecure forms of work and have fewer opportunities to progress compared with those without a disability.
A staggering 89% living with a disability have not received a promotion in the past five years. Worryingly, these trends seem to have got worse in the past 10 years.
It’s clear to me that many of those living with a disability in London are being prevented from accessing the kind of work that gives them enough to achieve a decent standard of living.
“A staggering 89% living with a disability have not received a promotion in the past five years. Worryingly, these trends seem to have got worse in the past 10 years”
At Peabody, we are a disability-confident employer. Through our employment and training services, we work with local partners to help Londoners living with a disability into work. However, there is more for us to do.
This report is a wake-up call to Peabody as much as anyone else.
At the report’s launch, Gareth Parry, chief executive of specialist employment provider Remploy, said that most employers are keen to help but don’t know how to, or they underestimate the challenges facing disabled applicants.
We need more targeted and extensive efforts by employers and policymakers to ensure that people with disabilities can access better employment opportunities and thrive in the workplace.
The call to action here is for all of us: policymakers, local authorities, housing providers, community organisations and businesses. We can and must do better.
Brendan Sarsfield, chief executive, Peabody
