The disability pay gap in the UK: What is the role of the public sector?

• An unexplained disability pay gap exists in the UK public and private sector • It is larger in the private sector, where a ‘glass ceiling’ is also evident • Disabled employees experience relative wage protection in the public sector • The sectoral differences appear to be driven by the effect for females Using data from the UK Quarterly Labour Force Survey we provide the first evidence on variation in the disability pay gap between the public and private sector. Decomposing the disability pay gap at the mean we find evidence of a sizable unexplained pay gap in both sectors, but this is narrower in the public relative to the private sector, consistent with greater pay equality in the public sector. The unexplained disability pay gap increases across the pay distribution particularly in the private sector, suggesting a ‘glass ceiling’. As such, our evidence suggests the public sector provides relative protection for disabled employees, especially at the top end of the wage distribution. This appears to be driven by the influence for females.