A new ‘explainer’ from Understanding Society examines research from the Institute for Employment Studies which says workers with health limitations often face employment challenges across Europe, but that these “appear especially pronounced in the UK”.
The report, written for the Commission for Healthier Working Lives, says the UK performs badly in many age groups, and that “there are especially concerning signs for younger UK adults”.
Using Understanding Society and EU statistics on income and living conditions, the report also found:
- the rate of employment of people with health limitations fell in most European countries between 2018 and 2022
- the increase in worklessness among young adults with health limitations was particularly pronounced in the UK. People aged 16-24 with health limitations were more than twice as likely to be out of work in 2022 as they had been before the COVID-19 pandemic
- older people’s chances of working when they have health limitations have shown positive signs elsewhere, but not in the UK. The UK is only slightly below average, but “it appears to be headed in the wrong direction”.
The analysis looked at data from 2018 and 2022 to consider changes before and after the pandemic, and compared those who reported having limited or severely limited health (including disabilities), with those who did not.
The UK has usually had relatively high employment rates, and this was still true for people with no health limitations. However, the gap between employment rates for people with and without health limitations in the UK was one of the biggest. Of the 15 countries studied, only Ireland and Belgium had a larger gap.
The report also suggested measures which could help, including:
- limits on working hours
- agreements between workers and employers on conditions
- incentives for hiring disabled people and promoting workplace health
- occupational health provision to make work easier for people with health limitations.
Read the ‘explainer’ Health limitations and finding work in the UK
The research used Understanding Society and EU statistics on income and living conditions (EU-SILC) from 2018 and 2022
EmploymentHealth and wellbeingInforming Policy
