Disability Living Allowance and work

174 Pages·2010·0.66 MB·English

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Research Report
This report presents the findings from a review of evidence about recipients of Disability D
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Living Allowance (DLA) and a qualitative study of recent applicants for the benefit.
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The report explores a number of hypotheses as to why DLA recipients have particularly R
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low rates of employment, even compared to other, similarly disadvantaged disabled people, s
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and seeks to throw light on what effects DLA receipt may have on people's decision r
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A telephone survey of 1,005 applicants for DLA was carried out prior to them hearing
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of the decision on their claims, and 637 were successfully re-contacted once they knew N
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whether they had been awarded the benefit. There were 110 face-to-face interviews .

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subsequently carried out with purposively selected individuals according to changes in 4
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their employment status.
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Paul Noakes, Commercial Support and Knowledge Management Team, ilit and work: Exploratory research
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3rd Floor, Caxton House, Tothill Street, London SW1H 9NA L
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Research Report No. 648
ISBN 978-1-84712-755-6
Department for Work and Pensions
Research Report No 648
Disability Living Allowance
and work: Exploratory
research and evidence
review
Andrew Thomas and Rita Griffiths
A report of research carried out by Insite Research and Consulting on behalf of
the Department for Work and Pensions
© Crown Copyright 2010. Published for the Department for Work and Pensions
under licence from the Controller of Her Majesty’s Stationery Office.
Application for reproduction should be made in writing to The Copyright Unit,
Her Majesty’s Stationery Office, St Clements House, 2-16 Colegate, Norwich NR3 1BQ.
First Published 2010.
ISBN 978 1 84712 755 6
Views expressed in this report are not necessarily those of the Department for
Work and Pensions or any other Government Department.
Contents iii
Contents
Acknowledgements ..........................................................................................ix
The Authors .......................................................................................................x
Abbreviations ....................................................................................................xi
Summary ...........................................................................................................1
1 Introduction and background .....................................................................13
1.1 Policy background ..........................................................................13
1.2 Welfare reform ................................................................................15
1.3 Welfare reform and DLA ..................................................................17
1.4 Low employment rates among DLA recipients ..................................19
1.5 DLA and work research study ...........................................................20
1.6 Methodology ...................................................................................20
1.6.1 Evidence review .................................................................20
1.6.2 Familiarization group discussions .......................................21
1.6.3 Initial and follow-up telephone surveys of DLA applicants ..22
1.6.4 Face-to-face in-depth interviews ........................................22
2 Exploring hypotheses about DLA recipients and work .................................25
2.1 DLA and economic activity ...............................................................25
2.2 Employment rate of DLA recipients ..................................................26
2.2.1 Employment rate of all disabled people .............................26
2.2.2 The relative employment position of DLA claimants ...........27
2.2.3 Reasons for the low employment rate of DLA recipients ....27
iv Contents
2.3 Are DLA recipients additionally disadvantaged in the
labour market? ................................................................................28
2.4 Are DLA recipients more severely impaired than other disabled
people? ...........................................................................................30
2.4.1 Type of condition ..............................................................30
2.4.2 Type of impairment ...........................................................31
2.4.3 Multiple conditions and impairments .................................32
2.4.4 Severity of impairment ......................................................33
2.5 Are DLA recipients less likely to want to work than other disabled
people? ...........................................................................................34
2.5.1 Perceptions of being permanently prevented from
working ............................................................................36
2.6 Is there a specific ‘DLA factor’? ........................................................37
3 DLA as an out-of-work benefit ...................................................................41
3.1 Perceptions of the nature and purpose of DLA .................................42
3.1.1 Apparent links with other benefits .....................................44
3.1.2 Perceived stigma ...............................................................44
3.1.3 Claiming benefits in work ..................................................46
3.1.4 Lack of knowledge of DLA ................................................46
3.1.5 The ‘badging’ of disability .................................................47
3.1.6 Recognising disabled status ...............................................48
4 Trajectories out of work .............................................................................51
4.1 Surveyed changes in employment status ..........................................52
4.1.1 Work expectations ............................................................55
4.1.2 Anticipated and actual effects of DLA claim decisions ........55
4.2 The timing of DLA applications ........................................................57
4.2.1 Applications from those recently in work ...........................57
4.2.2 Applications from the long-term out of work ....................60
4.2.3 A highly differentiated customer group .............................63
4.2.4 Perceptions of long-term disability .....................................63
Contents v
4.3 ‘Suitable’ future work ......................................................................64
4.3.1 Primacy of previous employment .......................................65
4.3.2 ‘Struggling on’ in work ......................................................66
4.3.3 Reducing pay and down-skilling ........................................67
5 The role of third parties ..............................................................................71
5.1 Reinforcement of misunderstandings ...............................................71
5.2 Medical professionals .......................................................................71
5.3 Support agency staff ........................................................................73
5.3.1 An anti-poverty agenda .....................................................73
5.3.2 Perceived exaggeration ......................................................73
5.4 Jobcentre Plus ..................................................................................75
5.4.1 Felt lack of engagement with health issues ........................75
5.4.2 Emphasis on ‘work first’ ....................................................76
6 Work disincentives and enablers ................................................................79
6.1 Fear of review and loss of DLA entitlement ......................................80
6.1.1 No guarantee of not being reviewed .................................81
6.1.2 A sense of vulnerability ......................................................82
6.2 Financial disincentives: more to lose, less to gain? ............................82
6.2.1 Higher benefit income .......................................................83
6.2.2 DLA ‘income’ ....................................................................85
6.2.3 Viable income ‘packages’ ..................................................87
6.2.4 DLA flexibility ....................................................................89
6.2.5 The relative value of DLA ...................................................90
6.3 Benefits complexity ..........................................................................90
6.3.1 Perceived cost of disruption ...............................................91
6.3.2 Impacts of change on households .....................................92
6.3.3 Perceptions of risk .............................................................93
6.3.4 Interdependencies of benefits ............................................94
6.4 DLA as a work incentive or enabler .................................................96
vi Contents
6.4.1 Effectiveness of incentives for disabled people ...................96
6.4.2 Previous attempts to incentivise work for disabled people ..96
6.4.3 DLA as a work ‘enabler’ ....................................................96
6.4.4 Meeting travel to work and other work-related costs .........97
6.4.5 Buying time (reduced hours and days off) ..........................99
6.4.6 Making low pay more viable ............................................102
6.4.7 Impacts on job retention ................................................103
7 Conclusions and implications for policy ....................................................105
7.1 Conclusions ...................................................................................105
7.2 Implications for policy ....................................................................106
7.2.1 Moving DLA recipients (back) into work ..........................106
7.2.2 The diverse nature of the DLA recipient group .................107
7.2.3 Possible support interventions .........................................108
7.2.4 Job retention ...................................................................109
7.2.5 The longer term out of work ...........................................109
Appendix A DLA and DLA customers ...........................................................111
Appendix B Telephone surveys of DLA applicants .........................................117
Appendix C NVQ levels and equivalent qualifications ...................................145
Appendix D Health crises precipitating DLA claims .........................................147
Appendix E Evaluations of previous work incentives for disabled people .........149
References .....................................................................................................155
List of tables
Table 4.1 Employment status of DLA recipients ..........................................52
Table 4.2 Those working full-time and part-time hours ..............................53
Table 4.3 Work intentions and actual ‘outcomes’ after four to
five months ................................................................................56
Table 4.4 Movements into work in five months following DLA
applications ................................................................................62
Table 7.1 Employment status of eventual recipients when
applying for DLA.......................................................................107
Table B.1 Ethnic background ....................................................................118
Contents vii
Table B.2 Gender .....................................................................................118
Table B.3 Age profile ...............................................................................118
Table B.4 Household types .......................................................................118
Table B.5 Application suggested/encouraged by.......................................119
Table B.6 Category of disability ................................................................119
Table B.7 Length of time affected by condition ........................................120
Table B.8 Expectations for health conditions in the future ........................120
Table B.9 Statements about disability/health condition .............................121
Table B.10 Highest level of qualification .....................................................121
Table B.11 Receipt of main out-of-work benefits .......................................122
Table B.12 Other benefits ..........................................................................122
Table B.13 In-work benefits .......................................................................122
Table B.14 Work history .............................................................................123
Table B.15 Those currently with a job .........................................................123
Table B.16 Length of time in current job ....................................................124
Table B.17 Weekly hours normally worked .................................................124
Table B.18 Length of time off work for those on sick leave ........................124
Table B.19 Those currently without a job ...................................................125
Table B.20 Length of time since last worked ..............................................125
Table B.21 Work aspirations among those currently out of work ................125
Table B.22 Anticipated effect of DLA award on likelihood of working ........126
Table B.23 Anticipated impact of DLA claim decision (those in work) .........126
Table B.24 Anticipated impact of DLA claim decision (those out of work) ...127
Table B.25 Perceptions about DLA, work and benefits ................................127
Table B.26 How receiving DLA would make a difference ............................128
Table B.27 DLA decisions ...........................................................................129
Table B.28 Elements and levels of awards ..................................................129
Table B.29 Numbers receiving award elements/levels .................................130
Table B.30 Previous DLA claims ..................................................................130
Table B.31 Application suggested/ encouraged by......................................131
Table B.32 Ethnic background ....................................................................131
Table B.33 Age profile ...............................................................................132
Table B.34 Age profile by gender ...............................................................132
Table B.35 Household types .......................................................................133
Table B.36 Length of time affected by condition ........................................133
Table B.37 Expectations for health conditions in the future ........................134
Table B.38 Gender of recipients .................................................................134
Table B.39 Age of recipients ......................................................................134
Table B.40 Ethnic background of recipients ................................................134
Table B.41 Main type of health condition of recipients ...............................135
Table B.42 Highest level of qualification of recipients .................................135
viii Contents
Table B.43 Recipients’ work history ............................................................135
Table B.44 Receipt of out-of-work benefits by eventual recipients ..............136
Table B.45 Recipients who had been out of work at S1 ..............................137
Table B.46 Awareness of support and moves into work .............................137
Table B.47 Benefits receipt by length of time out of work
(DLA recipients) ........................................................................138
Table B.48 Employment status ...................................................................138
Table B.49 Full-time and part-time hours....................................................139
Table B.50 Work expectations of recipients and failed applicants ...............141
Table B.51 Work aspirations and expectations among those out of work ...141
Table B.52 Intentions and actual ‘outcomes’ after four to five months .......142
Table B.53 Intended changes to hours and actual ‘outcomes’ after
four to five months ...................................................................142
Acknowledgements ix
Acknowledgements
We would like to thank the Disability Living Allowance applicants and recipients
who took part in the research interviews and staff in the Department for Work
and Pensions (DWP) who contributed to the research. Their participation in the
research was highly valued and essential.
We would also like to thank Andrea Kirkpatrick and Mike Daly in the Disability and
Carers Benefits Division of the DWP who provided immense support and guidance
throughout the life of this project.