Disability Discrimination Act (DDA) 

The duties on service providers have been introduced in three stages:

Since 2nd December 1996 - It has been unlawful for service providers to treat disabled people less favourably for a reason related to their disability;

From October 1st 2004 -where a physical feature makes it impossible or unreasonably difficult for disabled persons to access your goods or services, your organisation is required to take reasonable steps to:
1. Remove the feature; or
2. Alter it so it no longer has that effect; or
3. Provide a reasonable means of avoiding the feature; or
4. Provide a reasonable alternative method of making the service available.

Disabled individuals will be entitled to financial compensation and other legal remedies where they are affected by a breach of these requirements. The Disability Rights Commission can provide assistance to individuals in making legal challenges, and also has the power to launch strategic investigations if they believe that an organisation is in breach of the DDA.

Disability Discrimination At Work   

If you believe that your employer has treated you less favourably than others for a reason related to your disability, or if your employer has not made reasonable adjustments for you in the workplace, you may want to consider taking action.

Action to take if you are discriminated against

As a first step, you might want to have an informal discussion with your employer about your needs and why you feel you are being discriminated against. Remind your employer of your rights and their responsibilities under the Disability Discrimination Act.

If this discussion does not provide a satisfactory outcome, you could make a complaint about your treatment through your employer's internal grievance procedure.

If you are still not satisfied, you might want to contact Acas (Advisory, Conciliation and Arbitration Service), or follow the 'Questions Procedure' or make a complaint to the Employment Tribunal.

If you wish to make a complaint to the Employment Tribunal, you must do so within three months of the date of the act of discrimination.

Help and advice from Acas (Advisory, Conciliation and Arbitration Service)

Acas aims to improve organisations and working life through better employment relations. It provides up-to-date information, independent advice and high quality training. The service works with employers and employees to solve problems and improve performance.

The Questions Procedure

To follow the Questions Procedure you must obtain a Disability Discrimination Act questionnaire.

You need to complete the first part of this questionnaire yourself, setting out the reasons why you feel you have been discriminated against, and ask your employer to comment on your claim. You then need to ask your employer to reply to the questionnaire.

Whether or not you agree with them, your employer's answers in the questionnaire should help you decide if you can settle the dispute or need to make a complaint to an Employment Tribunal.

The DDA questionnaire (DL56) is available from the Equality and Human Rights Commission and some Citizens Advice Bureaux.

The Employment Tribunal Service (ETS) can give information about tribunal publications, explain how the tribunal system works and answer general queries about tribunal matters. For copies of free ETS leaflets or further information call the ETS enquiry line between 9.00 am and 5.00 pm, Monday to Friday

Employment Rights And The DDA

Disabled workers share the same general employment rights as other workers, but there are also some special provisions for them under the Disability Discrimination Act (DDA). One important aspect of this is the right to reasonable adjustments in the workplace.

The Disability Discrimination Act

Under the DDA, it is unlawful for employers to discriminate against disabled people for a reason related to their disability, in all aspects of employment, unless this can be justified. The Act covers things like:

Reasonable adjustments in the workplace

Under the DDA, your employer has a duty to make 'reasonable adjustments' to make sure you're not put at a substantial disadvantage by employment arrangements or any physical feature of the workplace.

Examples of the sort of adjustments your employer should consider, in consultation with you, include:

You can play an active role in discussing these arrangements with your employer. You might also want to encourage your employer to speak to someone with expertise in providing work-related help for disabled people, such as an occupational health adviser.

Issues for you both to consider include:

You may want to make sure that your employer is aware of the Access to Work programme run by Jobcentre Plus. Through this programme, employers can get advice on appropriate adjustments and possibly some financial help towards the cost of the adjustments.

Redundancy

Your employer cannot select you for redundancy because you are disabled or for any reason relating to your disability. If your employer is consulting about any future redundancies, they should take reasonable steps to make sure you are included in the consultations.

Your employer must also make reasonable adjustments to any selection criteria they create for selecting employees for redundancies, to make sure the criteria do not discriminate against disabled employees. For example, a reasonable adjustment for your employer to make could be discounting disability-related sickness absence when using attendance as part of their redundancy selection scheme.

Equality and Human Rights Commission

The Equality and Human Rights Commission is a good source of advice if you feel you may have been discriminated against at work or elsewhere. It can also help if you think you have been discriminated against and want to lodge a claim at an Employment Tribunal.

Equality and Human Rights Commission Website