How we’re influencing the UK Government’s "Keep Britain Working" review

The "Keep Britain Working" review

The review, headed up by the ex-chair of the John Lewis Partnership Sir Charlie Mayfield, has been commissioned by the Department for Work and Pensions (DWP) to look into the role of employers in creating and maintaining inclusive workplaces, and what kinds of workplace interventions would support disabled employees to enter and stay in work.

We welcome the review, which we know is much needed. In 2023, YouGov polling for the All-Party Parliamentary Group on Eye Health and Visual Impairment found an alarming 25 per cent of surveyed employers said they would not be willing to make workplace adaptations and adjustments in order to employ a blind or partially sighted person.

Due to report later in 2025, the review will be making policy recommendations to government as to how employers can tackle common barriers to recruiting and retaining disabled people and those with long term health conditions.

Through this review, we’d like the UK Government to take proactive steps to incentivise employers to hire disabled people and put in place the workplace adjustments they need. This should include a targeted awareness campaign that highlights the benefits of employing disabled people, featuring real-life examples.

It is essential that employers are fully informed about the range of support available to them, enabling them to confidently and effectively support disabled staff. Additionally, employers should be encouraged to adopt best practices by aligning with recognised standards such as the RNIB Visibly Better Employer quality standard.

In May, two days of BBC Radio 4’s Today programme included pieces on the Review, including on 16 May when RNIB Policy Lead Khadija spoke to the show.

The roundtable

This event, which followed a workshop in April that the review’s team and DCC co-hosted with disabled people, provided a platform for employers to share their experiences and challenges in creating inclusive workplaces. Participants included representatives from KPMG, Tesco, Amey, Historic England, Mace, Milestone Infrastructure, Elsevier, Wincanton, and HSBC. Also present were members of the DCC, including Leonard Cheshire, the National Autistic Society, Mencap, Mind, RNID, and Scope, as well as Support for Sight representing the Visionary network. .

Participants shared a range of suggestions, including ways to improve employment pathways for younger disabled people moving from education into work; shift employer attitudes towards disability inclusion; offer incentives and support for employers of disabled people; reform Access to Work to make it fit for purpose; strengthen the Disability Confident scheme; and introduce mandatory disability pay gap reporting.

On the event, RNIB CEO Matt Stringer said:

“With the changes to welfare and employment support set out in the Pathways to Work green paper, there is a great deal of change in the UK Government’s approach to welfare and employment support. It was great that we were able to bring so many employers together who have shown in their work with DCC organisations that they are committed to creating opportunities for disabled people.

“As we all know, many disabled people who want to work face barriers from inaccessible recruitment processes, ill-informed employers, and poor access to assistive technology. These barriers mean that people with sight loss are significantly less likely to be in paid employment than the general population or other disabled people."

Towards the end of the discussion it was agreed we would re-convene those involved with groups of disabled employees to ‘stress test’ the recommendations coming out of the next phase of the process.

The meeting was closed with a tour of our award winning Grimaldi building as a showcase of how inclusive design can support participation in work.

Access to Work

The Pathways to Work green paper consults on the future of Access to Work (ATW). The UK Government’s scheme can pay for a range of support, including:

• special aids and equipment
• support workers
• travel where there are no practical public transport alternatives

However, for any measures on employment to succeed for blind and partially sighted people, the ongoing delays with ATW must be tackled. The service is already on its knees, with many applicants waiting 10 months or more for their application to be seen, so addressing these delays must be a top priority.

Get in touch

We look forward to the outcome of the review into inclusive employment later this year.

If you have experience to share you can get in touch by emailing [email protected] or by calling the RNIB Helpline on 0303 123 9999, and specifically for Access to Work you can tell us about any issues you’ve encountered accessing the scheme by completing this short webform.