Philip Davies and Minimum Wage for Disabled People

Earlier this week in Parliament, one Philip Davies argued that people with disabilities should be "allowed" to work for less than minimum wage. He argued that an employer is more likely to employ a person who is not disabled and that allowing disabled people to work below minimum wage would be a good way to prevent employers discriminating against disabled people.

I strongly disagree. Allowing such a thing would have precisely the opposite effect. Granted, disabled people might (and I stress the term) be able to find work more easily. But it would still allow discrimination in far too easily. If an employer knows that the law allows disabled people to work for less, they could very easily make a little pay cut that lowers the wages of disabled people in their company whilst still remaining within the law. It compels disabled people to accept the idea of being payed less and encourages discrimination.

Rather than tackling the issue in this way, Mr Davies should have made it his priority to tackle the attitude that would drive employers to hire a non-disabled person over a disabled. An employer that puts profits above people holds an utterly morally bankrupt position. The law should acknowledge this and counter it, not encourage it.