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Legislation in Agreement - DDA

The Disability Discrimination Acts 1995, 2005 and the Disability Rights Commission Act 2001 have all incrementally introduced full legislation preventing the discrimination against disabled persons and is applicable to those who may be providing goods, facilities or services to the public, regardless of whether free or charged for. The acts aim to end the discrimination that many disabled people face by placing requirements upon employers and service providers on a range of issues.

It affects also the fields of education, property renting and ownership and the functions of public bodies. For public bodies, the actrequires them to promote equality of opportunity for disabled people. It also allows the government to set minimum standards so that disabled people can use public transport easily. Further duties have also been placed on public bodies in the form of the Disability Equality Duty 2006. Public bodies such as Hospitals, Police Force, NHS Trusts, Schools and Colleges have legal a duty to promote equality of opportunity for disabled people.

Other examples of where disabled rights have been included proactively in legislation, rather than relying on third party enforcement, is in the construction industry and fire safety industry. For the construction industry, Approved Document M makes explicit the requirements of new buildings with regards to access and provisions for disabled people. For fire safety, the Regulatory Reform Order 2005 clearly states that all occupant types need to be taken into consideration when addressing fire safety concerns as part of the formal risk assessment.

Under the DDAyou will need to make reasonable adjustments to a workplace or service to ensure it does not discriminate against disabled persons and put them at a substantial disadvantage.

Whilst the law requires you to consider making reasonable adjustments, it does not actually list what these are. This may involve an assessment or access audit which will highlight what you need to change. Guidance on what is reasonable is provided in the two Codes of Practice, one for employers and one for goods and service providers. These are available online;

1) DDA 2 Code of Practice (Employment)

http://83.137.212.42/sitearchive/DRC/PDF/employment_occupation.pdf

2) DDA 3 Code of Practice (Services)

http://83.137.212.42/sitearchive/DRC/PDF/CoP_Access.pdf

These are the ways in which a company functions day to day. There are many ways in which disabled people can be discriminated against, whether or not it's intentional.

Some of these include: Recruitment arrangements, terms of employment, physical features (premises) including emergency egress arrangements, promotion, transfers, training or other benefits,the dismissal process.

Adjustments that can be surely deemed reasonable are often possible for common working practices that may be discriminatory. It is not to suggest that overly special measures should be put in place but simple common-sense, reasonable solutions to most problems are often available.

Some of these include: Small premise adjustments,allocating duties to another person,altering working hours,allowing time off during working hours for rehabilitation etc., buying or modifying equipment, providing supervision.

Under the DDA legislation services should not be implemented in a way that discriminates against disabled people. It may not be immediately obvious but there are many ways discrimination can occur.

Some of these include: Refusing or deliberately not providing a service, providing a lower standard of service - e.g. making someone wait, providing a service on worse terms - e.g. charging more or imposing additional conditions.

Fair consideration should be given towards disabled people's needs with reasonable adjustments to be made if deemed necessary.

Some of these include: Changing practices, policies and procedures,providing reasonable adjustmentsto physical features or providing alternative methods of makingservices available, providing auxiliary aids or services.

Measuring Reasonableness

Factors for "Reasonableness"
The Codes of Practice set out the criteria for determining reasonableness.

Summarily cases are generally judged on their individual merits; there is no measureable guideline that can be applied universally. In reaching a decision about making a 'reasonable' adjustment, ask yourself several questions:

1) Are you being asked to do something that makes a difference, will your actions effectively remove a barrier ?
2) Is it practical ? Although clearly some adjustments are easier to make than others and an easy step is more likely to be considered reasonable at times it may be reasonable to take a more difficult adjustments
3) Is it expensive or disruptive to your premise, service or organisation ?
4) Also consider what financial resources are available within your organisation. In assessing reasonableness it is the total resources of that business, for example, the entire retail chain rather than the one store that must be taken into account.
5) Remember that its possible for organisations or individuals to get financial assistance with the costs of reasonable adjustments; for example in the workplace a disabled person can be considered for grants towards the extra costs of providing workplace adjustments through the government's Access to Work Scheme. www.direct.gov.uk

With the DDA legislation in place, disabled people have received some of the most comprehensive rights than ever before but with this increase in rights and scope of jurisdiction, comes also a necessity to more clearly define what is meant by the term disabled. It is defined under the DDA as:

"...a physical or mental impairment, a specific learning difficulty or health condition that has a substantial and long-term adverse effect on a person's ability to carry out normal day-to-day activities.."

Some examples of what are considered to be and not to be disabilities are listed below, some of which you may be surprised to find covered.

- Physical disabilities
- Mental health difficulties
- Specific learning difficulties
- Sensory impairments
- Severe disfigurements and facial disfigurements
- Progressive conditions with an effect, however small, on day-to-day activities, which is expected to become substantial
- Conditions with a number of effects, which have a substantial cumulative effect
- People with a history of disability even if they have recovered (for example a person who has had a mental health condition in the past).

- Loss of mobility due to a broken limb, which is likely to heal within 12 months
- Hay fever, which is seasonal
- Addictions to alcohol, nicotine or other non-prescribed substances
- Tendencies to steal, light fires, physically or sexually abuse others, exhibitionism or voyeurism, tattoos and body piercing, in the disfigurements category.

As the name denotes, the Disability Discrimination Act is entirely concerned with eliminating discrimination in the workplace and everyday life for those with impairments defined as disabilities. Discrimination falls into very specific categories of discrimination types.

It is considered discrimination when a disabled person is treated less favourably for a reason related to their disability

This applies to both disabled and non-disabled people. Victimisation happens when a disabled or non-disabled person is treated less favourably than another person in the same circumstances for:

- having supported proceedings under the DDA
- having done anything else under or by reference to the act
- having alleged someone has contravened the Act.

This is treating someone less favourably on the grounds of his or her disability. It often happens as a result of misconceptions and prejudice about the effect of a person's disability on their ability to work.

For employers, the duty to make reasonable adjustments applies where a provision, criterion or practice applied for on behalf of an employer or any physical feature of premises puts disabled people at a substantial disadvantage compared with non-disabled people.

After a long battle for equality in UK work places and everyday life, disabled people now have some comprehensive rights under the DDA. These rights give nothing above and beyond that of a typical citizen but ensure that all persons are treated equally and not discriminated against. As a responsible service provider or employer it is your moral and legal duty to honour these rights and ensure an inclusive environment is promoted. With a little education regarding what is required of you under the legislation and a reasonable attitude towards adjustments there is no reason why the workplace you create or the service you provide cannot be accessible to everyone.

- Access to goods, services, and to the workplace
- Occasions where disabled people feel that they are being treated differently should be reduced to a minimum.
- There should be no loss of dignity
- Independent access and egress is a priority
- Support and assistance when required

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