Employers claim no jobs for disabled staff

More than three-quarters of employers say that the opportunity to employ disabled staff has not arisen, with almost half (44%) citing the unsuitable nature of the work as the reason.

The survey of 1,000 employers for jobability.com, a job site for disabled people, also found that 44% were not aware of any policies within their organisation relating to the employment of disabled people.

But of the 28% of companies that did employ disabled people, almost two-thirds said that they incurred no extra costs as a result of having to make the necessary adjustments. And 40% of companies that incurred extra costs said that these amounted to less than £1,000.

More than a quarter of respondents said they did not have the required facilities to employ disabled people, despite the fact that they must provide physical access to premises by 2004 under the Disability Discrimination Act.

Maria Eagle MP, minister for disabled people, said: "There can be no excuses when it comes to removing barriers to employment for disabled people". She added that the government is ending the small employer exemption in the Disability Discrimination Act from 2004, bringing another 7 million jobs within the scope of the Act.