Only 12 of the FTSE 100's companies publish data on disability representation in their workforces — the same number as in 2021, according to ActionAble's Disability Index 2026 report. The finding leaves 88 of Britain's largest listed employers with no public baseline for the proportion of staff who identify as disabled or have a long-term health condition, and unprepared for mandatory disability pay gap reporting the UK government has already committed to introducing for large employers.

For HR leaders, the stalled figure signals a data problem that reaches beyond compliance. Companies without a baseline cannot measure whether attraction, retention or promotion processes work for disabled employees. And with a quarter of Britons now reporting a disability, ActionAble argues that understanding disability has become part of understanding the market itself.

Only four of the companies that reported disability data five years ago continue to do so today.

Why does the number matter now?

The government has committed to mandatory disability and ethnicity pay gap reporting for large employers, though no official timeline exists yet. ActionAble is encouraging businesses to begin measuring and publishing now, rather than waiting for regulation to be announced.

The lack of movement carries a cost, according to Sara Weller, co-founder of ActionAble and the only FTSE 100 board director identified by the Index as publicly declaring a disability.

"Disability inclusion is the business equivalent of an open goal," Weller said. "Businesses are rethinking their talent strategies in a post-AI world. Growth is the missing link in many business plans. Greater inclusion of people with disabilities helps attract and retain new talent with new ways of thinking."

She pointed to the customer side as well: businesses that understand the roughly 1 in 4 customers who are disabled "will build loyalty amongst a consistently underserved customer group."

What should boards do?

Weller's prescription is direct. "Boards cannot manage what they cannot see," she said. "You do not need perfect data to make a start. You need leadership, transparency and a willingness to learn."

ActionAble recommends a principle of "progress not perfection": start measuring and publishing data, learn from it and improve over time, rather than waiting until every element of reporting is complete.

The Index includes case studies from BT, HSBC, Centrica, SSE and Autotrader, each showing different approaches to:

• increasing transparency
• building employee trust
• improving declaration rates
• embedding disability inclusion into corporate strategy

Weller framed the prospective mandatory reporting as a catalyst rather than a threat. "The Disability Index highlights the scale of this missed opportunity," she said. "And with the prospective introduction of mandatory Disability Pay Gap Reporting requirements, businesses should see this as a catalyst for change."

What happens next?

"But the overall picture has barely moved in five years," Weller said. "The government now needs to provide clarity around mandatory reporting, and Boards need to start preparing. The real opportunity is to use better data to build more inclusive businesses and unlock the Disability Dividend."

ActionAble also noted that expectations of employers are evolving among younger generations, and that businesses need to ensure their culture, workplace and processes allow their workforces to thrive.

With the reporting count flat since 2021 and legislation committed but unscheduled, the employers that build declaration rates and baseline data now will enter the mandatory regime with a five-year head start over the 88 FTSE 100 peers still working blind.