CRPD concluding observations 2017, paragraph 57
Plain English recommendation
Government should: Work with disabled people’s organisations, and in line with the CRPD Committee’s recommendations following its inquiry into the UK (2016) to: (a) Develop and monitor an employment policy for disabled people, ensuring they can access decent work and equal pay for work of equal value. (b) Ensure reasonable adjustments are made for disabled people to do their jobs; that employers and employees receive regular training on reasonable adjustments; and penalties arise when reasonable adjustments are not made. (c) Ensure the process of assessing ability to work (including the Work Capability Assessment) considers the various barriers to work that disabled people face, in line with the human rights model of disability. Ensure anyone conducting assessments is trained to consider personal as well as work-related circumstances. Ensure that the support disabled people need in order to work (including financial support) is not conditional on disabled people seeking jobs, and not subject to sanctions. (d) Withdraw reservations to CRPD article 27 on work and employment. (e) Consider the links between CRPD article 27 and target 8.5 of the Sustainable Development Goals.
Original UN recommendation
The Committee recommends that the State party, in close collaboration with organizations of persons with disabilities, and in line with the Committee’s report on its inquiry concerning the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland carried out under article 6 of the Optional Protocol to the Convention: (a) Develop and decide upon an effective employment policy for persons with disabilities aimed at ensuring decent work for all persons with disabilities, bearing in mind the State party’s target of 1 million jobs for persons with disabilities, and ensure equal pay for work of equal value, focusing especially on women with disabilities, persons with psychosocial and/or intellectual disabilities and persons with visual impairments, and monitor those developments. (b) Ensure that reasonable accommodation is provided to all persons with disabilities who require it in the workplace, that regular training on reasonable accommodation is available to employers and employees without disabilities, and that dissuasive and effective sanctions are in place in cases of denial of reasonable accommodation. (c) Ensure that the legal and administrative requirements of the process to assess working capabilities, including the Work Capability Assessment, are in line with the human rights model of disability, that those who conduct the assessments are qualified and duly trained in that model, and that the assessments take into consideration work-related as well as other personal circumstances. The State party must ensure that the adjustments and support necessary to access work, as well as financial support, are provided and that they are not subject to sanctions or conditional upon carrying out job seeking activities. (d) Withdraw its reservation to article 27 of the Convention. (e) Bear in mind the links between article 27 of the Convention and target 8.5 of the Sustainable Development Goals.
Date of UN examination
03/10/2017
UN article number
27 (work and employment)
Original UN document
Download the original CRPD concluding observations 2017 on the UN website