Policies to Promote Labour Market Participation for People with Disabilities in Britain

: Using Social Security Policy to Move Toward a Labour Market―centered System

Abstract

This paper analyses policies to promote labour market participation for people with disabilities in Britain by examining the development of employment policy and social security policy.

The policy to promote employment for people with disabilities began on a voluntary basis, but the programme gradually changed to become mandatory and more personalised. In accordance with previous research, we observe that the income maintenance programme was organised into four categories : compensatory benefits, earning replacement benefits, extra cost benefits, and means-tested benefits. The criteria for earning replacement benefits shifted from disability level to work capability, while extra cost benefits divided the system for working age people. Means-tested benefits are, currently, in the process of being integrated with other benefits.

In the process of integrating people with disabilities into the labour market, it is important to note that the income maintenance system is often revised in order to fit the employment programme. Thus, this paper concludes that the employment and social security policies for people with disabilities are being tied together, and that social security benefits are being used to move employment policy toward a labour-market centered system.