A-million-futures-halving-the-disability-employment-gap.pdf?ext=

Government policy mustsupport disabled people tokeep their jobsDisabled people report that thesingle most important factor increating inclusive workplaces ishaving flexibility in their workingtime and practices. 40% of allemployed disabled people saythat modified hours haveenabled them to stay in work;36% of those out of work saythat modified hours could havehelped them retain their job. [30]The Government has madeprogress in this area, with theextension of the ‘right to request’flexible working. Yet for asignificant number of disabledpeople – and others – thereremains a need for a new optionto take a temporary or short-termperiod of leave to managechanges in their lives.RecommendationTo resolve this issue, theGovernment should introduce anew, more flexible approach toleave policies through theintroduction of a new type ofadjustment leave.Adjustment leave would allow allemployees, including disabledpeople, the option to take atime-limited period of leaveon a part-time basis. If anemployee needs a period of timeoff work, for instance to attend aseries of medical appointments,they could have the option totake two days off a week – whilecontinuing to work on theirfull-time contracts for the rest ofthe week. This approach buildson international evidence aboutthe use of part-time sickleave models. [31]This new form of leave wouldbenefit disabled people,employers and the Government:Benefits of adjustment leaveto disabled peopleThe benefits to disabled peopleare twofold. Firstly, it can enablea disabled person continue towork even during a difficultperiod, by providing moreflexibility over working hours.The binary distinction in currentsick leave policy between‘sickness’ and ‘health’ does notreflect the reality of manydisabled people’s lives. Havingthe option to take a time-limitedperiod of part-time leave wouldenable many disabled people toput in place the necessarysupport, and be able to returnto work full-time.“Any time off I take is nowvery closely monitored andI constantly have to justifymyself. The onus is verymuch on me to find a solutionand I am facing a lot ofpressure to reduce hours as ameans of managing flare ups.Of course, this means thatduring periods when the painis not as bad, I am underemployed. This makes me feeluseless and undervalued.”Jamie, Dunbar [32]Secondly, as Macmillan andDemos have pointed out, similarleave models can act as a formof financial protection fordisabled people. [33] During aperiod on full-time sick leavedisabled people experience asubstantial drop in income. Apart-time sick leave model wouldalleviate this because theemployee retains part of theirfull-time earnings. Part-time sickleave can also reduce thelikelihood of moving ontounemployment benefits – whichalso has a major impact onincome. [34]Benefits of adjustment leaveto employersAdjustment leave can saveemployers money. Internationalevidence shows that adjustmentleave models can lead tosignificant reductions in thenumber of people falling out ofwork. In Finland, a RandomisedControl Trial found thatcompared to full-time sick leave,a part-time model [35] :•Reducedthe average length oftime off work from 20 days to12 days;•Reduced•Reducedtotal sickness absenceby 20%;the risk of someonemoving onto ‘disability pension’(roughly equivalent toEmployment and SupportAllowance) by 6%.With enough flexibility in thepolicy, this will reduce costs foremployers by allowing them toretain productivity compared tohaving a staff member on sickleave, retain employees’networks and experience, andreduce the number of staffmoving onto full time sick leave.Adjustment leave should be oneof many possible adjustmentsthat could be made for adisabled person to stay in work– which is why the model shouldbe time-limited. For a disabledperson with an on-going needfor periods of time off, a standardpart-time or other flexibleworking model may be moreappropriate – and morecost-neutral for an employer.However, there is a clear needfor a new way for employees tomanage a temporary change intheir situation.12 13