When compiling the report, ONS defined disability as a physical or mental health condition or illness, which has or is expected to last at least 12 months and reduces ability to carry out day-to-day activities.
The report, relating to 2023, outlined that the disability pay gap in the UK was 12.7% that year. Disabled employees were estimated to have earned roughly £13.69 per hour while other employees were likely to have earned a median of £15.69 per hour. The gap – the difference between the median gross hourly earnings of Disabled employees and non-Disabled employees – has “remained broadly stable” since 2014 according to the ONS, but this means that Disabled workers in 2024 are still likely to earn on average two pounds less an hour than their colleagues.
The release of these statistics comes within 3 months of the Kings speech, which announced that UK companies with 250-plus employees would have to report ethnicity and disability pay gaps under Labour plans. The King also announced a draft bill that would extend full equal pay rights to ethnic minority and Disabled workers.
These commitments from the new Government sit alongside other manifesto targets such as plans to support more Disabled people and those with health conditions into work and a review of the Work Capability Assessment, which according to labour is “Not working and needs to be reformed or replaced, alongside a proper plan to support disabled people to work.”
Speaking about the findings of the ONS report, Harriet Edwards, head of policy at Sense, said: “It’s infuriating that disabled people still earn significantly less than non-disabled people. This is fundamentally unfair, and the persistent gap has got no better over the past decade.”
TUC General Secretary Paul Nowak said:“We all deserve to be paid fairly for the work we do. But disabled people continue to be discriminated against and valued less in our jobs market.
“It’s a shameful indictment that over the last decade the pay gap has remained so stubbornly high. The Tories’ failure to even start to close this gap is what brought us here today.
“We welcome this government’s landmark commitment to introduce mandatory disability pay gap reporting, which will shine a light on inequality at work. We also need solid plans that outline what employers must do.
"The Employment Rights Bill could be a game changer for disabled workers, helping millions of Disabled workers move on from years of lower pay, zero-hours contracts and in-work poverty.”
Dan White, policy and campaigns officer at DR UK said: “When Labour came to power in July, they committed to full and equal pay for Disabled people. Whilst this report focuses on the pay gap in 2023, it shows that unfair pay conditions for Disabled employees persist.”
“For years successive Governments have been on a drive to push more Disabled people into work without any consideration of the challenges Disabled people face in the labour market. This report shows that discrimination at work is a major issue and mustn’t be ignored.
“The responsibility to make change doesn’t only lie with government, employers must take active measures to tackle the unfairness of the disability pay gap.”