Today, more people than ever before are self-employed in the UK. Since 2000, 50 per cent more workers have taken the leap into self-employment, driving numbers up to almost five million. And it is a trend that looks set to continue.

For most, making the move into self-employment was a positive choice that brought enviable perks such as more control over not only how they work, but also when and who for. An IPSE study of freelancers found that 84 per cent are satisfied with working for themselves, and two thirds (64%) intend to work as a freelancer for the foreseeable future. 

One group in particular are choosing to work for themselves: disabled people. In fact, in the last five years, the number of self-employed disabled people has risen by 30 per cent. Disabled people now number over seven million nationwide, and they account for 14 per cent of the self-employed workforce – amounting to roughly 611,000 people. 

Despite the large number of disabled people in self-employment, however, very little is known about this group. IPSE and Community have teamed up to answer some of the burning questions that have gone unanswered for too long, including: 

• Who are the disabled self-employed?
• What are their motivations for entering self-employment?
• Are they enjoying self-employment? And if not, why?
• Where there are problems, what can IPSE, Community and others do to improve the situation? 

‘Making self-employment work for disabled people’ finally answers these questions. For this report, we worked with our research partners ComRes to get the real views of disabled people, consulted experts from government, the charity sector and academia, and also analysed data from the Office for National Statistics to uncover more about this poorly understood group. 

What we found was encouraging. The majority of disabled people we interviewed had a positive view of self-employment, they felt it met their needs where employment couldn’t, and intended to stay in it for the long-term. The data supports this, showing almost half (44%) of disabled people had spent 10 years or more in self-employment. 

Most of the problems that disabled self-employed people (alternatively referred to as disabled freelancers) experience are the same as the wider self-employed population. These include difficulty knowing how to set up their businesses, the scourge of late payment, keeping up to date with regulations, and the challenge of maintaining their businesses. Disabled and non-disabled people’s experiences diverge, however, when it comes to welfare support.

Experts, the testimonies of disabled people themselves – as well as other evidence – show that although the government is making efforts to improve the welfare system, there are significant problems with the support disabled people draw on. There are reports of disabled people struggling to access benefits through the Work Capability Assessment, a welfare system that does not understand mental health conditions adequately, and benefits which exacerbate financial issues such as Universal Credit. These are all challenges that make being disabled and self-employed more difficult. 

In ‘Making self-employment work for disabled people’ we set out a bold and achievable policy agenda that, if acted on by government, the private sector, and support organisations, can ensure that all disabled people who are currently self-employed or considering it can make a success of this way of working. 

1. Re-design the Work Capability Assessment (WCA): Ensure disabled people with a broad mix of physical and mental health conditions and impairments are part of a process to co-produce a redesigned WCA. This should reduce chances of wrong decisions being made in the assessment process. 
2. Increase powers of the Small Business Commissioner: Give the Commissioner the power to fine late payers. 
3. Increase New Enterprise Allowance (NEA) mentor and benefit support to two years: NEA benefit and mentor support should be increased to reflect the length of time individuals need support whilst establishing their business.
4. Publicise Access to Work (ATW): The DWP should publicise ATW more broadly in Job Centre Pluses and mandate Work Coaches to make all eligible people aware of ATW – it is the government’s best-kept secret for supporting disabled people in work!