Hybrid Regulation and Employer Signalling of Disability Inclusion in UK Job Adverts

ABSTRACT In liberal market economies, the role of employers in shaping equality regulation has become increasingly prominent, leading to the emergence of new hybrid forms of employer‐driven state and joint regulation that are reshaping the institutional architecture of equality. This study assesses the relationship between these hybrid regulatory forms and the inclusion of disability‐inclusive hiring and retention practices in job adverts. As an example of employer‐driven state regulation, we examine the UK's Disability Confident scheme, which is co‐produced with employers and invites participating organisations to seek certification to signal their disability‐inclusive practices. As an example of employer‐driven joint regulation, we examine organisational employee disability networks, which have become increasingly prominent in the context of declining trade union representation. Drawing on demand‐side microdata from 132,456 UK job adverts, we found that some (but not all) practices were more commonly included in adverts posted by Disability Confident organisations and by organisations with employee disability networks, but even in these cases such practices were included only infrequently. The findings raise questions about whether employer‐driven hybrid regulatory forms are associated with substantive organisational practice or are primarily a form of symbolic signalling to external stakeholders.