UK Government review of Autistic employment prospects

Post Reply New Topic

Sir Robert Buckland KC MP to lead new Autism Employment Review
Focus on supporting employers to recruit and retain autistic people and reap benefits of a neurodiverse workforce
Recommendations for change to be brought to Government later this year
A new review designed to boost the employment prospects of autistic people has been launched by the Government to spread opportunity, close the employment gap and grow the economy.

The Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, Mel Stride MP, has appointed Sir Robert Buckland KC MP to lead the review, which will consider how the Government can work with employers to help more autistic people realise their potential and get into work.

People with autism have particularly low employment rates – with fewer than three in 10 in work – but the Buckland Review of Autism Employment, supported by charity Autistica and the Department for Work and Pensions (DWP), is aiming to change that.

The Review will ask businesses, employment organisations, specialist support groups and autistic people to help identify the barriers to securing and retaining work and progressing with their careers.

The Minister for Disabled People, Health and Work, Tom Pursglove MP said:

We know autistic people can face barriers moving into employment and staying there. This is often down to the employers themselves not having the tools to support autistic people, or truly understanding the value of a neurodiverse workforce.

This important review will provide us with vital information to remove these barriers and help more autistic people start, stay and succeed in work by ensuring more employers provide truly inclusive places to work. I look forward to seeing the recommendations from the review.

Rt Hon Sir Robert Buckland KC MP said:

I am delighted to have been asked to lead this important Review. Our workplaces and businesses would benefit so much from the huge potential that autistic people represent.

If we close the employment gap for autistic people, it will not just mean individual fulfilment but a significant boost to employment and productivity for our country.

The Buckland Review of Autism Employment will consider issues including:

how employers identify and better support autistic staff already in their workforce;
what more could be done to prepare autistic people effectively for beginning or returning to a career;
and working practices or initiatives to reduce stigma and improve the productivity of autistic employees.
It will focus specifically on autistic people, and aim to develop solutions that:

will be acceptable to autistic people.
will be effective at improving autistic people’s outcomes.
will be feasible for employers or public services to deliver.
The Review will also look at employers who are benefitting from a neurodiverse workforce, like London manufacturer KwickScreen. The innovative company provides transparent screens to every UK hospital and played a pivotal role in the NHS’s response to the Covid pandemic.

On a recent visit to their Lewisham base, the Minister and Sir Robert discovered many of the breakthrough initiatives in the company came from the neurodiverse members of the team.

Dr James Cusack, Chief Executive of the UK autism research and campaigning charity, Autistica said:

The benefits for autistic people and society will be huge if we can give autistic people the opportunity to work and thrive in employment. That’s why as a charity we want to see a doubling of the employment rate for autistic people by 2030.

We are delighted to support the government on this vital review which will enable us to move from awareness to evidence-based action. This will help us to rethink how we approach autistic people’s access to work and perhaps drive a wider rethink around how we accommodate everyone in work, as we all think differently with unique strengths, challenges and needs.

As part of the review, many of the adjustments and initiatives that would benefit autistic people could also benefit a wider group of people who think differently, including those with other neurodevelopmental conditions such as ADHD, dyslexia and dyspraxia.

Further Information
The Buckland Review of Autism Employment is intended to complement, rather than duplicate, the Government’s national strategy for autistic children, young people and adults: 2021-26, which also recognises employment as a priority.

The review will be GB-wide and the leadership role is an unpaid position

The Buckland Review of Autism Employment will start next month, with recommendations issued to report to the Secretary of State in September 2023.

Alongside the review, autism charity Autistica are raising awareness of the barriers autistic people face with the traditional interview process.

Their Hire Different campaign, which runs for World Autism Acceptance Week from March 27, directs employers to the Autistica Employers Guide to Neurodiversity which has guidance on how to run inclusive interviews.

They are also encouraging people to get involved in their research and campaigning around employment. Learn more about the campaign at: https://www.autistica.org.uk/hire-different

This is concerning.

There definitely needs to be more employment opportunities for Autistic people.

But the DWP has a terrible track record for how it treats vulnerable claimants. Will vulnerable, Autistic people face pressure and bullying from DWP and Job Centres?

When you look at the track record of the DWP, it is difficult to believe that this review has good intentions. Is it simply a cost-cutting exercise?

I suspect this is either 'get autistic people in jobs and so off our disability claim system'. Or 'identify autistic people and marginalise/mentally torture them/make their lives so difficult that they...er...disappear*'

I agree.

This feels like Austerity 2.0

Austerity 1.0 was all about making the public paranoid about “benefit scroungers” and using that to justify brutal cuts to benefits.

Austerity 2.0 seems to be about making benefits cuts under the guise of “supporting Autistic people”

I think it's a two-for-one deal. As you say, it gets people off disability benefits, which is always a priority for Conservatives but it also adds to the available employee pool which we sorely need, thanks to no-one wanting to come here and work anymore post Brexit. This is going to be a big issue that businesses are going to be angry about come election time.

The test will come when we see whether these ASD people who are newly welcomed into the workforce are getting jobs that truly embrace their neurodiversity and make allowances for their needs, or whether they're just the doing low-skilled work.

You make an excellent point^

'Get autistic people back in work' i.e. off benefits.

there are jobs we can do , but often the interview process stops us working.

I have also read that staff will be given bonuses for pushing Universal Credit claimants into work (which is absolutely shocking, in my opinion). I think this is indicative of the real intentions of current benefit reforms.

I hadn’t made the link between the job vacancies left by Brexit and the push for Autistic people into work. This is concerning, too, because, as has been said, it could result in Autistic people being matched with inappropriate jobs.

It doesn't surprise me about the bonuses for pushing UC claimants into work. They are already starting that. Did you know about 'work coaches' being put into doctors' surgeries to 'encourage' unwell people to go back to work. I think they mean long term sick, not people with flu etc. I think they want to get people to 'manage' their illnesses by going back to work.

This is concerning.

There definitely needs to be more employment opportunities for Autistic people.

But the DWP has a terrible track record for how it treats vulnerable claimants. Will vulnerable, Autistic people face pressure and bullying from DWP and Job Centres?

When you look at the track record of the DWP, it is difficult to believe that this review has good intentions. Is it simply a cost-cutting exercise?

I have had a lot of experience dealing with DWP and UK job centres.

It will absolutely mean so called hf invisible autistic people will be bullied and tricked to come off Disability welfare