Employing people with learning disabilities can help create a diverse NHS workforce which delivers a better service and improved patient care. People with learning disabilities are one of the most under-represented groups in employment. However, the majority of people with learning disabilities who are able to work, wish to do so. There are currently more than 1.5 million people in the UK with learning disabilities.
Learning disabilities and employment: key facts
- Only 7.5 per cent of adults with moderate and severe learning disabilities in England are in paid work, yet 65 per cent want to work. This figure rises to 17 per cent when people with mild learning disabilities (including learning difficulties such as dyslexia) are included.
- It is estimated that only 15 per cent of adults with autism in England are in paid work.
- Both these groups have missed out on the progress made for disabled people as a whole, whose employment rate has risen steadily and is now at around 47 per cent.
This 10 minute film shows some inspiring examples of how NHS Trusts and their staff have benefitted from employing and working with people with learning disabilities.
Examples across the UK and internationally have demonstrated that with appropriate support and reasonable adjustment, people with a learning disability can gain and maintain employment. Work has a positive impact on mental and physical well-being and can deliver a sense of purpose, social interaction, reward and other tangible benefits.
Working alongside learning disabled employees has additional benefits both to individual staff and teams. Staff are able to develop sensitivity to the clinical and personal needs of patients with learning disabilities, and improvements in whole team productivity and positive work attitude have been widely reported.
“It takes visionary leaders to drive whole system change needed to improve the employment rate of people with learning disability. These leaders can come from anywhere: it could be you.”
How to guide: learning from Valuing People Now employment demonstration sites, Department of Health, March 2011