JULY 1998 - Ref 758
Disabled people and employment: new issues for research and practice

A review of research and development initiatives aimed at helping disabled people find and keep jobs has found that, despite the huge numbers of projects and studies in this area, there are many gaps in knowledge and emerging issues for research and practice. Two important areas which have an impact on disabled people's employment opportunities - education and the benefits system - fell outside the scope of this review. They are nonetheless integral to any agenda for future work in this field. The review found that:

• Existing research may not meet the needs of the people who need to use it;
  • disabled people still often have no voice in research projects which concern them:
  • research is not tailored to the needs of employers;
  • despite surveys on disability and employment, there is still an unmet need for facts and figures;
  • the changing nature of the labour market and of employment legislation make it difficult to keep knowledge up to date.
  
• Changes in the labour market offer both challenges and opportunities to disabled job-seekers:
  • new types of work offer new opportunities for disabled people;
  • new technology is not helping as much as it could;
  • other people are still both the biggest problem and the best source of support.
  
• Employment projects do not always offer what disabled people want or need:
  • too many projects concentrate on training and entering work, rather than sustaining employment;
  • there is too much emphasis on disabled people needing to change, rather than employers;
  • many groups are impairment-specific and duplicate provision.
  
  

The state of research and development into disability and employment

Most research into disability and employment is policy-led and funded by the Department for Education and Employment or Employment Services; this is usually concerned with evaluating specific employment initiatives. Research into disabled people's experiences of employment services is often impairment-specific, or limited to a particular programme, such as Access to Work.

The multitude of local projects concerned with disability and employment are accountable to a variety of funders. Few funders appear to require systematic evaluation and even large bodies do not usually specify the involvement of disabled people in research as a criterion for selection. Many projects appear to have no formal evaluation criteria beyond counting the numbers of participants who move into employment. Funding bodies sometimes create unhelpful pressures. The current emphasis on innovation was mentioned as something which made it very difficult for projects to build on existing good practice. The fact that funding is often impairment-specific also means that many different projects exist in isolation from each other, and may be duplicating areas of work. This is not just wasteful of resources, but also tends to emphasise differing rather than common needs. Some successful employment projects attributed their success mainly to identifying common problems between groups such as disabled people, older people and women returners.

The researchers found that certain groups were very under-represented both as the subjects of research into employment and as target groups for employment projects. These include disabled people from minority ethnic groups, older disabled workers, and young disabled people leaving school. Disabled people consulted saw the fact that disability is often treated as a separate issue, rather than being addressed as part of an equal opportunities framework within mainstream programmes of research and development work, as a factor limiting the usefulness of much work on disability and employment.

The employment experiences of disabled people

The review looked at four different stages in the process of finding and keeping work: preparing for work, finding and applying for jobs, being at work, and becoming disabled when already in work. Although many disabled people do need help to prepare for work, particularly in identifying skills and aptitudes which they may not have been encouraged to recognise, the review identified an over-emphasis on this stage of the employment process, particularly in research and development projects. Those consulted were sceptical about the value of training schemes which did not lead to real, sustainable jobs, with wages at the market rate for the job.

The need for support may not end when employment is found. Sustaining employment may be difficult, requiring formal input from an outside organisation. Alternatively, the presence of a supportive individual in the workplace is often a key factor in whether the disabled person is able to maintain employment. Issues to do with progress and promotion were also an important theme in the review, with the existence of a 'glass ceiling' for disabled people emerging from several research studies. The need to identify the skills and strategies which had been pursued by disabled people who have made a success of their chosen career was strongly argued by those consulted. Such 'success stories' challenge stereotypes and provide positive role models. At the same time it was emphasised that these should be 'ordinary disabled people' doing 'ordinary jobs', and not exceptional individuals.

This links to another theme which emerged strongly from the review - the need for more research into the experiences of disabled people in the workplace, and for workplace practices to reflect the fact that the needs of a working disabled person are 'everyday' ones. For instance, adaptations do not usually involve expensive technology, but are more likely to be mundane and easy tasks such as changing the height of a desk, improving lighting or allowing rest breaks.

Research has begun to identify the power of non-disabled colleagues to provide a positive or negative working environment; this was mentioned by disabled people as an area where more research and development work is needed. A supportive, healthy workplace where everyone's needs are respected is one in which disabled and non-disabled people alike can thrive.

Although becoming disabled in work is an emerging theme in employment policy, the researchers found that it was not a significant strand in the review. To some extent this reflected the interests of those who responded; it is also indicative of a gap in the research literature. There are some tensions between the needs of those who become disabled later in life and those who have never worked, which have led most campaign groups to concentrate on the latter group. A notable exception to this general rule concerns organisations working with people who are visually impaired.

The challenges of a changing labour market

The changing labour market offers both challenges and opportunities to disabled people. There has been much debate about 'flexible' employment. Some forms of flexibility, such as fixed-term contracts and the use of agency staff, may result in poorer prospects for disabled people. Other developments, such as part-time work, teleworking and self-employment may offer benefits by making it possible to work flexible hours and accommodate any needs arising from an impairment. Employers could offer these types of work as 'reasonable adjustments' under the Disability Discrimination Act, but most tend to think only in terms of physical changes to the work environment. Disabled people are more likely to work part-time and be self-employed; it is not known whether this is from choice or because they are excluded from other work opportunities.

The spread of new technology in the workplace is something which should offer benefits to disabled people, but there are barriers which are preventing this potential from being realised. These include a lack of emphasis on new technology by major funders of employment initiatives, inappropriate training schemes which provide skills which are too basic to meet employers' requirements, and negative attitudes on the part of colleagues and employers. At its best, new technology may be a powerful tool for overcoming the effects of impairment and may even help to change attitudes. However, it also has a downside. Some disabled people find that new technology means that their 'human skills' are undervalued, and that they are put under damaging pressure to increase their output.

New types of work are emerging, including volunteering, third-sector employment and 'social firms' (commercial companies setting out to employ at a market wage a signifcant proportion of disabled people who cannot find or keep employment in the usual way). Some projects providing these types of employment have developed good employment practice which makes them attractive to disabled people. Research could play a valued role in identifying which elements of practice in these types of employment are of benefit to disabled people, and exploring the extent to which these can be replicated in other settings, in particular the private sector.

Issues for further research

There are many unanswered questions about disabled people and employment. But the issues for future research are also to do with how research is carried out, and whose needs it sets out to meet. Difficulties getting work may take several forms, including individual characteristics such as lack of confidence, inefficient services which could be improved, structural and institutional barriers, and discrimination. Many of these areas have yet to be explored in depth. In particular, the attitudes of non-disabled people as employers and colleagues stood out as a priority area for research. In the context of a rapidly changing labour market and policy environment, disability and employment is also a 'moving target' where research is needed to keep knowledge up to date.

The ways in which research is carried out are important. Employers will not consent to simply 'be researched' without evidence of a tangible pay-off, and disabled people and their organisations are increasingly questioning the value of research which does not bring about change in their lives. An atmosphere of mistrust, and competition for scarce resources both within and between research and providers' organisations have often worked against co-operation. New ways of working, involving partnerships between disabled people, employers and provider organisations, are a requirement for funding under the New Deal initiatives. These initiatives, together with the legal duties created by the Disability Discrimination Act, are positive influences for change in research and practice in the employment of disabled people.

Those who took part in the review were positive about the role research can play in improving opportunities for disabled people to work. But they were critical of much existing research, which has too often failed to translate into changes in practice. Research needs to take account of the needs of disabled people, employers and service providers, if it is to be effective and deliver tangible benefits.

About the study

The review was carried out between September 1997 and February 1998. In addition to the usual searches for published research, the research team also approached researchers and the main commissioning and grant-giving bodies active in this field to identify work in progress. Disabled people were consulted extensively, using mail-shots, e-mail noticeboards and articles in relevant publications. Two telephone conferences were held to discuss the issues with stakeholders, including disabled people, employer organisations and providers. Towards the end of the first exploratory phase, early findings were presented to and discussed at a specially convened forum of twenty disabled people attending the Association of Disabled Professionals' Conference.

Finally, towards the end of the project, a preliminary agenda for research and development was discussed with stakeholders at a specially arranged seminar.

How to get further information

The full report, Disabled people and employment: A review of research and development work by Helen Barnes, Patricia Thornton and Sue Maynard Campbell, is published by the Policy Press (ISBN 1 86134 121 0, price £11.95).

This title is now out of print.

Further information about the project can be obtained from Patricia Thornton at the Social Policy Research Unit, University of York, York Y010 5DD. Telephone 01904 433608. E-mail pat3@york.ac.uk