Under the disability discrimination act 1992 dda, employers are obligated to make adjustments to accommodate an individuals disability, unless that adjustment would result in unjustifiable hardship. Disability discrimination equality and human rights. The equality act calls this the duty to make reasonable adjustments. Failing to meet the duty cannot be justified and is always unlawful. Workplace stress drives up disability discrimination claims. Formerly, it made it unlawful to discriminate against people in respect of their. The equality act says theres a duty to make reasonable adjustments if youre placed at a substantial disadvantage because of your disability compared with nondisabled people or people who dont share your disability.
Reasonable adjustments for workers with disabilities. Discrimination arising from disability and reasonable adjustments last week i posted a short piece on the duty to make reasonable adjustments and thought a follow up piece on other the other main reasonable adjustment related claim in the equality act. Equality act and disability discrimination act explained. Reasonable adjustment is implicit in the requirement to avoid indirect discrimination under dda section 6. Under the equal opportunity act 2010, disability includes. Discrimination arising from disability gb, equality act only. The equality act also gives protection against discrimination arising from disability as well as placing a duty on employers to make reasonable adjustments where a disabled worker or job applicant is placed at a substantial disadvantage. The disability discrimination act 1995 c 50 informally, and hereafter, the dda is an act of the parliament of the united kingdom which has now been repealed and replaced by the equality act 2010, except in northern ireland where the act still applies. Disability discrimination legal service ross house 2nd floor, 247 flinders lane melbourne, vic 3000. For example providing interpreters or note takers for deaf students, or providing extra time for exams.
Title i of the americans with disabilities act of 1990 prohibits private employers, state and local governments, employment agencies and labor unions from discriminating against qualified individuals with disabilities in job application procedures, hiring, firing, advancement, compensation, job. Failure to make reasonable adjustments s20 s21 this duty is. Discrimination arising from disability you must not treat a disabled person unfavourably because of something connected to their disability. Employers are required to make reasonable adjustments to any of their provisions, criteria or practices that place a disabled person at a particular disadvantage compare to nondisabled persons. Many employers accept that workplace flexibility is an attraction and retention strategy. If adjustments are reasonable, an employer must make them to ensure its workplace or practices do not disadvantage a disabled job applicant or employee already with the organisation. The duty to make reasonable adjustments is the most common form of protection and, where that duty arises, an employer must effectively treat the disabled employee more favourably than others in an attempt to reduce or remove the disadvantage faced. Under the disability discrimination act the duty to make reasonable adjustments arises where. More about what counts as a disability in the equality act.
It is discrimination to treat a disabled person unfavourably because of something connected with their disability. Failure to make reasonable adjustments s20 s21 this duty is at the heart of disability discrimination law. Jul 24, 2018 discrimination arising from disability and reasonable adjustments last week i posted a short piece on the duty to make reasonable adjustments and thought a follow up piece on other the other main reasonable adjustment related claim in the equality act. Hmrc has a national policy on the use of its car parks. Obligation to make reasonable adjustments adjustments are the things that education providers do that allow people with disabilities to participate in education on the same basis as other students. The notes at the end of this compilation the endnotes include information about amending laws and the amendment history of provisions of the compiled law. The leading disability discrimination case dealing with the comparator is the case of smith v churchill stairlifts 2006 icr 524. Equality of toilet provision the equality act 2010 the. The disability discrimination act 1992 was amended by the workplace relations amendment work choices consequential amendments regulations 2006 no. Disability discrimination act reasonable adjustments, case ref. Disability discrimination under the eqa there are several different forms of disability discrimination under the eqa.
Demystifying disability discrimination law drawing on nearly 20 years experience of disability discrimination claims, employment. An employer failing to make reasonable adjustments for a disabled job applicant or employee is one of the most common types of disability discrimination. Schools only have a duty to make reasonable adjustments if your child has a disability which meets the definition in the equality act. Disability discrimination equality and human rights commission. Avoiding disability discrimination in the workplace. The obligation to provide reasonable adjustments for people with disability is discussed in more detail on. Resources on the different types of discrimination. The house of lords in archibald v fife council stated that, the dda does not regard the differences between disabled people and others as irrelevant. Prior to 2010, the disability discrimination act 1995 was the leading statute in this area, ensuring employers were under a duty to make reasonable adjustments for their disabled employees. For example, if an employer does not allow an assistance dog in the building for a partially sighted person, its likely to be discrimination. The dda covers people who have temporary and permanent. The condition can make her need to go to the toilet urgently, can flare up and down, and can be aggravated by stress.
Sep 02, 2014 the duty on employers to make reasonable adjustments can arise at any point during the recruitment process, from advertising the job through to selection. Workplace adjustments australian network on disability. Ms x has been employed by the department since may 1994. Under the equality act 2010 public sector organisations have to make changes in their approach or provision to ensure that services are accessible to. Disability discrimination australian human rights commission. The reasonable adjustments duty under the equality act operates slightly differently but the object is the same. This type of discrimination is unlawful where the employer knows, or could reasonably be expected to know, that the person has a disability. Obligation to make reasonable adjustments disability.
Critically discuss the extent to which the duty to make. This is known as a failure to make reasonable adjustments. Reasonable adjustments disability discrimination legal service. The comparison exercise for reasonable adjustments cases is different from the comparison exercises in other discrimination cases. Disability discrimination reasonable adjustments under section 4a of the disability discrimination act 1995 dda, employers had a duty to make reasonable adjustments if a provision, criterion or practice pcp placed a disabled worker at a substantial disadvantage compared with persons without a disability. Ecni the reasonable adjustment duty and the disability.
Reasonable adjustments victorian equal opportunity and. This is with a view to ensuring that disabled people are not disadvantaged and enjoy equality of opportunity in employment. In 2000 she was diagnosed with relapsingremitting multiple sclerosis. Discrimination arising from disability and reasonable adjustments. The equality act 2010 protects disabled employees from discrimination in the workplace. You should be familiar with the reasonable adjustments duty which was first introduced under the disability discrimination act 1995. The equality and human rights commission has published a range of guidance on all aspects of the equality act, including a code of practice on employment. The equality act says theres a duty to make reasonable adjustments if youre placed at a substantial disadvantage because of your disability compared with non. Reasonable adjustments are changes to the work environment that allow people with disability to work safely and productively. It says that disabled people have the right to reasonable adjustments that make jobs and services accessible to them. The reasonable adjustment duty and the disability discrimination act in responding to employers queries, we stress the need for the employer to talk initially to the disabled person about the adjustments they require, after all, it is the disabled person who is managing their disability and may have been doing so for some time.
Disability discrimination is when you are treated less well or put at a disadvantage for a reason that relates to your disability in one of the situations covered by the equality act. Equality human rights commission disability discrimination introduction. Disability discrimination in schools citizens advice. The disability discrimination act dda requires that employers introduce reasonable adjustments in respect of applicants and employees who are disabled. For information on when a person is disabled, see practice note, disability discrimination. This is a compilation of the disability discrimination act 1992 that shows the text of the law as amended and in force on 1 july 2016 the compilation date. The treatment could be a oneoff action, the application of a rule or policy or the existence of physical or communication barriers which make accessing something. Issues of defining disability in the equality act 2010.
Disability has one extra type under the dda and two under the equality act. Education providers can often prevent unfavourable treatment that amounts to discrimination arising from disability by making reasonable adjustments. Duty to make reasonable adjustments for disabled people. Reasonable adjustments disability discrimination act policy and procedures introduction reasonable adjustment is implicit in the requirement to avoid indirect discrimination under section 6 of the disability discrimination act 1992 the dda. Reasonable adjustment and the disability discrimination act at present the term reasonable adjustment doesnt actually appear expressly in the dda, although the speech and explanatory material accompanying the introduction of the dda into parliament made quite clear that a requirement to make reasonable adjustments was intended to apply. Reasonable adjustments it will almost always be reasonable not to apply a no dogs policy for assistance dog owners and a failure to do so would amount to unlawful discrimination. Proving disability and reasonable adjustments a guide to. If someone doesnt cooperate with their duty to make adjustments, the equality act says its unlawful discrimination. In great britain, discrimination on the grounds of disability, originally introduced by the disability discrimination act 1995, is now contained within the equality act 2010. There is a special form of disability discrimination that occurs where an employer is under a duty to make reasonable adjustments for a particular job applicant or employee with a disability and fails to keep to it. Indirect discrimination occurs where a person with disability is required to comply with a condition or requirement which they cannot comply with and which a greater proportion of people without the disability are able to comply with. We round up 12 reasonable adjustments that employers may be required to make during recruitment. Reasonable adjustments and dedicated parking spaces. Disability discrimination 3 recent cases pure employment law.
The equality act 2010 replaced the disability discrimination act. The amendments are incorporated in this compilation. To begin with the disability discrimination act allowed employers to argue a justification to making a reasonable adjustment. If a person with disability needs some form of workplace adjustment to be able to work, or to be. Disabled people can experience discrimination if the employer or organisation doesnt make a reasonable adjustment. Disability discrimination and the law disability charity. This applies to employers, public and private services. The following is only a brief summary and not a full guide to the scope of each concept.
Employers have a duty to make reasonable adjustments to any employee experiencing a disability under the equality act 2010, which can include a mental health problem if it has a substantial. Reasonable adjustment australian human rights commission. The employer must also consider reasonable adjustments for anything linked to an employees disability. Ms linsley, who is employed by hmrc, has ulcerative colitis. The disability discrimination act 1992 dda makes it unlawful to discriminate against a person, in many areas of public life, including employment, education, getting or using services, renting or buying a house or unit, and accessing public places, because of their disability. Under the equality act 2010, the definition of a disability is. Disability discrimination reasonable adjustments gannons. A failure to make reasonable adjustments colleges and universities have a duty to make reasonable adjustments to avoid putting disabled students at a substantial disadvantage compared to non. Apr 28, 2019 employers have a duty to make reasonable adjustments to any employee experiencing a disability under the equality act 2010, which can include a mental health problem if it has a substantial. Disability discrimination further and higher education gb. Reasonable adjustments disability discrimination act. Disability discrimination act when a duty to make reasonable adjustments arises in all cases, once an employer is on notice, or should be on notice, the employer does have a duty to establish what adjustments are required.
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