The pay gap between non-disabled and disabled workers is higher than it was a decade ago, according to a new analysis by the Trades Union Congress.
The organisation, which supports unions to grow, said its study shows that non-disabled workers earn around a sixth (14.6%) more than disabled workers.
Looking at Labour Force Survey statistics between Q3 2022 to Q2 2023, it found the pay gap for disabled workers across the board is £1.90 an hour, or £66.50 per week.
The TUC added that makes for a pay difference of £3,460 a year for someone working a 35-hour week.
While the per hour figure is an improvement from the £2.05 gap recorded a year earlier, the TUC said the analysis shows that the disability pay gap is now higher than it was a decade ago (13.2% in 2013/14) when the first comparable pay data was recorded.
Other findings in the UK research included that the highest pay gaps are in Wales (21.6% or £2.53 an hour), and the South East (£2.78 an hour).
There are also differences across industries: the biggest pay gap is in financial and industrial services, where the pay gap stands at 33.2% (£5.60 an hour).
The analysis also shows disabled BME workers face a much tougher labour market – one in 10 (10.4%) BME disabled workers are unemployed compared to nearly one in 40 (2.6%) white non-disabled workers.
TUC General Secretary Paul Nowak said: "Being disabled shouldn’t mean you are given a lower wage – or left out of the jobs market altogether. Too many disabled people are held back at work, not getting the reasonable adjustments they need to do their jobs. And we need to strengthen the benefits system for those who are unable to work or are out of work, so they are not left in poverty."
Nowak, who has been general secretary since January, said Labour's 'New Deal for Working People' would be a "game changer for disabled workers" if the party gets the keys to Downing Street.
The TUC pointed to Labour pledging to deliver new rights for working people in an employment bill in its first 100 days.
The TUC said the deal would introduce measures such as disability and ethnicity pay gap reporting and strengthening flexible working rights by introducing a day one right to work flexibly.
