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Home: Community full menu: Care and support: Guide for disabled people

Discrimination

Gateway to care - August 2011
gatewaytocare@kirklees.gov.uk

The Disability Discrimination Acts

The government passed the Disability Discrimination Acts in 1995 and in 2005 to help reduce the discrimination that many disabled people face. They aim to protect disabled people in:
  • employment and training
  • access to goods, facilities and services
  • the management, buying or renting of land or property
  • education.
For businesses and organisations which are service providers:
  • it is unlawful to treat disabled people less favourably than other people for a reason related to their disability
  • they have to make reasonable adjustments for disabled people, such as providing help or making changes to the way they provide services
  • they have to make reasonable adjustments to the physical features of their premises to overcome physical barriers to access.
For providers of education under Part IV of the Disability Discrimination Act, amended by the Special Educational Needs and Disability Act:
  • schools, colleges, universities and providers of education and youth services should ensure they do not discriminate against disabled people
  • education providers should provide auxiliary aids, through reasonable adjustment.
The Disability Discrimination Acts also allow the Government to set minimum standards to use public transport easily.
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Disability Equality Duty

The Disability Equality Duty is a new positive duty on all public bodies to promote disability equality. These include, for example, all schools and all central and local government organisations providing social care services. The general disability equality duty requires public bodies to:
  • promote equality of opportunity
  • remove unlawful discrimination
  • remove disability-related harassment
  • promote positive attitudes towards disabled people
  • encourage disabled people's participation in public life
  • consider people's disabilities, even where that involves more favourable treatment.
Certain listed public bodies also have to carry out specific disability equality duties. If you work for Kirklees Council you can join the Disabled Employees Network (DEN) for support and advice.
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Disability Equality Duty

Discrimination by Association: This is when a person is treated less favourably although it is not they themselves who are disabled. For example, a woman requested to have some time off work to look after her disabled child. The employer refused this request, and the woman won her case when she took it to an Employment Tribunal.

Discrimination by Perception: This is when someone treats another person less favourably because they think that someone has a disability when this is not actually the case. This covers all aspects of equality including, race, disability, age, and sexual orientation.

Indirect Discrimination in Terms of Disability: This occurs when an employer has a rule, policy or practice which although it applies to everyone, it indirectly treats disabled people unfairly or puts them at a disadvantage.
For example, an employer who insisted that all staff work fixed hours e.g. 9.00 am to 5.00 pm, may have to introduce some flexi-time arrangements as some disabled people may be more likely to need occasional time off for medical appointments or personal circumstances related to their disability.

Harassment by a third party: An employer is potentially liable for harassment of their staff by people they do not employ. For example, if a customer or service user was making insulting or derogatory remarks to a member of staff on disability grounds, the employer has a duty to protect the member of staff from this harassment. They could do this making it clear to the customer or service user that their behaviour was not acceptable and refuse to offer them a service if it continued.

For more information, and copies of the legislation, please visit the Equality and Human Rights Commission website.
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More information

The Equality and Human Rights Commission can offer more information, and copies of the legislation.
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