Demographics Report iMatter Survey 2025

Disability and Long-Term Health Conditions

Two separate questions are asked within iMatter:

1. The Equality Act 2010 describes a disabled person as: '...anyone who has a physical, sensory or mental impairment, which has a substantial and long term adverse effect on their ability to carry out normal day-to-day activities'. Do you consider yourself to be disabled within the definition of the Equality Act 2010?

2. Do you have any of the following, which have lasted, or are expected to last, at least 12 months?

Among those answering the first question, 7% of staff say they are disabled under the description given in the Equality Act 2010. There has been a steady increase in this percentage from 5% in 2021, 6% in 2022 and 2023, rising to 7% in 2024.

Of those answering the second question on health conditions, 55% say they have no conditions, 12% did not answer the question. Both percentages have moved no more than 1pp in the 3 years that the question has been consistent.

Most prevalent are long-term health conditions, followed by mental health conditions. Again the incidence of these among staff has changed little in the last 3 years.

Within the 3% who say ‘Other Condition’ there are a wide range of things mentioned, some of which might be recorded by others in one of the specified options in the question. For example asthma, diabetes, arthritis’, dyslexia etc. Over 200 staff mention menopause/peri-menopause as an ‘other health condition’.

The question is very similar to the Scottish Census 2022 question. Overall incidence of each type of condition is lower among Health and Social Care staff than it is among the total population.

• 21% of the population in the Census say they have a long-term health condition, compared to 12% of Health and Social Care staff.
• 11% of the population in the Census say they have a mental health condition, compared to 7% of Health and Social Care staff.
• The largest proportional difference is in physical disability. 1 in 10 of the population but only 3% of Health and Social Care staff reporting physical disabilities.

Neurodivergence is not specifically listed in the answer options for the question, leading to staff with such conditions selecting one or more of “Learning Difficulty”, “Learning Disability” or “Developmental Disorder” in response to this question.

Some staff report more than one health condition. For example, 47% of those with a developmental disorder also report mental health issues and 44% of those with physical disabilities also report a long term illness, disease or condition.

Some staff with long term health conditions consider themselves disabled, others do not. Those with developmental disorders, physical disabilities or learning disabilities are the most likely to also be disabled. Those with hearing loss, mental health conditions or long-term illnesses are the least likely to be disabled. See Appendix 4 for a chart showing this data.

Disability

Profile

Those with disabilities are slightly more likely to be male (22% compared to 20%), but are broadly similar in age profile. Notably 14% of those with disabilities are gay/lesbian, bisexual or self-describe, compared to only 5% of those without disabilities. 51% have never married/been in a civil partnership or are divorced/dissolved/separated, 11 pps higher than the 40% of those without disabilities.

17% of those with disabilities work in Local Authority roles compared to 14% of those without disabilities. Staff groupings are similar among those with and without disabilities, though those with disabilities over-index on Administrative Services in NHSScotland.

Experience

Overall experience is score 0.5 lower for disabled staff (6.6) than those who are not disabled (7.1).

Disabled staff score considerably lower for their experience as an individual, than those without disabilities. The largest difference of 5 points is in:

• I am confident my ideas and suggestions are listened to.
• I am confident my ideas and suggestions are acted upon.
• I feel involved in decisions relating to my job.
• I am treated fairly and consistently.

Typically, those who are disabled score 2 points lower than those who are not for Team/Line Manager metrics. Larger differences are seen for:

• I feel involved in decisions relating to my team (4pts).
• I would recommend my team as a good one to be a part of (4pts).

Opinions of the organisation also differ, with disabled staff less positive than those without disabilities. The largest difference of 5 points is in:

• I feel that Board members who are responsible for my organisation are sufficiently visible.
• I have confidence and trust in Board members who are responsible for my organisation.
• I feel sufficiently involved in decisions relating to my organisation.

This data illustrates that disabled staff feel less involved in decisions, whether related to themselves, their team or their organisation. They are also less confident that they are listened to or their suggestions acted on. Disabled staff are also less positive about the leadership of the organisation.

Mental and Physical Health Conditions

Analysis has been carried out combining all those who have a Mental Health Condition:

• Learning disability (a condition that you have had since childhood that affects the way you learn, understand information and communicate).
• Learning difficulty (a specific learning condition that affects the way you learn and process information).
• Developmental disorder (a condition that you have had since childhood which affects motor, cognitive, social and emotional skills, and speech and language).
• Mental health condition (a condition that affects your emotional, physical and mental wellbeing).

And similarly, all those who have a Physical Health Condition:

• Deafness or partial hearing loss.
• Blindness or partial sight loss.
• Full or partial loss of voice or difficulty speaking (a condition which requires you to use equipment to speak).
• Physical disability (a condition that substantially limits one or more basic physical activities such as walking, climbing stairs, lifting or carrying.

This analysis shows differences in the demographic profile of each group, with the biggest difference being in age with Mental Health Conditions more prevalent among younger staff and Physical Health Conditions more prevalent among older staff.

Those with Mental Health Conditions are less likely to be straight/heterosexual; 86% compared to 93% of those with Physical Health Conditions.

66% of those with Mental Health Conditions consider themselves to be disabled, compared to 55% of those with Physical Health Conditions.

Those with Mental Health Conditions score lower on iMatter metrics than those with Physical Health Conditions, in particular for the organisation caring about health and wellbeing where the difference between the two groups is 4pts.

Individual Health Conditions

Profile

Ethnicity is quite consistent across the various health conditions (base sizes limit detailed investigation of minority ethnicities. In contrast the age profile varies considerably:

• Hearing loss, physical disability, sight loss and other conditions are more prevalent among older staff, over 40% of those with these conditions are aged 55 years and over.
• In contrast, learning difficulties and disabilities and developmental disorders are more likely to be experienced by younger staff with over 40% with these conditions are aged under 35 years.
• 53% of those with mental health conditions are aged 35 – 54 years.
• Some conditions over-index on males experiencing them. The conditions with the greatest proportion of males experiencing them are sight loss (26%), learning disability (35%) and developmental disorders (31%).
• 20% of those with sight loss or physical disabilities are in Local Authority roles.

Experience

Overall experience varies across the various health conditions experienced. Those with no conditions score highest (7.2) and those with mental health conditions and developmental disorders the lowest (6.5). See Appendix 4 for details.

Across the Experience as individual ratings, the three with the greatest range of scores are:

• I am confident my ideas and suggestions are listened to. Those with mental health conditions score lowest (8 points lower than those with no conditions).
• I am confident my ideas and suggestion are acted upon. Those with mental health conditions or developmental disorders score lowest (7 points lower than those with no conditions).
• I feel involved in decisions relating to my job. Those with mental health conditions or developmental disorders score lowest (8 points lower than those with no conditions).

Within the Team ratings a similar pattern is evident, though the variation in scores across the different health conditions is smaller. The two ratings with the largest range are:

• I feel involved in decisions relating to my team. Those with developmental disorders score lowest (7 points lower than those with no conditions).
• I am confident performance is managed well within my team. Those with developmental disorders score lowest (6 points lower than those with no conditions).

Ratings of the Organisation also vary across the health conditions. The largest differences are seen in:

• I feel sufficiently involved in decisions relating to my organisation. Staff with mental health conditions disorders score lowest (9 points lower than those with no conditions).
• I feel that board members who are responsible for my organisation are sufficiently visible and I have confidence and trust in Board members who are responsible for my organisation. Both are rated 8 points lower by those with mental health conditions than staff with no conditions.