Labour’s proposed ‘benefits crackdown’ is being framed as an effort to reduce welfare dependency and tackle economic inactivity. The changes involve tightening eligibility criteria for Personal Independence Payments (PIP) and Universal Credit disability top-ups and ‘encouraging’ disabled and chronically ill individuals, into employment.
On the surface, the plan seems straightforward enough: reduce benefit dependency, cut welfare costs and boost participation in formal employment. But the reality is far more nuanced and complex and it oversimplifies deep-rooted systemic barriers – barriers that employers have largely ignored until now.
If this policy takes effect, HR leaders will face an influx of jobseekers – many of whom have been systematically excluded from work due to outdated hiring practices, rigid workplaces and a lack of career advancement opportunities.
This is our moment of reckoning: will our companies adapt and lead, or will we fail disabled and chronically ill jobseekers all over again?
This is an opportunity for HR to step up. Here are five urgent steps we need to take right now, if we have any hope of getting this right.
Offering mere entry-level positions, without real opportunities for advancement and career growth, isn’t genuine inclusivity – it’s performative compliance.
1. Understand the real barriers
Employers love to say how they ‘support disabled jobseekers’, but the numbers tell a different story.
- 6.9 million people in the UK currently claim disability benefits.
- Nearly 1 million young people aged 16–24 are NEET (not in education, employment, or training).
- The unemployment rate for disabled people (5.6%) remains far higher than for non-disabled people (3.6%).
These numbers don’t reflect a lack of motivation or a ‘welfare dependency’, but rather show longstanding systemic exclusion from education, skill-building opportunities and stable career pathways.
The system is broken, and while we cannot fix everything, we can address the factors that are within our control, including:
- Inaccessible hiring processes.
- Rigid work structures (including RTO mandates and strict working hours).
- A “sink or swim” approach to workplace adjustments.
- Lack of career mobility for disabled and chronically ill employees.
HR’s role isn’t just to “open the door”, it’s to ensure we build workplaces that accommodate diverse needs.
2. Go beyond entry-level roles
Too often, disabled and chronically ill candidates are funnelled into low-paying, dead-end jobs.
Entry-level jobs, particularly in retail and customer service, are not sustainable solutions as they often require long hours and significant physical exertion. Major retailers like Debenhams, Homebase and Poundland have gone online, downsized or ceased operations entirely, offering fewer and fewer stable opportunities.
Offering mere entry-level positions, without real opportunities for advancement and career growth, isn’t genuine inclusivity – it’s performative compliance. We need to start treating disabled and chronically ill job seekers and employees as future leaders, not just as box-checking hires. Some of the steps we can take, include:
- Auditing internal career mobility data: Are disabled employees progressing or stuck?
- Creating leadership pipelines specifically for disabled employees.
- No longer defaulting to minimum-wage hiring and instead investing in apprenticeships, skills-building, and strategic recruitment.
3. Redesign talent acquisition for accessibility
Talent acquisition professionals play a crucial role here and should proactively engage with disabled and chronically ill talent pools. This includes partnering with advocacy groups to recruit underrepresented talent more effectively.
A candidate can’t get the job if they can’t get through the hiring process, so we need to remove unnecessary qualification barriers and advertise roles clearly as being accessible and inclusive. Some steps we can take immediately:
Fix job descriptions:
- Remove unnecessary barriers (e.g. “must lift 20kg” for an admin role).
- Clearly state available accommodations, rather than making disabled candidates ask for them.
- Use inclusive job boards (e.g., Evenbreak, Disability Jobsite).
Make interviews accessible:
- Offer alternative formats (video applications, competency-based work trials).
- Ditch one-size-fits-all online assessments – many neurodivergent candidates are excluded by these.
- Train hiring managers on disability inclusion – bias in screening and interviewing is still a major problem.
Think beyond “perfect candidates”:
- CV gaps due to disability or illness flare-ups should not disqualify talented applicants.
- Focus on capability and potential, not just traditional career trajectories.
This is our chance to get this right, once and for all, before a flood of new jobseekers hits the market.
Adjustments often only happen after an employee struggles or self-advocates. This is not inclusion – it’s damage control.
4. Revolutionise learning and development
L&D professionals can assist in this process. Their role is to create accessible, flexible training, coaching programmes and mentorship schemes that are tailored explicitly for disabled or chronically ill employees.
We must consider fluctuating health conditions, chronic fatigue or invisible disabilities and deploy adaptive learning environments and genuine pathways to career progression.
We don’t just want to get disabled and chronically ill folks into jobs. We want to ensure that they are able to build sustainable, thriving careers.
Practical steps include:
- Making training fully accessible: Caption all videos, offer transcripts, and move away from lecture-based formats.
- Creating adaptive learning options: Self-paced modules and career development pathways that account for fluctuating health conditions.
- Training managers on leading inclusively: Many still see disability or chronic illness as a “problem to manage” rather than an opportunity to create a better workplace.
If disabled employees can’t upskill, they won’t stay or progress and we will have further challenges relating to employee engagement, culture and turnover.
5. Transform workplace culture for long-term inclusion
Unfair as it may be, culture transformation efforts always fall to HR to champion. Employees at all levels should receive training to dismantle stigma, understand chronic illness and disability, and help foster empathy-driven company cultures.
Sadly, most workplaces are reactionary about disability, chronic illness and even neurodiversity. Adjustments often only happen after an employee struggles or self-advocates. This is not inclusion – it’s damage control.
Steps we can take to create truly inclusive workplaces, include:
- Proactive accessibility audits: Not just legally required accommodations.
- Flexible, built-in work options: Not just “adjustments on request.”
- A leadership team that champions disability inclusion at a strategic level.
Your DEI moment of truth: Performative or proactive?
Labour’s “benefits crackdown” is not just a policy shift – it’s a litmus test for every organisation claiming to support diversity, equity, and inclusion.
The companies that stay passive will be exposed as performative allies who merely offer low-quality roles, inaccessible workplaces, and no real advancement.
Companies that act now and take decisive action will be the future-proofed workplaces of tomorrow.
As HR leaders, we have a choice: address the shortcomings and fix the gaps now, or scramble when the crisis hits.
