Disability Pay Gap Day marks the time of year when disabled workers effectively stop earning and work for free for the remainder of the year. The latest analysis shows that for 2022 that day is 7 November, because non-disabled workers on average earn 17% more than disabled workers. Today, the TUC has published new statistics showing:
- Disabled workers will effectively work 54 days without pay this year.
- This year the Disability Pay Gap has widened. Disabled workers are now earning £2.05 less per hour than non-disabled workers, compared to £1.90 in 2021.
- The pay gap is 17.2%, so disabled workers take home £3,731 a year less than non-disabled workers.
- Non-disabled men are paid on average 35 per cent more than disabled women. That equates to £7,144 a year.
Paddy Lillis – Usdaw General Secretary says: “These new statistics highlight the need for urgent action to close the growing disability pay gap and to tackle the structural barriers and discrimination evident in the labour market today . Today, 7 November, is the day when the pay of the average disabled worker effectively stops, compared to the average non-disabled worker and it is disturbing that the disability pay gap has widened this year to 17.2%. In the midst of a cost-of-living emergency when disabled people are struggling to pay their bills, they will effectively work 54 days without pay.
“We join with the TUC in urging the Government to take action by mandating disability pay gap reporting for all employers of more than 50 employees; accompanied with a duty to produce targeted action plans to address any gaps identified. We also want similar reporting and action plans for ethnicity and LGBT+ workers ; alongside strengthening gender pay gap monitoring by lowering the threshold for reporting from 250 employees, to 50.
“The Government needs to take action to ensure dignity, equality and respect for disabled workers and address the underlying causes of the pay gap. We need a new deal for workers that will ensure decent pay for all, an end to insecure jobs, with a ban on zero-hours contracts, and flexible working options that make work genuinely accessible for all. All forms of discrimination are a scourge on our society and today our focus is on the pay of disabled workers.”
Notes for editors:
Usdaw (Union of Shop, Distributive and Allied Workers) is the UK's fifth biggest trade union with around 360,000 members. Most Usdaw members work in the retail sector, but the union also has many members in transport, distribution, food manufacturing, chemical industry and other trades.
For Usdaw press releases visit: http://www.usdaw.org.uk/news and you can follow us on Twitter
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