The United Kingdom Pathways to Work Program: A Path to Employment?

The idea of people with disabilities working is becoming the expectation and goal of public policy in the U.S. as well as in many other countries. This research brief from Mathematica’s Center for Studying Disability Policy profiles the U.K.’s Pathways to Work program which offers employment support and services to applicants for Incapacity Benefits (IB), the country’s largest disability program. Its key elements are a series of compulsory work-focused interviews, as well as a range of optional services and financial supports known as the Choices Package. The brief notes that after 18 months, employment increased substantially, and there was a small reduction in caseload size. Pathways increased the probability of being in paid work by 7 percent—a 25 percent increase over the comparison group. The program also reduced the IB caseload by an estimated 2 percent. In addition, it reduced by 11 percent the likelihood that claimants report a health condition significantly limiting their ability to carry out daily activities.