The Business Case

The Business Case

VALUABLE FACTS – Recognising the Requirement

Every organisation in the United Kingdom is affected by long term health conditions, mental disorders, learning difficulties or disability in the workforce. Most of these impairments are hidden or non-visible.

Almost one in five people in the UK have a disability. In March 2013, 20.8% of the working age population (16 years – 64 years) in the UK (8.3 million people) had a disability.

One in four people will experience mental health problems in any given year. The World Health Organisation reports that depression is the leading cause of disability, up 20% since 2010.

The total cost to employers of mental health problems is estimated at nearly £26 billion per year. That is the equivalent to £1,035 for every employee in the UK workforce (3.6% of the national pay bill).

Managing health in the workplace, including prevention and early identification of problems, saves employers at least 35% of these costs.

One in six of those who become disabled whilst in work will lose their job during the first year after becoming disabled.

60.8% of workers ignore emails because they are overwhelmed by them. (According to a 2019 Pollfish survey) We offer a reading skills course that solves such problems, saving at least one day a week for each employee.

Only 17% of disabled people were born with their disabilities. Most disabled people acquire their disability later in life.

Each case of stress-related ill health leads to an average of 30.9 lost working days in a typical year. That’s 30 times as many working days lost through mental health as from industrial disputes.

See the stats that prove why workplace adjustments make good business sense.

What are the penalties for not making reasonable adjustments?

The average Employment Tribunal Award for Disability Discrimination in 2017-18 was £30,698, with the highest award in that year of £240,616. These figures do not include any pre-tribunal awards, or the internal costs of dealing with such disputes, or needing to recruit and train new staff.