‘Reforming Disability Confident is welcome – but without culture change it will still fall short’

I should state from the outset, that I have been a firm critic of the Disability Confident scheme. So, the Government’s recent announcement that it is overhauling it should be welcomed. The reforms acknowledge the scheme’s weaknesses that disabled people and campaigners have highlighted for years, particularly the scheme’s lack of impact on real employment outcomes – the disability employment gap has hovered around 30% for years. 

When the Disability Confident scheme launched under the previous Conservative Government in 2016, it was supposed to encourage employers to recruit and retain disabled people by providing guidance and resources to improve disability inclusion in the workplace. In theory, the scheme enables employers to progress through three levels of commitment to good practice. However, in reality, many employers joined at the lowest level (level one) and stayed there. This meant employers could celebrate their involvement with the scheme but without much actual change to show for it. 

Progression to the higher levels of practice was neither required nor meaningfully incentivised, and employers could retain their status as a Disability Confident employer without demonstrating that disabled people were actually being hired or supported in the workplace. 

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The changes announced are a good attempt to begin to address some of these problems. Employers will now be required to move on from the entry level within a set timeframe, with additional support offered to help them do so, or they will have to leave the scheme. There will also be greater involvement of disabled people in shaping standards and guidance, and more emphasis on peer learning to share good practice. Through my work as the Chair of the All-Party Parliamentary Group (APPG) on Eye Health and Disability, I’ve worked with countless disabled people and understand the value of including their voices in order to achieve stronger outcomes.

While these changes are sensible and long overdue, alone, they cannot deliver the scale of change needed.

This limitation becomes clear when viewed against the wider employment picture. The disability pay gap is around 17% with disabled workers earning approximately £3,700 – £4,300 less than non-disabled peers. The disability employment gap remains stubbornly wide, with disabled people significantly less likely to be in work than their non-disabled peers. In our 2024 report, ‘Changing Attitudes, Changing Lives’, the Eye Health APPG has highlighted that only around 42 per cent of people with a visual impairment are in employment, far below the national average for disabled people and less than half the rate for non-disabled people. These figures are not just shocking statistics – they also represent large amounts of lost income, stymied personal and professional development and a huge exclusion of talent from the labour market.  

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The report also sheds light on why schemes like Disability Confident have struggled to have sustained impact. It identifies a persistent poor culture within recruitment and employment practices themselves. Nearly half of employers surveyed did not have recruitment systems compatible with assistive technology, effectively excluding many visually impaired applicants before they even reached an interview. A quarter of employers stated they were unwilling to make workplace adjustments, despite legal obligations to do so. Perhaps most tellingly, many employers lacked even basic awareness of existing support, such as Access to Work, which can remove cost barriers.

These findings reveal a problem of mindset. Too many employers still view disability through a lens of risk, inconvenience or cost, rather than capability and contribution. This leads to incorrect assumptions about productivity that create exclusive workplaces and destroy the lives of disabled people as a result. 

Recruitment and retention processes must be designed to be accessible from the outset, rather than relying on individuals to request adjustments after barriers have already excluded them. Hiring managers and senior leaders need training that actively challenges outdated assumptions. Most importantly, disabled people themselves must be listened to and involved in shaping workplace policies.

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The Government’s reforms show that it has listened to some of the criticism levelled at the Disability Confident scheme over the years. That is very welcome. However, this alone cannot deliver the change we need. Culture change within workplaces – driven by leadership, accountability and a genuine belief in the value of disabled talent – is what will determine whether disabled people gain access to meaningful work.

The Disability Confident scheme can play a key role in that journey. The scheme’s overhaul will help employers move beyond symbolism towards measurable change, making it a worthwhile step. Yet while changes to structure and support are necessary, they are not sufficient. Coupled with these changes, we need to create a fundamental shift in employer attitudes towards disabled people, which will ensure the scheme finally delivers on its potential. 

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