This morning, 28th February 2024, the Government published the Buckland Review of Autism Employment. Led by Sir Robert Buckland KC MP the report focuses on supporting employers to recruit and retain autistic people and addressing the autism employment gap.

Urgent Government action is needed because autistic people face, the worst employment gap out of all disabled people; only three in ten autistic people are in work, compared with five in ten disabled people and eight in ten for non-disabled people. 

The Buckland report reports that autistic graduates are twice as likely to be unemployed after 15 months as non-disabled graduates, with only 36% finding full time work.

Ahead of the election the National Autistic Society is calling on all political parties to commit to halving the gap and improving reporting of employment data. 
 
Sir Robert Buckland, is an ex minister and Chair of the All-Party Parliamentary Group on Autism. 

Key statistics from the report

• Just 3 in 10 autistic adults are in work, compared to 5 in 10 for all disabled people and 8 in 10 for non-disabled people.
• Autistic people face the largest pay gap of all disability groups.
• Autistic graduates are twice as likely to be unemployed after 15 months as non-disabled graduates. Only 36% finding work in this period
• Autistic graduates are most likely to be overqualified for the job they have.
• They are most likely to be on zero-hour contracts and least likely to be in a permanent role.

What does the report say?

The review considered five themes:

• What initiatives can help to raise awareness, reduce stigma and improve the productivity of autistic employees 
• What more could be done to prepare autistic people effectively for beginning or returning to a career 
• How recruitment practices can be adjusted to meet the needs of autistic applicants 
• How employers can identify and support autistic people already in their workforce 
• How autistic staff can be encouraged and supported to develop and progress in their career 

The review highlights that the biggest barrier to accessing employment for autistic people is a lack of understanding and negative stereotypes.

It also found that application and interview processes are rarely adapted to suit the needs of autistic people. Autistic jobseekers face barriers from vague job descriptions, ambiguous interview questions and sensory environments. Too often the emphasis is placed on social skills rather than job skills.

Access to reasonable adjustments is inconsistent. In most cases the onus is on the autistic employee to identify and advocate for adjustments. Around one third of autistic employees felt unable to discuss their adjustment needs at all, and those who did request adjustments, over a quarter were refused and more than 1 in 10 found the adjustment was poorly implemented.

Recommendations

A key recommendations is the introduction of a taskforce to oversee the implementation of these recommendations. We were pleased to see this recommendation and hope that it will hold the government to account on reducing the autism employment gap.

Autistic people tell us that a lack of understanding and negative stereotypes are the biggest barriers to them entering and staying in work, so we welcome the recommendations in this report to create a national campaign to build awareness and the introduction of a multidisciplinary taskforce, aimed at changing employer behaviour.

Other recommendations, fit into the five themes. They include:

• Promote supported internships as a good route for autistic young people to develop work experience and skills.
• Work with autism charities and other relevant groups to ensure autistic people know about Access to Work and the support it can provide to meet their recruitment and employment needs.
• Ensure careers advisers in schools and colleges have a good understanding of autism.
• Work with autism charities to produce ‘autism design guides’ for a range of industries.

Our thoughts

This report rightly highlights that significant work is needed to ensure autistic people can get work that matches their ability and meets their needs. 

Autistic people have a huge amount to offer employers, and more businesses are now recognising the benefits of having a diverse workforce that is full of people who offer a variety of skills and different ways of thinking. The Buckland review is a step towards the change we need, but a radical transformation is necessary for autistic people to have the opportunities they deserve.

Our Comment

Mel Merritt, Head of Policy and Campaigns at the National Autistic Society, said: “This report rightly highlights that significant work is needed to ensure autistic people can get work that matches their ability and meets their needs. The autism employment gap is shocking; with just 29% of autistic people in work, compared to around half of all disabled people and eight in ten non-disabled people. 
 
“Autistic people tell us that a lack of understanding and negative stereotypes are the biggest barriers to them entering and staying in work, so we welcome the recommendation to create a national campaign to build awareness and the introduction of a multidisciplinary taskforce, aimed at changing employer behaviour.
 
“Autistic people have a huge amount to offer employers, and more businesses are now recognising the benefits of having a diverse workforce that is full of people who offer a variety of skills and different ways of thinking. The Buckland review is a step towards the change we need, but a radical transformation is necessary for autistic people to have the opportunities they deserve.”