Majority 'have never worked with disabled employees'

2nd September 2010

Research has revealed that the majority of people in the UK have never had the chance to work alongside a disabled employee.

Conducted by national charity Scope, which campaigns to raise awareness, influence government policy and change attitudes, the study found that, of those polled, just 21 per cent had worked with a disabled colleague.

Chief executive Richard Hawkes responded to the fact that 40 per cent of Britons who are not disabled and do not have disabled relatives do not know any disabled people by calling the results shocking.

"[This] shows that disabled people are still relatively invisible in day-to-day life," he remarked, adding that the government needs to conduct a full impact assessment prior to making cutbacks in areas such as incapacity benefit and the disability living allowance.

His comments follow a report by health and social care trust Turning Point indicating that disabled employees are facing discrimination from the public, with one in three stating that people with learning disabilities cannot be independent or hold a full-time job.

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