What are the most effective ways to engage employers, health professionals, employees and other relevant stakeholders to retain and support disabled people and people with health conditions in employment? What policies and processes do employers have in place that could influence employee health, well-being and productivity (such as sick pay, access to occupational health services, health insurance provision)?

Background

This encompasses priorities around:
- supporting groups that are under-represented in the labour market, including disabled people, who were disproportionately affected by the COVID-19 pandemic
- initiatives to support people from these groups to start, stay, and succeed in work
transforming support for disabled people and people with health conditions to promote independent living and improve the customer experience
- influencing positive employer behaviours and promote good Occupational Health practice to help people maintain attachment to the labour market

Next steps

Send correspondence and further questions to evidence.strategyteam@dwp.gov.uk.

Source

This question was published as part of the set of ARIs in this document:

DWP Areas of Research Interest 2023 GOV UK

Related UKRI funded projects


  • Disabled People Work and Small-Medium-Size Enterprises

    The UK Government aims to get one million more disabled people into paid work by 2027. Small and medium size enterprises (SMEs) dominate the UK business population and have been a more robust employer of the unemployed c...

    Funded by: ESRC

    Lead research organisation: University of Leeds

    Why might this be relevant?

    The project specifically focuses on understanding the experiences of disabled people in SME workplaces and the attitudes and values of SME employers towards disabled people, which directly relates to engaging employers and supporting disabled people in employment.

  • Patchwork Hub: Building our Technical Innovation

    Beth Kume-Holland is the award-winning founder and CEO of Patchwork Hub, a disabled-led, female-led social enterprise and tech platform working to create a more accessible and inclusive future of work. Developed out of ...

    Funded by: Innovate UK

    Lead research organisation: PATCHWORK HUB LTD

    Why might this be relevant?

    The project aims to create a more accessible and inclusive future of work, which aligns with the goal of engaging employers and supporting disabled people in employment. However, it does not directly address the question about policies and processes that employers have in place.

  • Tackling health inequalities and extending working lives (THRIVE)

    The policy issue: In Europe and Canada, policymakers are facing particular challenges related to rising life expectancy, a shift in the age profile of the population and the consequent increase in the prevalence of chron...

    Funded by: ESRC

    Lead research organisation: University of Liverpool

    Why might this be relevant?

    The project focuses on understanding the impacts of health inequalities on the opportunity to work later in life and developing strategies and policies for extending working life, which partially relates to the question about retaining and supporting disabled people and people with health conditions in employment. However, it does not directly address the question about engaging employers and other relevant stakeholders.

  • Caring For Carers: Innovating For Workplace Health And Wellbeing Support

    Against the backdrop of the UK's ageing population and workforce, there is widening economic and social concern about high rates of economic inactivity (early retirement) among people aged 50+. Around a fifth of those wh...

    Funded by: ESRC

    Lead research organisation: University of Edinburgh

  • Beyond the 10 000 steps: Managing less visible aspects of healthy ageing at work

    Working with employers, employees, professional bodies and other key stakeholders this project will co-design innovative workplace interventions to support the health and well-being of older workers (aged 50+), enabling ...

    Funded by: ISCF

    Lead research organisation: University of Edinburgh

    Why might this be relevant?

    The project specifically focuses on older workers and their health, well-being, and productivity in the workplace, which aligns with the question's emphasis on retaining and supporting disabled people and people with health conditions in employment.

  • MICA: Supporting Older People into Employment (SOPIE): Identifying factors influencing return to work in the over 50s.

    This research will be undertaken by a unique partnership between Ingeus, a welfare-to-work provider, and an academic team led by the University of Glasgow and will study the Ingeus workless clients including those with h...

    Funded by: MRC

    Lead research organisation: University of Glasgow

  • Impact of interventions and policies on prolonging working life in good health: an international study

    European governments have developed policies to keep workers stay in employment until older age, yet many workers leave work earlier than expected due to illness, disability or poor health. Despite the societal implicati...

    Funded by: ESRC

    Lead research organisation: King's College London

    Why might this be relevant?

    The project addresses the impact of interventions and policies on prolonging working life in good health, which is directly related to the question's focus on retaining and supporting disabled people and people with health conditions in employment.

  • Innovation Fellowship 3 - Enhancing organisational effectiveness by modernising support for working carers

    This research focuses on improving support for working carers. Recruiting, retaining and returning carers to the workplace have been identified as major economic and social issues in the UK. They are likely to become eve...

    Funded by: ESRC

    Lead research organisation: University of Sheffield

  • i~design 3: extending active living through more effective inclusive design

    Rapid and unprecedented population ageing poses a serious social and economic challenge across the developed world. Shifts in dependency ratios point to escalating welfare and pensions costs which require radical and ima...

    Funded by: EPSRC

    Lead research organisation: University of Cambridge

  • i~design 3: extending active living through more effective inclusive design

    Rapid and unprecedented population ageing poses a serious social and economic challenge across the developed world. Shifts in dependency ratios point to escalating welfare and pensions costs which require radical and ima...

    Funded by: EPSRC

    Lead research organisation: Loughborough University

Similar ARIs from other organisations