Disability pay gap

UNISON disabled members met in Brighton for their annual conference, and marked Disability Pay Gap Day (4 November) by calling for mandatory reporting.

This is the day of the year when disabled workers effectively stop being paid – such is the difference between their pay and that of their non-disabled counterparts. Disabled workers work for 57 days a year without pay. The day they stop getting paid is 4 November.

The mover of a motion for Newcastle City Branch explained how the Equality and Human Rights Commission has found that the disability pay gap is at its highest level since records began. She said:

“Mandatory reporting is starting to reduce the gender pay gap and it’s now time for mandatory reporting on the disability pay gap,”

It was a call that resonated with delegates, who gave it unequivocal support.

Disabled members’ conference also called for more guidance on the issue, including a model action plan to reduce the pay gap that branches can use in negotiations with employers, together with recruitment materials showing what UNISON has achieved on reducing the disability pay gap and is continuing to do on the issue.

Find out more from the TUC at:
www.tuc.org.uk/researchanalysis/reports/disabilityemployment-and-pay-gaps-2019