The government is in no position to advise employers about hiring disabled people

The Department for Work and Pensions has produced a how-to guide for businesses looking to employ more disabled people – which, given its own questionable record on such matters, is a bit rich, says James Moore

Todd became Britain’s first fully qualified scaffolder with Down’s Syndrome, finding part-time employment with Coles Scaffolding

As a disabled person of working age, it is hard to imagine an organisation less likely than the Department for Work & Pensions (DWP) to produce a guide on how to be an awesome employer of those of us with pesky bodies that do things a bit differently. It’s like the Brazilian government inviting an illegal logging company to advise on how to conserve the rainforest.

It isn’t just that the DWP behaves badly towards those claiming disability benefits that it can feel like a sledgehammer is aimed at our skulls. The government’s own performance statistics don’t make for happy reading, either. Fun fact: 70 per cent of appeals against its decisions on personal independence payments (PIP) are won by the appellant.

No, its record as an employer is, shall we say, less than exemplary. Actually, that’s soft-soaping it. “Bloody awful” might be a better way to characterise it.