Disabled people already face countless barriers when trying to access employment — and recent government proposals threaten to make getting and staying in work even harder. Most of us want to work, not just for the improved financial independence that comes with having a job, but also for the sense of purpose, routine and achievement.

But not all Disabled people are able to work in an inaccessible labour market — especially not full-time. Some of us have complex health needs, fluctuating conditions, or sensory processing challenges that make regular, unadapted, employment unmanageable.

These latest cuts ignore that reality while penalising us economically for circumstances that are beyond our control. Our conditions/impairments are not of our own making and neither are the barriers preventing us from participating in the labour market – like inaccessible transport systems or employers who won’t make adjustments.

Cuts to Universal credit and PIP will hurt not help

The Government has said these welfare reforms are designed to incentivize people to get into work and “unlock growth” but one of its main targets is Personal Independence Payments (PIP), a benefit people can receive regardless of whether they are in work or not.

PIP helps Disabled people cope with the extra costs associated with having an impairment/condition and the Government plans to change how applicants are assessed for its daily living component — with the clear intention of reducing the number of people who qualify. One source has revealed that 90% of those receiving the standard rate payments for daily living awards will lose that component of their PIP.

Losing support to carry out tasks like preparing food, managing medication, bathing, using the toilet, communicating, and making decisions about money will make it harder and not easier for people to be in a fit state to work.

At the same time, they’re planning to freeze Universal Credit, which is vital for people on low incomes — especially Disabled people who may only be able to work part-time, or in specific, less conventional ways. These benefits aren’t luxuries — they’re essential for covering basic needs like heating, food, and transport.

Removing them and introducing the threat of conditionality will fundamentally undermine the sort of genuine engagement with employment support that leads to people overcoming barriers and returning to work.

Meanwhile evidence suggests that people stripped of support and plunged into poverty by these reforms will turn to other services as their health and wellbeing deteriorate, costing councils and the NHS more than is being saved through the cuts.

On the supposedly positive side, Labour has said it will invest £1 billion in support services to help Disabled people find employment, promising improvements like the “Right to Try” scheme — which will let Disabled people try out jobs without risking their benefits. They’ve also said that people who can’t work (at all) because of their illness/disability won’t face reassessment.

The reforms will lead to ‘tens of thousands’ of Disabled people finding work, while 3.8 million will lose social security payments

On paper, that sounds promising — but there is no evidence that this will result in significant numbers of Disabled people being employed and it doesn’t address the deeper, structural, supply-side issues that keep so many of us locked out of the workforce.

The Institute of Fiscal Studies estimates that the £1 billion investment announced in the Green Paper is only likely to lead to ‘tens of thousands’ of Disabled people finding work, while 3.8 million will lose social security payments because of the Green Paper’s proposals, at least 350,000 of whom will be pushed into poverty as a result.

The Government’s planned benefits cuts are opposed by all Disabled People’s Organisations (DPOs) like CDA and the well-known national charities who work with Disabled people, including Scope, Mind, MS Society and Citizens Advice.

We argue life is hard enough for Disabled people and that these changes will hinder and not support their attempts to find work. We also argue that other alternatives exist such as ensuring everyone pays their taxes- thereby raising more revenue for the government (so these cuts won’t be necessary).

I want to work but the system won’t let me

 As I’ve written before, one of the biggest barriers to employment for Disabled people is the inflexibility of the recruitment process. Many entry-level jobs still require previous experience, which creates a barrier for Disabled people as many of us have gaps in our CVs due to our health conditions or lack of access to earlier opportunities.

And workplaces are still often physically or socially inaccessible — especially for Autistic people like me, who might struggle with bright lighting, noisy environments, or unpredictable social interactions.

 

Even when we do get to the interview stage, the process itself is stacked against us.

Traditional interviews rarely give a fair chance to Disabled applicants. We may communicate differently or take longer to process and respond to questions — but that doesn’t mean we can’t do the job well. Alternative approaches like work trials would let us demonstrate our skills in real contexts, but most employers still refuse to offer them.

The government says it wants to “get more people into work” — but unless employers are held accountable for making recruitment fair and accessible, nothing will change.

 An autistic perspective on the Harm of Government cuts

 Speaking personally, I’m very concerned about what these cuts will mean for me. My autism means I would struggle doing a full-time job. Having never worked for a mainstream employer before, I would find it difficult to work in an office environment, meet important deadlines or navigate relationships with colleagues – especially if the employers failed, as most do, to make adjustments to accommodate for my condition. This would apply even if I was allowed to work from home some of the time.

Whereas working part-time takes the pressure off and reduces my anxiety, therefore enabling me to do a good job for my employer. However, although I would be paid for part-time work, I would still rely on PIP and Universal Credit to pay essential costs like bills and rent.

If my PIP award or Universal Credit payment was frozen or reduced, I would be very stressed about whether I would have enough money to pay for such necessities.

These reforms are being sold as cost-saving measures, but they ignore the long-term consequences. Instead of supporting Disabled people to find meaningful, sustainable employment, the government is setting us up to fail — financially, socially, and emotionally.

If the government is serious about inclusion and equality, it must scrap these harmful cuts and instead invest in real solutions:

• Fund accessible training and support programmes.
• Create work environments where we can genuinely thrive.
• And stop treating benefits as a reward for productivity, rather than the safety net we deserve.

We don’t need more pressure to “get into work.” We need the opportunity to work — in ways that actually suit our needs, our skills, and our realities. Until then, these changes will only deepen inequality and drive more Disabled people into crisis.