Disability benefits stop workers earning a living wage

Did you know disabled workers can only earn $16,200 a year before they lose access to their disability benefits? And when they lose access to their disability benefits it sometimes can mean they lose access to other entitlements such as housing.

Living Wage Employers who want to do the right thing face a difficult dilemma - do they pay their disabled staff less by offering them fewer hours than their non-disabled peers or do they let their staff lose access to the support they’re entitled to?

We’ve partnered with Poverty Reduction Coalition, Disability Alliance of BC and 50 other employers to sign this open letter to the Minister for Social Development and Poverty Reduction, to ask her to use the upcoming review of the Poverty Reduction Strategy to remove these restrictions and allow disabled workers to earn a Living Wage.

Dear Minister Malcolmson,

Re: Annual Earnings Exemption for Persons with Disability payments

We are writing to you today to urge you to remove the annualized earnings exemption (AEE) limit for people receiving Disability Assistance, as it discourages employers from paying their disabled staff a living wage.

The living wage is the hourly amount that an individual needs to earn to pay for basic essentials like food and rent. It is calculated by the Canadian Centre for Policy Alternatives in partnership with community groups across BC. The living wage is a barebones amount that does not factor in the additional costs that people with disabilities face. These costs can include additional spending on specialist disability-related products and services, needing to spend more on everyday things (such as needing to purchase more expensive ready meals) and the higher usage of essentials because of increased energy needs.

We welcome this year’s increase to the AEE threshold. However, this increase does not match the increased costs that low-wage individuals have incurred over the past two years. In that time the living wage for Metro-Vancouver has increased by 25% (over $5 per hour), from $20.52 to $25.68, largely driven by the increased cost to food and housing in BC.

There are many employers that want to pay their disabled staff a living wage. However, these employers find themselves having to pay their disabled staff less or offering them fewer hours than their non-disabled peers, so their staff do not lose access to their disability payments and other entitlements such as housing.

In 2021, if an employer wanted to pay their staff a living wage, then their staff in receipt of PWD would be able to work 730 hours a year at the living wage without losing their PWD payments, now it is 630 hours a year. We believe that a person with a disability should be able to work as much as they would like to without having their disability benefits clawed back.

Workers who have reached their AEE limit have reported a punitive response from the Ministry, which has led to feelings of anxiety and fear. This was also noted as key feedback from respondents in your recent “What we Heard: Engagement Summary”: “People also reported living in fear of losing their benefits due to complex and punitive program rules, such as clawbacks of other forms of income and financial penalties for not following rules.”

Please use this review of the Poverty Reduction Strategy to remove the earnings exemption and ensure that people with disabilities have access to the same working rights and quality of life as their peers.

 
Signed,

Helaine Boyd, Executive Director, Disability Alliance BC
Rowan Burdge, Executive Director, BC Poverty Reduction Coalition
Anastasia French, Provincial Manager, Living Wage for Families BC

Tuesday Andrich, Scott DeLong, Stacy Ashton, & Daniel Harper, Co-chairs, BC Health Coalition
Amanda Arkesteyn, Director- HR & Safety, ACYAS
David Balfour, Director, Clayton Heights Sports and Therapy
Toby Barazzuol, President, Eclipse Awards
Christopher Bate, Executive Director, Comox Valley Senior Support
Montana Burgess, Executive Director, Neighbours United
Andrea Burton , CEO, Physiotherapy Association of BC
Pamela Charron, Executive Director, Worker Solidarity Network
Angela Clancy, Executive Director, Family Support Institute of BC
Wendy Cox, Executive Director, Victoria Disability Resource Centre
Lisa Curry, Executive Director, Megaphone
Alison Dantes, CEO, Elizabeth Fry Society of Greater Vancouver
Arman Hans, People and Culture Advisor, DiverseCITY Community Resources Society
Dan Huang-Taylor, Executive Director, Food Banks BC
Liza Hughes, Executive Director, BC Civil Liberties Association
Michael Duhaime, Parent of a person with a disability
Doramy Ehling, CEO, Rick Hansen Foundation
Christopher Girodat, Executive Director, Capilano Students' Union
Franceska Grantzidis, Interim Executive Director, Plan Institute
Genesa Greening, Chief Executive Officer, Vancity Community Foundation
Terri Hopkinson, Communications Coordinator, AutismBC
Hajira Hussain , Executive Director, Richmond Food Bank Society
Andrew Igel, Owner, Igel Architecture
Sharnelle Jenkins-Thompson, Manager of Community Outreach, West Coast LEAF
Kurt Johnston, CEO, CleanStart Property Services CCC
Bill Kilgannon, Director, Canadian Centre for Policy Alternatives - BC Office
Douglas C. King, Executive Director, Together Against Poverty Society
Astrid Koenig, Director, Building Bridges Community Support
Megan Kriger, Director, Lookout Housing and Health Society
Mimoza, person with a disability
Michelle Lackie, Executive Director, Exchange Inner City
Aly Laube, Marketing & Outreach Coordinator, AutismBC
Amanda Lockitch, BC Community Organizer, Disability Without Poverty BC
Sarah Marsden, Director, Systems Change and Legal, First United
Patricia Massy, Owner, Founder and Director, Massy Books and Massy Arts Society
Sean Miles, Director, Makeway Charitable Society - Binners' Project
Megan Milton, Project Organizer, B.C. Health Coalition
Stephanie McGowan, Executive Director, Comox Valley Head Injury Society
Jaqui Mendes, Executive Director, Community Legal Assistance Society
Jennifer Metcalfe, Executive Director, Prisoners' Legal Services
Jessie Niikoi, Chairperson, BC Federation of Students
Carla Pellegrini, Executive Director, Food Stash Foundation
Katya Potapova, Operations Director, Bakau Consulting Inc.
Karen Ranalletta, President, CUPE BC
Shirley-Ann Reid, President, Delta Housing Be Mine Society
Bev Ross, Caregiver
Jeremy Ross-McElroy , Citizen
Michelle Schmidt, Executive Director, Autism Community Training Society
Kathy Scull
SWAN Vancouver
Spencer van Vloten, Editor, BCDisability.com
Stephen von Sychowski, President, Vancouver & District Labour Council
Annelies Tjebbes, Executive Director, Roots & Rivers Consulting
Matt Toma, CPA
Karla Verschoor, Executive Director, Inclusion BC
Jennifer Watt, Parent of a person with a disability
Deirdre Whalen, President, Richmond Poverty Reduction Coalition
West Coast Leaf