Calls for Government to protect disabled workers from unlawful redundancy

At a TUC disabled workers conference, the union body urged the Government to take steps to ensure that disabled workers are not unlawfully targeted for redundancy. Citing ONS data, the Trades Union Congress (TUC) stated that the Government needed to do more to protect the rights of workers with disabilities, preventing them from being unlawfully made redundant. It stated that, during the pandemic, redundancy rates have been almost two-thirds (62 per cent) higher for disabled workers than their non-disabled colleagues. It also reflected on the recession which occurred as a result of the 2008 financial crisis. During this time, the TUC warned, disabled employees were more likely than their non-disabled colleagues to experience negative changes to their terms and conditions and working practices, such as wage freezes, reduced overtime, and the re-organisation of work. Quoting their own research, the TUC found that workers with disabilities were also prone to being underpaid in comparison to their counterparts – earning up to a fifth (20 per cent) less. Bias against disabled workers was also highlighted during the conference. Recent research found that two-fifths of employers say that they were discouraged from hiring disabled job applicants because of concerns around supporting them properly