Annex A: Consultation questions
Updated 21 March 2022
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This publication is available at https://www.gov.uk/government/consultations/disability-workforce-reporting/annex-a-consultation-questions
IMPORTANT: Some of the questions in this consultation have tick box options for the answers. This document only shows the questions, and not the tick box answer options.
To respond to the consultation questions, please see how to respond.
Part 1: Information about you or your organisation
This section seeks information about you or your organisation. It will be used to check that we have received responses from across our target audiences. Demographic information will allow us to better understand trends across respondents, and to consider equality impacts in any future policy decisions.
If you are responding as an employer or employer representative organisation or network, please go to Section A.
If you are responding as an employee or employee representative organisation or network, please go to Section B.
Section A: Employer demographics
What type of organisation do you represent?
Please provide the organisation’s name.
How many employees or members does your organisation have?
Where does your organisation operate?
What sector is your organisation based in?
What industry is your organisation based in?
Does your organisation currently collect diversity workforce data on a voluntary basis for the following?
What is your role in the organisation?
Section B: Employee demographics
Whose views are you representing in this response?
For employee representative organisations or networks
What type of organisations or networks does your response represent?
Whose views does your organisation or network represent? Please state whether members are individuals or organisations.
How many members does your organisation or network represent?
Where does your organisation or network operate?
What sector is the organisation or network in?
What is your role in the organisation?
For employees and other individuals
Which of the following descriptions do you identify with?
Do you identify as having conditions or illnesses that affect you in any of the following areas?
Where do you mostly work?
What is your ethnicity? Please choose the option that best describes your ethnic group or background.
What is your religion?
How old are you?
What is your sex? (We will ask about gender next)
Is the gender you identify with the same as your sex registered at birth?
Which of the following best describes your sexual orientation?
What was the occupation of your main household earner when you were about aged 14? This question provides an indication of socio-economic background.
Part 2: Employer perspectives
We welcome contributions from all employers and employer representative organisations and networks in this section. We are particularly interested in hearing from large employers (over 250 staff) and business representative groups.
There is a duty on public authorities to consider how their policies and decisions affect people who are protected under the Equality Act 2010. In responding to this consultation, please highlight any equalities impacts across protected characteristics in your answers.
Section A: Understanding the current landscape
We want to understand how and what information is currently collected by employers on disability in the workforce, the impact to business, and the behaviours it causes.
Does your organisation currently collect information on the proportion of disabled people in your workforce?
If yes
What information does your organisation collect?
How is this information collected?
How long has your organisation collected this information for?
Do you know if your organisation uses the disability voluntary reporting framework?
If your organisation does use the framework, how useful is it?
Is there a cost to your organisation for collecting this data?
How does your organisation use workforce information on disability in your organisation?
Does your organisation publish disability workforce data externally?
If yes, where does your organisation publish this?
If no
What is your organisation’s reason for not recording or reporting on disability in the workplace?
Please explain your response.
Is your organisation aware of the disability voluntary reporting framework?
If yes, does your organisation find it useful?
Please explain your answer.
Section B: Benefits and barriers to disability workforce reporting
This section seeks to better understand perceived benefits and risks involved in disability workforce reporting, both voluntary and mandatory.
Please explain and provide evidence for your answers where possible.
Do you think that greater transparency on disability in the workforce leads to more inclusive practices?
Please explain and provide evidence where possible.
Do you think that disability workforce reporting by large employers (250 or more employees) should be voluntary or mandatory?
What do you think the main benefits of a voluntary approach to disability workforce reporting are?
What do you think the main risks are?
The research available indicates low uptake of the disability voluntary reporting framework. How could voluntary reporting be increased?
What do you think the main benefits of a mandatory approach to disability workforce reporting are?
What do you think the main risks are?
What do you think the main benefits of publishing disability workforce information are?
What do you think the main risks are?
Section C: Considerations if mandatory disability workforce reporting were to be implemented
This section explores issues requiring careful consideration if disability workforce reporting were to be made mandatory through legislation. The information you provide here will be considered in the broader context of answers to sections A and B, where you were asked to set out the benefits and risks of voluntary and mandatory reporting processes.
Disability workforce reporting is intended to increase transparency and the recruitment, retention and progression of disabled people. Do you agree or disagree that the proportion of employees identifying as disabled is a useful statistic to report on?
Please explain your answer.
What, if any, statistic could be reported alongside or instead of the proportion of employees identifying as disabled? Please explain.
Do you agree or disagree that large employers (250 or more employees) should use a standardised approach to collect disability workforce data if reporting became mandatory?
Please explain your answer.
There are many ways that people are asked to self-identify as disabled. If large employers were to use a standardised approach to data collection, which wording do you think should be used to ask employees if they identify as disabled?
What could support large employers to implement disability workforce reporting in consistent and effective ways? For example, would tools or guidance help consistency across organisations and sectors, and if so what could this look like.
If large employers were required to collect disability workforce information and report it to another organisation, which organisation do you think they should report to?
Should large employers publish organisation-level disability workforce statistics? For example, the proportion of their workforce identifying as disabled.
If published, who do you think should publish this information?
Section D: Alternative approaches
Mandatory workforce reporting is one means to increase transparency on disability in the workforce, with the aim to improve information and achieve more inclusive practices. We are interested to hear your views on other initiatives that might have the same outcomes.
What alternative approaches would you suggest to increase transparency, inclusion and employment of disabled people in the workplace? If you have any evidence to support this suggestion, please provide it.
Part 3: Employee perspectives
We welcome contributions from all interested parties from an employee perspective in this section. We are particularly interested in hearing from disabled people, disabled people led organisations, disability staff networks, and trade unions.
There is a duty on public authorities to consider or think about how their policies or decisions affect people who are protected under the Equality Act 2010. In responding to this consultation, please highlight any equalities impacts across protected characteristics in your answers.
Section A: Understanding the current landscape
We want to understand how and what information is currently collected by employers on disability in the workforce, and the behaviours it causes.
Does your current or did your previous employer collect information on the proportion of disabled people in their workforce?
If yes
What information does your employer collect?
Do you know if your employer uses workforce information on disability for any of the following reasons?
Does your employer publish your disability workforce data externally?
If yes, where does your employer publish this?
Do you agree or disagree that your employer should collect disability workforce data?
Please explain your answer.
If no or unsure
Do you agree or disagree that employers should collect disability workforce data?
Please explain your answer.
Section B: Benefits and barriers to disability workforce reporting
This section seeks to better understand perceived benefits and risks involved in disability workforce reporting, both voluntary and mandatory.
Please explain and provide evidence for your answers where possible.
Do you think that greater transparency on disability in the workforce leads to more inclusive practices?
Please explain your answer and provide evidence where possible.
Do you think that disability workforce reporting by large employers (250 or more employees) should be voluntary or mandatory?
What do you think the main benefits of a voluntary approach to disability workforce reporting are?
What do you think the main risks are?
The research available indicates low uptake of the disability voluntary reporting framework. How could voluntary reporting be increased?
What do you think the main benefits of a mandatory approach to disability workforce reporting are?
What are the main risks?
What do you think the main benefits of publishing disability workforce information are?
What do you think the main risks are?
Section C: Considerations if mandatory disability workforce reporting were to be implemented
This section explores issues requiring careful consideration if disability workforce reporting were to be made mandatory through legislation.
This information will be considered in the broader context of answers to sections A and B, where you were asked to set out the benefits and risks of voluntary and mandatory reporting processes.
Disability workforce reporting is intended to increase transparency and the recruitment, retention and progression of disabled people. Do you agree or disagree that the proportion of employees identifying as disabled is a useful statistic to report on?
Please explain your answer.
What, if any, statistic should be reported alongside or instead of the proportion of employees identifying as disabled? Please explain your answer.
Do you agree or disagree that large employers (250 or more employees) should use a standardised approach to collect disability workforce data if reporting became mandatory?
Please explain your answer.
There are many ways that people are asked to self-identify as disabled. If large employers were to use a standardised approach to data collection, which wording do you think should be used to ask employees if they identify as disabled?
Not everyone who meets the criteria for disability as set out in the Equality Act 2010 identifies as disabled or feels comfortable disclosing this information to their employer. What measures or approaches could make data collection more inclusive of people who do not feel comfortable identifying as or disclosing disability? Please explain your suggestions.
If large employers were required to collect disability workforce information and report it to another organisation, which organisation do you think they should report to?
Should large employers publish organisation-level disability workforce statistics? For example, the proportion of their workforce identifying as disabled.
If published, who do you think should publish this information?
Section D: Alternative approaches
Mandatory workforce reporting is being considered as one way to improve transparency on disability in the workforce and support more inclusive practices. We are interested to hear your views on other initiatives that might have the same outcomes.
What alternative would you suggest to increase transparency, inclusion and employment of disabled people in the workplace? If you have any evidence to support this suggestion, please provide it.