ABSTRACT
Quota system A quota indicates a maximum proportion of a particular group that should be included in an ~rganisation's sarvice population (e.g. black children in 'white' schools). One of the best-known quotas in welfare concerns those on the Disabled Persons Employment Register. Under the Disabled Persons (Employment) Act 1944, employers of twenty workers or more are required to take up to 3 per cent of their staff from those on the Register. The discussion document, Review of the Quota Scheme for the Employers of Disabled People (1980) which followed a review by the Manpower Services Commission, suggested that the quota system for disabled people should be abandoned. It has been argued that the quota system for the disabled has never been markedly successful in placing disabled people in open employment, but that the legislation has subsequently taken on symbolic significance, standing for such widely shared values as the right to work and the independence believed to be within the teach of the disabled. Despite this, it now (July 1981) appears that this quota will be abolished, though some statutory protection will be retained. See also Disability. Bolderson, H. (1980) 'Origins of the Disabled Persons Employment
Quota and its Symbolic Significance', Journal of Social Policy, 9, 169-86.
