International Day of Persons with Disabilities takes place this weekend, on 3rd December. However, GRiD research shows that almost half of employers are not reporting on the numbers of people with disabilities they employ.

According to new research from Group Risk Development (GRiD), the industry body for the group risk protection sector, 46% of employers do not report on the number of disabled people they employ. Although the Government is yet to make this mandatory, neglecting to count numbers of disabled employees threatens to worsen the disability employment gap. Under the 2010 Equality Act, employers must make reasonable adjustments to support disabled employees.

68% of survey respondents claim transparency on disability reporting in the workplace would help to reduce the disability employment gap by leading to more inclusive practices.

Further findings from the report show that, of those businesses that do collect information on the proportion of people with disabilities in their workforce, a third (33%) do so to inform diversity and inclusion practices and initiatives. A further 30% use the data to track progress made on their initiatives, 17% do so to inform recruitment practice and 16% do so to inform talent management practice.

GRiD spokesperson Katharine Moxham says: “If and when reporting is made mandatory, it is likely to be for larger corporates initially, but all employers need to have an understanding of the number of people they employ with a disability or long-term health condition as the perceived wisdom is that what gets reported gets done.

“However, there is likely to always be under-reporting as not all disabilities are immediately obvious. Employers may believe that they have a good grasp on how many people with a disability they employ but those with a ‘non-visible’ or ‘hidden’ disability could be overlooked, and many employees don’t want to disclose their condition.”

New guidance from the Support with Employee Health and Disability service is available for employers, a government initiative launched in October to provide centralised access to essential information about supporting and managing employees with disabilities or health conditions at work.

Moxham continues: “This isn’t the type of support that employers should switch on or off dependent on budgets or the current zeitgeist. Support for existing disabled employees and future members of staff needs to be available and accessible in all places of work, all of the time.

“With the right support, employers will have access to a much wider pool of talent than perhaps they previously had and may attract a new cohort of highly motivated candidates offering the skills and knowledge that they need to benefit their business.”