Supported working environments

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This section will address the issues of how to support disabled and vulnerable people into employment where it is reasonably practicable.

Remploy was an organisation that focused on supporting disabled people into the workplace which was around and very successful for many years.

For disabled people working with Remploy brought peace of mind that they were in a workplace where others appreciated the different challenges that the staff had due to disability whilst providing a great service to the public and private sector. The range of services offered were varied but one example I would like to highlight was their medical and mobility products where they not only produced wheelchairs, crutches and other aids but could also refurbish items that we suitable for reuse.

Working for Remploy also helped build the confidence of staff and this led some in my area to also then volunteer with local charities and support others in the local community.

The workers understood the value of the work they were doing whether it was working on items the public sector would procure at a more competitive cost or working on the variety of commercial contracts they had.

It was a real shame that following closure after closure despite business opportunities being identified by the staff the final Remploy site closed in 2014.

As mentioned at the Spring Statement in 2025 by Prime Minister Keir Starmer, Chancellor Rachel Reeves and the Secretary of State for the Department of Work and Pensions Liz Kendall has made it clear that they want welfare reform and for disabled people to return to the workplace is it time to reopen this organisation?

Whilst The Equality Act 2010 prohibits discrimination against those with protected characteristics such as disabilities, it is important to recognise the fact that employers are under immense pressures with the cost of living, the cost of commercial premises and associated bills, increased national insurance contributions that the risk of unconscious bias when faced with two candidates for a job with the same skill set and same high performance during the interview does exist. Employers shouldn’t but the cost of making reasonable workplace adjustments for a staff member could be a factor in unconscious bias in terms of which equally good candidate is taken on.

Remploy on the other hand for many years took a different approach of valuing the different challenges and skills that disabled staff can bring and having seen the cost of a number of items that Remploy could produce I am sure that they have the potential to deliver a great service again.

We also have a lot of people with hidden disabilities and it is worth questioning is we are doing enough to support those with both visual and/or hidden disabilities into the workplace.

Is there additional support or training that can be provided to help these individuals into work or return to work. The numbers of people that experience a workplace related injury is significant despite the work to complete with the Health & Safety Executive (HSE) guidelines and The Health & Safety at Work Act 1986. In some of these occasions there will be more staff needing to retrain and we need to ensure that they are given the time, support and resources to do so. However, disabilities need to be taken into account how we upskill staff in these circumstances considering any disabilities they may have.