Disabled people should not be placed in unpaid positions without being offered pay or employee benefits.

This is the opinion of Karen Jackson, solicitor and managing partner at employment law boutique didlaw, who railed against reports of government proposals to force individuals to work when they have been deemed too unwell to take on jobs.

According to an article in the Guardian last week, the coalition is considering legislation to place disabled individuals in unpaid positions for an unlimited period of time or face having their benefits cut.

The people affected would be those referred to Work-Related Activity Groups, which have been designed to support those who are too ill to have jobs at the moment but may be able to re-enter the labour market in the future.

Ms Jackson said the proposals are “abhorrent”, arguing employers are not willing to manage disabled and unwell workers, who may need different employment benefits in some cases, which is why there is a disproportionately large number of such individuals unable to find roles.

If businesses are able to take on unpaid personnel, it suggests there is work to be done and these firms should be forced to give their staff members a wage to conduct their duties, she stated.

“What about giving the workforce a sense of value and pride in their work, rather than making them feel abused – is this a return to the Victorian workhouse?” the expert remarked.

“I think the government’s focus is wrong,” she added. “Our society should be trying to empower disabled people and reintegrating them into the workforce.”

Some MPs have also voiced concerns over the way disabled individuals are being treated by reforms in the welfare system, with the Work and Pensions Select Committee recently recommending the government’s planned implementation of medical assessments to identify those eligible for Personal Independence Payments should be more empathetic than the Work Capability Assessments that have been criticised in some quarters for their box-ticking approach.