Telling the Government how work reforms need to work for autistic people
Published on 02 November 2023
Recently the Government announced it was going to make changes to the way people were assessed for benefits when they cannot work because of a disability or a long-term health condition.
What is the consultation?
The Department for Work and Pensions' (DWP) Work Capability Assessment: activities and descriptors consultation focuses on amendments to the Work Capability Assessment (WCA). The DWP argues that changes in workplace practices, such as an increase in availability of working from home, mean the assessment needs updating.
Why are we concerned?
Less than 3 in 10 autistic people (29%) are in work, this is the lowest figure amongst disabled adults. There are many barriers to working such as understanding, sensory difficulties, lack of workplace adjustments, discrimination and other barriers unique to each autistic person. Autistic people want to work, but the workplace has not been adapted to meet their needs.
Many autistic people rely on the higher rates of benefit associated with the Employment & Support Allowance (ESA) Support Group and Universal Credit (UC) Limited Capability for Work-Related Activity (LCWRA) categories.
The consultation argues that: ‘The increase in home working is enabling disabled people and people with health conditions to manage their conditions in a more familiar and accessible environment.’ It is correct that flexible working options can be helpful to autistic people, however, that isn’t the only barrier to finding work, so it is wrong to use this as a justification for restricting access to benefits. The document references a DWP data set to demonstrate that more people are working from home than compared to 2019. However. this data shows the flaw in the argument of the DWP as just 16% of working adults work exclusively from home. The professions most likely to work remotely are professional occupations, managers and other occupations less likely to require benefits. The data set even comments: ‘having a disability or long-term illness had little effect on homeworking.’ 18% of disabled adults work from home. So it is clear, that an increase in working from home is not a justification for restricting access to benefits.
The consultation also recommends that changes should be made to the sections on Coping with Social Engagement, as well as the section on Getting About. These are crucial parts of the WCA to many autistic people. Without these questions, many autistic people would not score highly enough to receive the benefits they need. Since the publication of this consultation, autistic people have shared their experiences as well as their disappointment with the decision to evaluate these sections. They have told us how they believe it would prevent them for receiving benefits. We share this frustration and echo these concerns in our consultation response. We are clear: restricting access to benefits without removing these barriers will lead to increased financial pressure for autistic people who are already struggling with the cost-of-living crisis.
What are we doing?
Over the last month, autistic people have written to us and shared their experiences and concerns regarding changes to the WCA. These were emotional accounts which demonstrated the importance of the consultation. Last week, we submitted our consultation response, echoing the concerns of autistic people. We firmly rejected the premise that the WCA needed to change, explaining the impact those changes would have to autistic people. We also made clear that the Government must be doing more to support autistic people in and out of work. We also included these points in the Government’s Buckland review on employment, as well as recommendations from our work with the Disability Benefits Consortium. We hope that the DWP will listen to our recommendations, as well as pressure from other disability charities and reverse its decision.
This issue is important to us, and we know that more work needs to be done. We will continue to hold meetings with DWP officials and other parliamentarians to raise the concerns of autistic people.