Nearly four in five (79%) disabled employees in the West Midlands earn less than £15 an hour, according to new analysis of official statistics published by the TUC. The analysis – published ahead of the TUC’s disabled workers conference which started in Bournemouth – finds that disabled people are much more likely to be paid less than £15ph than non-disabled peers.
Across the UK, around seven in 10 (69%) disabled employees earn less than £15 an hour. Half of non-disabled employees (50%) earn less than £15ph. In the North East and Wales (92% and 94%), more than nine in 10 disabled employees earn less than £15 an hour, compared to around two in five (37% and 42% respectively) non-disabled workers.
And the situation is even worse for disabled women employees. Seven in 10 disabled women (70%) earn less than £15 an hour, compared to just nearly four in 10 (44%) non-disabled men. To address the inequality faced by disabled workers, the TUC is calling on ministers to bring in a legal requirement for employers to regularly report on how much they pay disabled workers, compared to non-disabled workers.
And the union body wants to see fines for employers that do not deliver disabled workers’ legal right to reasonable adjustments. The TUC says ministers must also raise the national minimum wage to £15 per hour as soon as possible and stamp out insecure work for disabled workers by banning zero hours contracts and putting an end to fire and rehire.
TUC Regional Secretary Lee Baron said: “Disabled workers in the West Midlands are struggling to make ends meet in this cost-of-living crisis, with rocketing bills and soaring inflation. Every worker deserves a decent job on decent pay.
“Being disabled should not mean you’re paid any less or are stuck on worse terms and conditions. The government has done very little so far to support disabled workers. It’s time for ministers to increase the minimum wage to £15 per hour as soon as possible and put an end to insecure work by banning zero hours contracts.
“And they must also introduce mandatory disability pay gap reporting to shine a light on inequality at work. Without this, millions of disabled people face a future of lower pay and in-work poverty.”
