A week in reflection.

Read time: 3 minutes.

Earlier in the week, the Government announced plans to change the benefits system. The changes are part of the UK government's £2.5bn back-to-work plan, aiming to get more people who are currently unemployed or have health conditions and those who are disabled back into work.

While I think employment provides so many opportunities, we must remember that, firstly, employers have a responsibility to do what they can to provide opportunities for disabled people. Rather than using disability as a tick box to show a company' carers,' we need to move towards having a society and culture that recognizes the skills and value everyone, disabled or non-disabled, can bring to the table. 

Did you know that A report commissioned by the Department for Work and Pensions (DWP) reveals that over 30% of employers participating in the Government's criticized disability employment scheme did not hire any disabled individuals after enrolling?

I relied on Universal Credit to help me financially when I finished my undergraduate degree. From my experience, the process always made me feel like my efforts to find work weren't enough. When I did secure a part-time job, if I did earn money one month, it would affect my Universal Credit payment the following month, when my earnings might have been lower. This process had a significant influence on my mental health.

So when I saw comments from those within the Goverment such as Laura Trott, chief secretary to the Treasury, told Sky News: "Of course there should be support for people to help them into work but ultimately there is a duty on citizens if they are able to go out to work they should. Those who can work and contribute should contribute." This feels like the rights and reasons, why disabled people might be unable to work due to long-term illness, need to be put to the side, and money comes first. 

Yes, there are remote jobs that make working from home more accessible, and for me, the part-time work I do that is remote gives me the ability to work when I am feeling well enough. But disability and the care needs of people aren't all the same, and I can tell you now without societal education in workplaces. Disabled people will be mistreated. Plus, forcing people into employment will hurt their health and well-being because they will be told to work when what needs to happen is a focus on ensuring they are well and not put at unnecessary risk. 

In the past, political figures have been quoted saying that we should pay disabled people less because they 'don't understand money,' among other things, and I fear that creating a policy like this without consulting and truly understanding the impact on disabled people it can and will have negative influences. And it encourages societal ideology around the rights of disabled people in work backward, rather than forward.