Article

Workforce Disability Equality Standard (WDES) 2022 key findings and actions

Find out what your organisation can do to improve the experiences of disabled staff.

5 September 2023

NHS England's 2022 NHS Workforce Disability Equality Standard (WDES) report has been published, providing a valuable insight into the working and career experiences of disabled people.

Disabled staff bring valuable lived experience and expertise into the NHS workforce and it is vital that we create and sustain an inclusive environment where everyone can be themselves. The WDES 2022 report shows there is still work to be done and the recently released NHS England Equality, Diversity and Inclusion Improvement Plan supports this.

Take a look at the key findings of the WDES report below along with the actions that you can take to improve the experience of disabled staff in the workforce. 

  • Key findings

    • 2022 data shows an increase of 0.5 percentage points in the disability declaration rate to 4.2 per cent of the total workforce.  
    • The percentage of disabled staff in senior positions (bands 8c and above, including medical consultants and board members) has increased from 3.0 per cent in 2019 to 4.2 per cent in 2022.

    What can organisations do?

    Improve the confidence of staff so they feel comfortable declaring their disability: 

  • Key findings

    • Disabled staff are twice as likely to enter the formal capability process as their non-disabled colleagues.
    • The number of disabled staff reporting they received workplace adjustments to perform their duties has reduced to 72.2 per cent. This means more than a third of disabled staff do not have the adjustments they need to perform their role.

    What can organisations do?

  • Key finding 

    • One third of disabled staff reported having experienced bullying, harassment or abuse from patients, service users or the public. Around a fifth stated experiencing this from managers and one quarter from colleagues. This is notably higher than that experienced by non-disabled staff. 

    What can organisations do?

    Create a psychologically safe environment with a speak up and listening culture. 

  • Key finding 

    • The number of disabled board members has increased by 1.0 percentage point to 4.6 per cent.

    What can organisations do?

    • Encourage board members to declare and speak up about their disabilities.
    • Support your disabled staff to progress in their careers. 
    • Raise awareness of the Disabled NHS Directors Network. This network was created to strengthen the collective impact and voice of disabled leaders and also the voice of disabled staff within the NHS. It provides a peer support network for disabled NHS directors. 
    • Review and improve your recruitment and retention processes so they are more inclusive. Find out how to recruit and support disabled staff in the NHS
  • Key finding 

    • 99.5 per cent of trusts facilitate the voices of disabled staff to be heard. 

    What can organisations do?

    Strive to improve your staff survey results through better staff engagement: 

  • Key finding 

    • Trusts that are rated outstanding in the CQC well-led domain show evidence of being better employers for disabled staff. 

    What can organisations do?

    Consider how you can support your disabled staff, for example, compare data held about harassment, bullying or abuse with exit interviews and grievance procedure data. Take a look at these trusts who have been recognised for their work:

  • Key finding 

    • The percentage of disabled staff experiencing presenteeism is at its lowest level for five years. However, at just under 30 per cent, this is still significantly higher than for non-disabled staff. 

    What can organisations do?

    Consider implementing a well-designed disability leave policy to help disabled staff feel less pressured to attend work when unwell: 

Further information

Access the 2022 NHS Workforce Disability Equality Standard report and read a case study on how speaking out and formalising new standards can transform people’s experience of disability at work.