Why Cutting Support While Promoting Work Won’t Help Disabled People into Employment
The government has recently unveiled several proposals aimed at increasing employment among disabled people. Central to these efforts is the Keep Britain Working Review, which highlights the role employers can play. But these plans are riddled with contradictions — especially when viewed alongside the green paper Pathways to Work: Reforming Benefits and Support to Get Britain Working, which proposes sweeping cuts to disabled people’s benefits with little meaningful consultation.
This contradiction matters. Because cuts to vital support will undermine, rather than enable, the goal of helping more disabled people into work.
The Promise and Pitfalls of Keep Britain Working
The Keep Britain Working Review has the potential to drive change in how workplaces support disabled staff. In 2024, Citizens Advice helped:
2,298 people facing mental health discrimination at work, and
3,617 people experiencing other forms of disability discrimination in the workplace.
Take Aran*, for example. He has epilepsy and cerebral palsy and has worked at a sixth form college for 10 years. In 2023, he moved into a new role where the college promised several reasonable adjustments: an SOS bracelet, a desk assessment, text-to-speech software, and a supportive chair. None were delivered.
As pressure mounted due to unfilled vacancies, his workload increased, stress triggered more frequent seizures, and occupational health eventually had to sign him off sick.
This case is far from isolated. Employers need to take much greater responsibility for creating accessible, supportive environments — something the Keep Britain Working Review rightly sets out to address. It focuses on three key areas:
Incentivising employers to retain disabled workers and prevent ill-health at work.
Providing faster access to support and treatment when workers become unwell.
Helping employers better engage with staff who are off sick.
If fully realised, these could make workplaces much more inclusive. But employment is only part of the picture — and the support systems outside of work are just as vital.
Why Cutting Personal Independence Payment (PIP) Undermines Employment Goals
PIP plays a crucial role in helping many disabled people access work — from funding adapted transport to covering extra costs related to commuting. In 2024, nearly 1 in 4 (23%) of the people Citizens Advice supported with PIP were in work.
Despite this, the green paper proposes limiting PIP to those scoring at least 4 points in a single activity — a change that would strip support from 800,000 people. Many of those affected rely on PIP to stay in work. Taking that away contradicts the aims of Keep Britain Working, which claims to complement benefits reform.
In truth, these proposed changes would make it harder, not easier, for disabled people to engage with work.
A Shrinking Access to Work Scheme
Access to Work is a government programme that provides practical support to help employers make workplaces more accessible. It funds:
Assistive software
Specialist furniture
Work-related support staff
But demand for this essential scheme has outstripped capacity. Citizens Advice helped more than twice as many people with Access to Work issues in 2024 as in 2019. Delays are now common, making it harder for people to get timely adjustments.
Despite this growing need, the green paper doesn’t commit extra resources to the scheme. Instead, it suggests pushing more responsibility onto employers — even though Keep Britain Working acknowledges that many employers still fall short on accessibility.
Scaling back government support at the same time as demanding more from employers is a risky strategy. It could reduce the number of disabled people who receive the adjustments they need to enter or stay in work.
Disjointed Reforms Create New Barriers
Financial insecurity is already a major issue for many disabled people. In 2024, 24% of those Citizens Advice helped with PIP also needed support from food banks or charitable aid.
If the proposed reforms go ahead, more people will face the prospect of trying to return to work while struggling to afford the basics. In our experience, this creates a vicious cycle: money worries fuel stress, which worsens health, which pushes people further from the labour market.
A Coherent Strategy Is Essential
Efforts to increase disabled employment cannot succeed if they conflict with each other. Cutting essential financial support while encouraging employers to hire more disabled people is counterproductive. For genuine progress, the government needs a coordinated, joined-up strategy — one that:
Supports disabled people both inside and outside of work
Recognises the crucial role of benefits like PIP
Scales up schemes like Access to Work
Holds employers accountable for accessibility — without abandoning state responsibility
Without this, the ambition to get more disabled people into work is likely to fall flat.