£2.7k disability pay gap hits up to 391,000 workers in the North West, says TUC

A new TUC report  finds that the disability pay gap has increased to its highest level since 2013.

In 2017 average hourly pay for disabled workers was £9.90, compared to £11.40 for non-disabled workers – a disability pay gap of £1.50 an hour or £2,730 a year.

The disability pay gap has now reached 15% – its highest level since the government began publishing comparable data using the 2010 Equality Act definition of disability in 2012/13.

There are 391,000 disabled workers in the North West (11.8% of the regional workforce). Although their individual experience of the pay gap will vary, on average they are paid significantly less per hour than their colleagues.

Other key findings on the disability pay gap are:

• Low-paid work: Disabled workers are more likely to work in lower-paid occupations than non-disabled workers.
• Education: Fewer disabled people have higher levels of education which may make it harder to get jobs with higher rates of pay. But even when disabled workers have the same level of education a pay gap remains.
• Gender: Disabled women face a larger pay gap than disabled men. Compared to non-disabled men, the pay gap is 13% for disabled men and 22% for disabled women.
• Working hours: More disabled workers are part-time (36.4%) than non-disabled workers (23.4%), which partly accounts for the gap.

The annual disability pay gap of £2,730 is equivalent to: 11-months of the average household spend on food; nine-months of household average fuel and power costs, or eight months household average transport expenditure. The gap leaves disabled workers more likely to struggle to meet everyday costs, let alone the additional costs that can be associated with being disabled, says the TUC.

TUC Regional Secretary for the North West Lynn Collins said: “Too many disabled people face lower pay and worse jobs than their non-disabled peers.

“The government should reverse cuts to disability benefits, which are making it harder for disabled people in the North West to cover extra costs to get to work. And employers should talk to their disabled workers about how to make work more accessible.

“New rules to make bosses reveal gender pay gaps have been successful at shining a light on the problem. We think a similar law should be considered so employers publish their disability pay gap.

“Disabled people can get help by joining a union. Unions reps have experience negotiating with employers to get the support disabled workers need.”