Employment: Disability

We know that work is good for health and wellbeing, so we want everyone to get work and get on in work, whoever they are and wherever they live. Disabled people and people with health conditions are a diverse group so access to the right work and health support, in the right place, at the right time, is key. This Government is committed to giving disabled people and people with health conditions the confidence that working will not trigger a reassessment and a potential loss of benefits.

We have a range of specialist initiatives to support individuals to stay in work and get back into work. These include support from Work Coaches and Disability Employment Advisers in Jobcentres, Access to Work grants and Connect to Work, as well as initiatives joining up health and employment support around the individual through Employment Advisors in NHS Talking Therapies, and WorkWell.

The Pathways to Work Green Paper set out our Pathways to Work offer, backed by £1 billion a year of new funding by the end of the decade. Building on existing initiatives we are working towards a guaranteed offer of personalised work, health and skills support for all disabled people and people with health conditions on out of work benefits.

DWP research suggests there is a lack of awareness of rules intended to encourage working-age people who are in receipt of health and disability benefits (Personal Independence Payment, Universal Credit and New Style Employment and Support Allowance) to try work. The Government has taken an important first step to address these barriers through Right to Try secondary legislation. This Right to Try legislation guarantees that starting work and volunteering will not trigger a reassessment for PIP, UC, and NS ESA customers. However, the Right to Try regulations are the first step, and we have broadly accepted the Social Security Advisory Committee’s (SSAC) recommendations and begun development of a No Reassessment Guarantee. This is a significant and complex change, so we’re taking the time to work through the detail carefully, making sure that the approach is robust and deliverable. We’re considering stakeholder feedback, alongside that of the Collaboration Committees and SSAC as we look to give disabled people greater confidence to try work.

In November 2025, Sir Charlie Mayfield published the Keep Britain Working Report, which recommended reshaping how government works with employers to improve work and health outcomes through creating healthier, more inclusive workplaces. We are now working with volunteer employers, providers and regions through a Vanguard Phase to test and refine approaches to help disabled workers and workers with long-term health conditions, receive the support they need to remain and thrive in employment. These include developing effective stay in work and return to work practices, strengthening prevention, and building the evidence needed to spread good practice. We have also developed a digital information service for employers and continue to oversee the Disability Confident Scheme.

The 10-Year Health Plan, published in July 2025, builds on existing work to better integrate health with employment support and incentivise greater cross-system collaboration. The Plan outlines how the neighbourhood health service will join up support from across the work, health and skills systems to help address the multiple complex challenges that often stop people finding and staying in work and deliver holistic care that leads to better employment outcomes for all.