Barriers to employment for disabled people

Main findings

• This report aimed to explore some of the barriers to employment faced by disabled people in Wales with employers from small-to-medium enterprises (SMEs). The findings highlighted notable disparities between organisations based on their business activity, financial turnover, and size.
• Larger organisations, such as those with 10 or more employees and those with high financial turnovers, were more likely to employ disabled people. They also showed greater awareness of relevant policy and legislation as well as higher engagement with government support schemes.
• Awareness of the Equality Act 2010 and the Social Model of Disability was generally low.
• A majority of respondents agreed that their business welcomed applications from disabled candidates and that their business provided equal opportunities for progression to disabled employees. With under half of respondents considering their current working practices to be inclusive of disabled people. This did vary considerably by the region, size, and financial turnover of the organisation, with larger businesses and those based in South East Wales generally perceiving themselves as more inclusive across all three statements.
• Over half of organisations associate the employment of disabled people with advantages relating to diversity and a positive business image
• Over half of organisations associate the employment of disabled people with challenges relating to health and safety
• Many organisations were unaware of the current government support available to them. When asked about the type of government support they would like to receive, help to understand the needs of disabled employees was generally the most sought-after type of support.