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Disabled people could be able to test the waters of work without automatically risking their benefits under a new Government drive.
Ministers have laid legislation before Parliament to introduce a “right to try” scheme, designed to reassure claimants they will not face an immediate reassessment if they take up employment or even volunteering. The move is aimed at easing fears that have left many effectively trapped on benefits, reluctant to risk losing vital support.
Sir Stephen Timms, the minister for social security and disability, said: “We are doing this as a reassurance to people, to allay their fears, because it has come through really clearly that people would like to work but the fear of losing benefits is holding them back.
“We’ve also applied it to volunteering because that very often is a crucial first step to getting back towards work and people have not been doing it because they are worried. But I think we are going to have to do more beyond what we’re putting in this legislation.”
The changes, due to come into force by the end of the month, will apply to those claiming employment and support allowance, personal independence payment and the health element of universal credit.
Ministers say too many people are being “stranded in the benefits system” because of concerns that trying a job could trigger a reassessment and loss of income.
Campaigners broadly welcomed the shift, saying it could remove a key psychological barrier – but warned that deeper problems remain.
James Taylor, a director at the disability charity Scope, told the Guardian the policy was “a step in the right direction and could remove a real barrier for disabled people who want to take up work”.
However, he added: “The odds are stacked against disabled people when it comes to finding suitable work. From inaccessible workplaces and inflexible jobs, to poor support and negative attitudes from employers.
“The government must go further, and invest in voluntary and personalised employment support for disabled people ready to try work. And rule out further cuts to benefits, which only push disabled people deeper into poverty, not jobs.”
Separate research highlights just how difficult it is for many to stay in employment.
Figures from flexible working group Timewise show only 2.5% of people who are economically inactive due to long-term sickness or disability return to work each year – and more than half of those roles last less than four months.
“These dire statistics show how important a secure right to try is, where those trying work are guaranteed the same level of support they had before if things don’t work out,” said Mikey Erhardt of Disability Rights UK.
The reforms come alongside a more controversial squeeze on support, with the health element of universal credit set to be halved and then frozen for new claimants unless they meet tighter criteria.
Sir Stephen said the previous system had created the wrong incentives, telling a visit to a jobcentre in Walthamstow, north-east London: “The system as it was before was forcing people to aspire to be classified as too unwell to work.”
But disability groups warned the wider changes risk leaving vulnerable people worse off. Mr Erhardt said: “For too long, successive governments have seen social security not as a safety net designed to support people in times of need, but as a threat they can use to push disabled people into the job market. This approach has always been nonsensical.”
