Tory welfare chief Mel Stride has claimed more people entitled to sick and disability benefits should be able to get jobs because of the rise in home working.
It came as the Cabinet minister proposed a shake-up of the benefits system in an attempt to slash the number of people with no requirement to search for work. He said the Government will consult on changing work capability assessments - a test that determines whether people are fit to work and the support they receive.
The Work and Pensions Secretary told MPs: "We have seen a huge shift in the world of work in the last few years, a huge change accelerated since the pandemic. This has opened up opportunities for disabled people and those with health conditions to start, stay and to succeed at work".
He added: "The Work Capability Assessment doesn't reflect how someone with a disability or health condition might be able to work from home, yet we know many disabled people do just that.
"Our plans include taking account of the fact that people with mobility problems or who suffer anxiety within the workplace have better access to employment opportunities from the rise in flexible and home working."
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He added the changes would not affect those at the end of their life, or with severe learning difficulties or disabilities. But the Cabinet minister admitted the proposed changes to disability and sickness benefits will not come into force until 2025 - or after the next general election.
Charities also raised concerns that changes could force people into work when they are not well enough. James Taylor, executive director of strategy at disability equality charity Scope, urged ministers to ensure new employment support for disabled people is "flexible, and voluntary".
He said: "We're worried these proposals will end up forcing huge numbers of disabled people to look for work when they aren't well enough, making them more ill. If they don't meet strict conditions, they'll have their benefits stopped. In the grips of a cost-of-living crisis this could be catastrophic."
Sarah White, head of policy at national disability charity Sense, meanwhile warned the plans could "cause huge anxiety for disabled people up and down the country".
"We're seriously concerned that if the Government does overhaul its assessment process without putting any additional support in place, then disabled people are just going to be put under more pressure to find work, without having the support they need to do so," she said.
According to the Institute for Fiscal Studies the number of people assessed as having 'limited capability for work-related activity', who are not asked to look for work, stands at around 2.3million - a 30% increase from 2019/2020.
Labour's newly appointed Shadow Work and Pensions Secretary Liz Kendall added: "This is not a serious plan - it is tinkering at the edges of a failing system".
She added: "But if you run your NHS into the ground for 13 years and let waiting lists for physical and mental health soar, if you fail to reform social care to help people caring for their loved ones, and if your sole aim is to try and score political points rather than reforming the system to get sick and disabled people who can work the help they really need, you end up with the mess we have today. A system that is failing sick and disabled people, that is failing taxpayers, and failing our country as a whole. Britain deserves far better than this."
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