🏛️ Big news for flexible working researchers and advocates.

The UK's Women and Equalities Committee (WEC) has just launched a new parliamentary inquiry into flexible working and disability and it's asking some important questions.

Despite the post-pandemic cultural shift towards flexible working, the employment rate for working-age disabled people in Q2 2025 was just 52.8%, compared to 82.5% for non-disabled people. That gap is stubbornly persistent and this inquiry seeks to know why.

🔍 The inquiry will examine:

➡️ The effectiveness of flexible working provisions in the Employment Rights Act 2025 for disabled workers

➡️ Employer duties under the Equality Act around reasonable adjustments

➡️ The impact of return-to-office mandates on disabled employees

➡️ How flexible working affects disabled people's recruitment, retention and progression

➡️ The role of the EHRC in enforcing disabled workers' rights

➡️ Experiences across different disability types, sectors and protected characteristics

✍ Written submissions are open until 26 June 2026.

🔗 Read more here: https://committees.parliament.uk/work/9760/equality-at-work-flexible-working-and-disability/