Legislation
What does the Law say about disability in the workplace?
The Disability Discrimination Acts 1995 and 2005 (DDA) are the driving forces behind Disability Rights in the UK. Within the challenging legal jargon lies the concept of making the workplace a better, fairer, more productive space for all.
In addition, the Disability Equality Duty 2005 (DED) applies to all public bodies, e.g. local government, schools, health trusts etc. It promotes equality for disabled people across every area of an organisation's work.
What does the DDA say about employment?
- The DDA makes it illegal for an employer to put disabled people at a substantial disadvantage when compared to non-disabled people.
- Disabled and non-disabled employees must be given equality, although the law is clear that this does not mean creating an advantage for disabled employees. However, the DED states that for publicly funded bodies, it is appropriate in some instances to treat disabled people more favourably.
There are two clear duties within the DDA:
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An employer cannot discriminate against people by refusing to employ them simply because they have a disability or without reasonable justification.
Employers choose employees to fit into their organisation because they offer the best possible match of required skills, attitude and knowledge. When applying for a post, it is vital that the disabled applicant has the opportunity to be viewed in the light of what they can do, rather than what they cannot.
- An employer must make reasonable adjustments to improve physical premises and employment practices, such as:
- recruitment;
- retention and promotion;
- work processes, including issues such as access to organisational information;
- the work environment, including IT and other tools to do a job effectively;
- training;
- dismissal.
Reasonable adjustments are changes to remove or reduce any substantial disadvantage caused by working arrangements. A willingness for both employees and employers to be reasonable, flexible and creative is the ruling principle.
The full DDA Act can be read online at www.opsi.gov.uk
What are the requirements of the DED?
The DED, currently in force, builds on the good work of earlier legislation, but is radically different in its thinking and approach. The six major differences are:
- The DED is directed at public bodies.
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The thinking behind this law moves away from the medical model to the social model of disability.
The medical model of disability perceives the difficulty or problem as lying with the individual with the disability. The social model sees disability in relation to attitudinal and environmental barriers. This means the focus of the legislation shifts from the individual to institutional cultures and practices that are disabling.
- Employers need to take steps to take account of disability even where that involves treating disabled people more favourably.
- Public sector employers have to be proactive and plan in advance to eradicate negative discrimination across their organisation. They have to assess all practices and policies with this in mind.
- Employers must publish a report describing their findings and proposed actions for change: the Disability Equality Scheme (DES) and Action Plan. This is to be monitored (yearly) and evaluated before a new DES is published (every 3 years).
- These duties must be carried out with the real consultation and contribution of the stakeholders themselves: in this case, disabled employees, such as those with dyslexia.
The duty applies in England, Scotland and Wales. The duty in England and Wales is in all key respects the same as the duty which applies in Scotland, except there are different arrangements in relation to education due to differences in other legislation.
For more information visit The Equality and Human Rights Commission website: www.equalityhumanrights.com
