London’s disabled employment rate has been higher than the national average disabled employment rate since the pandemic, Office for National Statistics data has revealed.
In 2021, the proportion of disabled people employed in London overtook the national average disabled employment rate for the first time in recorded history, which currently stands at 58%.
Disabled employment rates in London have risen from 42% to almost 60% over the past two decades, whereas the national average has seen an increase of less than 10%.
Jane Hatton, founder and CEO of Evenbreak, the only global specialist job board for disabled people run by people with lived experience, said: “What we’re finding is that the rate of disabled people being employed is higher, but I think quite a lot of that is down to people being more open about their disability.
“So I’m not sure it necessarily means more disabled people are being employed or whether more disabled people are being open about it, which is still a good thing.”
The number of employed disabled people in London had more than doubled since 2004, seeing an increase of 125%.
Conversely, the number of employed non-disabled people in London has increased at only a quarter of that pace.
Hatton said: “Disability is the one protected characteristic that can happen to anybody at any time.
“It’s really important to obviously have open recruitment policies that are free from bias.
“But actually, 2% of people of working age develop a disability or a long-term health condition every year so it’s not just about recruitment, it’s about existing employees becoming disabled.”
Hatton said that many disabled people will not opt for reasonable adjustment in recruitment processes as they do not want to risk immediate disregard of their application, should employers be prejudiced.
Whilst there have been improvements in London’s relative employment of disabled people, disabled employment rates remain far below that of non-disabled counterparts.
Jana Gray, supported employment coach at SeeAbility, an organisation that offers a range of support to disabled people, said: “The challenges people face are often not about ability.
“Instead, barriers are a lack of accessible opportunities, like traditional recruitment processes, assumptions about capability, or workplaces that need some guidance on becoming more inclusive.
“When a company embraces diversity and makes small, thoughtful adjustments, people don’t just succeed – they flourish.
“Employers also see real benefits, gaining motivated staff, fresh perspectives, and a more inclusive culture that strengthens their teams.”
Charlie Mayfield’s Keep Britain Working report, published on 5 November 2025, acknowledges that the Access to Work scheme faces significant delays and delivery challenges.
It suggests that the workplace health provision will improve the Access to Work scheme.
As one of three major changes, the report recommends the development of better workplace health provision that further entrenches the Access to Work scheme, including working with various stakeholders to improve faster access to support.
However, Hatton said: “The report is based on a very medical model [of disability].
“Especially in employment, I am concerned that the emphasis is on fixing the disabled person and not removing the barriers that are disabling them.
“They [the government] are cutting down Access to Work, which is such an amazing service when it’s properly resources but actually, people are having to wait months if not years for assessments and if you’re starting a new job in four weeks, you can’t wait a year before your access needs are met.
“That’s having a massive impact on disability employment in London and elsewhere.”
Hatton emphasised the importance of working in a team of people with lived experience of disability in deconstructing a diverse range of barriers to employment.
Not only are there higher rates of unemployment in disabled populations in London, and nationally, but experts with lived experience have argued that employed disabled people tend to be in relatively insecure roles.
Hatton called for more disabled employees in senior leadership positions.
She said: “Disability is seen as more complicated because with other protected characteristics, it’s more about prejudice rather than structural issues, so in order to attract, retain, and support people with other protected characteristics we don’t have to change the building, we just need to change the policy.
“Whereas the perception is if we’re going to start employing disabled people, we need a ramp – it just feels more complicated.
“There is still an erroneous, negative perception about risks involved in employing disabled people.
“Particularly in London, there are structural barriers like inaccessible transport.”
Scott Watkin BEM, head of engagement at SeeAbility, said: “It’s important for people with learning disabilities to have a job because we can give back to society like anyone else and it gives us a purpose in life.
“For me, when I got my job it gave me security and gave me the sense of achievement to earn my own money to pay my bills, enjoy life and see my friends.”
Featured image by Jakub Pabis on Unsplash
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