Knowledge Base

The ‘I already have a job…’ report, by Chronic Illness Inclusion and Leeds University Business School, sets out how government, employers and the benefits system are failing millions of people in the UK with Energy Limiting Chronic Illnesses (ELCIs). 

Although one in three disabled people of working age experiences problems with stamina, breathing or fatigue, the report says that their needs are not reflected in the workplace, in legislation, or by disability assessments like the Work Capability Assessment (WCA). 

Despite ELCIs affecting almost 5 million adults in the UK, these people are hidden within disability-related policies because their lived experiences of illness and impairment is widely misunderstood, often discredited, denied and disbelieved.

This report from the Social Market Foundation looks at the links between disability and poverty and argues for reforms of the welfare benefits system and improved employment support.

Youth Employment UK has now created a Kickstart Guide for Employers to help support and advise them to create a good quality Kickstart Programme for the Candidate.

This resource has been created by Youth Employment UK to support employers and gateway organisations looking to create Kickstart Programmes. We have consulted with the young people in our network to explore what a good Kickstart Programme would look like to them and have embedded their views into this guidance.

In celebration of International Day of People with Disabilities on 3 December 2020, Sodexo has published a report of the findings of a survey into the lived experience of employees and customers with disabilities.

Sodexo is a committed to disability inclusion, having made a global commitment to provide 100% of its workforce with access to programmes for people with disabilities by 2025. They achieved Leader status in the UK Government’s Disability Confident scheme in 2018, affirming its commitment to recruit and retain people with disabilities and long-term conditions. Sodexo is working with Project SEARCH and senior managers have spoken at a couple of recent BASE conferences.

The report, ‘A day without explanation: the future of disability inclusion?’, is the result of a survey carried out by Sodexo and PurpleSpace, the professional network hub for disabled employees.

Nearly 900 people from the PurpleSpace network, partner organisations, Sodexo and its external communities responded to the survey, which aimed to help Sodexo understand how to better support employees and customers with disabilities.