Research: Supporting employers to recruit disabled people and people with health conditions

This report provides insights for local government on what works to support employers to recruit disabled people and people with health conditions.

DWP are commissioning a What Works Centre for Local Employment Support (WWCLES) to help inform evidence-based local employment and labour market support by regional and local government.  

Preliminary research – the Labour Market Evidence Programme – was commissioned to inform the WWCLES’ work. It consists of:

a user consultation with future WWCLES users

an initial set of evidence reviews based on the consultation

a ‘lessons learned’ report (to inform the future WWCLES)

This Rapid Evidence Assessment (REA) is the second of eight evidence reviews, the topics of which were informed by findings from the user consultation. The report synthesises the available evidence on how to support employers to recruit disabled people and people with health conditions. It provides insights for practitioners working with employers to deliver active labour market programmes (ALMPs), such as Connect to Work and WorkWell. It includes a series of practical recommendations for ALMP practitioners and employers, alongside case studies of interventions seeking to improve the inclusivity of recruitment.

The report’s findings are intended to inform local government decision making of local government ALMP practitioners and employers, to improve recruitment inclusivity.

Evidence is uneven about the effectiveness of approaches across employer types and contexts. Approaches in larger employers are better represented in the evidence base than in small and medium sized enterprises (SMEs). There is little evidence on how approaches and their outcomes vary by sector, or local economic context. Evidence is also limited around ALMP practitioners’ support of inclusive recruitment.