Capilano Students'​ Union’s Post

Did you know disabled workers can only earn $16,200 a year before they lose access to their disability benefits? And when they lose access to their disability benefits it sometimes can mean they lose access to other entitlements such as housing. Living Wage Employers who want to do the right thing face a difficult dilemma - do they pay their disabled staff less by offering them fewer hours than their non-disabled peers or do they let their staff lose access to the support they’re entitled to? We’ve partnered with Living Wage for Families BC, BC Poverty Reduction Coalition, and Disability Alliance BC to sign this open letter asking to use the upcoming review of the Poverty Reduction Strategy to remove these restrictions and allow disabled workers to earn a Living Wage. Read the letter and share: https://lnkd.in/gWQ-Fxzf

Did you know disabled workers can only earn $16,200 a year before they lose access to their disability benefits? And when they lose access to their disability benefits it sometimes can mean they lose access to other entitlements such as housing. Living Wage Employers who want to do the right thing face a difficult dilemma - do they pay their disabled staff less by offering them fewer hours than their non-disabled peers or do they let their staff lose access to the support they’re entitled to? CLAS has partnered with Living Wage for Families BC, BC Poverty Reduction Coalition, and Disability Alliance BC to sign this open letter to ask to use the upcoming review of the Poverty Reduction Strategy to remove these restrictions and allow disabled workers to earn a Living Wage. Read the letter and share: https://lnkd.in/gXTkEvBv.

Did you know disabled workers can only earn $16,200 a year before they lose access to their disability benefits? And when they lose access to their disability benefits it sometimes can mean they lose access to other entitlements such as housing. Living Wage Employers who want to do the right thing face a difficult dilemma - do they pay their disabled staff less by offering them fewer hours than their non-disabled peers or do they let their staff lose access to the support they’re entitled to? We’ve partnered with @lwforfamilies, @povreductionbc and @disabilityalliancebc to sign this open letter to @sheilamalcolmsonbc to ask her to use the upcoming review of the Poverty Reduction Strategy to remove these restrictions and allow disabled workers to earn a Living Wage. Read the letter and share: https://lnkd.in/gXTkEvBv

Today’s #CPW24 focus is on adequate incomes. The 2024 #GDASurvey found a key concern of 93% of disabled respondents was money and 71% did not have an adequate income through either benefits or work. Research by Scope reveals a ‘disability price tag’: disabled households need £975 more a month to have the same standard of living as a non-disabled household. Disability benefits are meant to cover the additional costs of being disabled, e.g. higher energy and transport costs and social care charges, but GDA members tell us due to the #CostOfLIvingCrisis, they have to use this money for everyday essentials, not additional costs. To tackle disabled people’s #Poverty, we must: 1. Increase non-means tested disability benefits, e.g. PIP, to meet the true extra costs of disability. 2. Invest in, develop and sustain accessible welfare rights advice, information and representation, such as #GDA’s ‘Rights Now’ & 'Advice in Accessible Settings' projects. 3. Co-design a Disabled People’s Poverty Action Plan with #DPOs, including meaningful actions which change lives. Join us this Friday as we challenge disabled people's poverty. For more info: https://lnkd.in/eVXwQ_4v

There are 8.7 million Disabled women in the UK. Disabled people are more likely to be underemployed and in low paid jobs. Overall, people with a disability earn 19.6% less than non-Disabled people, and the risk of in-work poverty is higher than for those without one. Therefore, it’s vitally important that Disabled people get the benefits they need, and that’s why we have responded to the government’s consultation on disability benefits reform. Learn more 👉 https://lnkd.in/gYs7mV9D #DisabledWomenUK #DisabilityBenefits #GovernmentConsultation

Since the early 2000s, disability benefits in Israel have seen significant changes, shifting from an emphasis on workforce integration to compensation post the 2017-2018 protests. Policy adjustments post-2017 led to a much more generous disability benefit, resulting in a notable rise in recipients and benefit levels, contrasting the decline in income support recipients and benefit amounts since the mid-2010s. The data indicates a link between disability benefit levels and labor market participation rates. Higher benefit levels correlate with increased reliance on disability benefits as a primary form of support, diminishing the role of income support. As Israel's social policies evolve, the question arises: should there be a shift toward long-term compensation over workforce integration? This fundamental shift could significantly impact the future landscape of the labor market. #Israel #DisabilityBenefits #SocialPolicies #LaborMarket #WorkforceIntegration #Compensation

Nearly half of all people who were disabled and living in poverty have a long-term, limiting mental health need – this is around 2.3 million people. Employment rates are markedly lower for disabled people compared with non-disabled people. And the pay gap between disabled and non-disabled employees is around 13% with disabled people earning about £2 less per hour than non-disabled people. VODG (Voluntary Organisations Disability Group) has mobilised parliamentarians calling for disabled people to be at the heart of policy making 👉 https://lnkd.in/ehvkNw49 The Department of Health and Social Care Minister of State for Care Stephen Kinnock has been appointed as the Lead Minister for Disability at DHSC. We very much welcomes this. Working across government with the Department for Work and Pensions (DWP) the Minister of State for Social Security and Disability Stephen Timms offers us an immediate opportunity to address some of the long-standing challenges facing disabled people and their support services. We all need to be on the right side of history in seeking progressive policy solutions to the challenges we face.

The NB Housing Corporation has announced a new Direct-to-Tenant benefit for families and seniors on the housing waitlist. The current housing benefit does not reflect the higher cost of living with a disability and those with a disability require a Direct-to-Tenant benefit that reflects the ever-growing crisis of housing. It must recognize the precariousness of those seeking housing through benefits which are set at a higher percentage of median market rent. This is particularly true for people with a disability living in deep poverty who receive social assistance benefits. Action Required: Commit to a Direct-to-Tenant Disability benefit for working-age adults with a disability with customized eligibility criteria and benefit rates. Learn more here: https://lnkd.in/g3ZddNVT

In our Pre-budget Submission 2025 we are calling on Government to address disability poverty and exclusion and make a real investment into people's live.  Our pre-budget theme "Is No Time to Delay - Disability Rights in Budget 2025".  We have four key areas of priority:  -Sustainable health and social care services: Provide funding to deliver the Action Plan for Disability Services 2024-2026  -Tackling poverty, cost of disability and employment: Introduce a recurring Cost of Disability payment of €2,600 a year, or €50 a week in addition to raising social welfare rates. -Ensuring community inclusion and participation: Develop a new programme to create disability inclusive communities, similar to the current Age Friendly programme.    -Realising housing for all: Provide funding to implement the National Housing Strategy for Disabled People 2022-2027.

Today I wrote to another minister about closing the disability employment gap. . This time I wrote with some research requests because I don't think the financial case is clearly understood, or formulated to make a clear economic argument. There are some cracking bits of research out there... but it I have yet to find the Return on Investment figures for getting and keeping disabled people in work (or running their own businesses). . I know from the other bits of research that are out there, that the disability employment gap exists (about 14.6% lower pay for equal work). I also read statistics saying that disabled entrepreneurs make up about a quarter of all business owners, and contribute 9% to the GDP of the country. . So we aren't small fry... . And this is without good support and infrastructure. . Can you imagine what impact and difference we can make to the UK economy if we did? . The top and bottom of this is finding compelling ways to motivate the government to improve the Access to Work scheme. . It isn't about pity hand-outs. This is about giving the support needed to help disabled people to participate and contribute. We want to. And it will make more money for the economy than it ever invests... I simply want the numbers to prove it. . (if this does already exist... please point me to it...)