The changing Disability Discrimination Act

The Equality Commission has launched guides to new duties on employers and on trade organisations and qualifications bodies.

In June, the Equality Commission launched two updated Codes of Practice to explain some of the important changes recently made to the Disability Discrimination Act 1995.

The Act protects disabled people from discrimination in a range of areas including employment and, since 1 October 2004, there have been substantial changes to the law in relation to employment and occupations, and for trade organisations and qualification bodies. The codes deal with these two areas separately.
The Employment and Occupations Code provides practical advice on how to prevent discrimination against disabled people seeking or already in work.

The Trade Organisations and Qualification Bodies Code gives practical guidance on how to prevent discrimination against disabled people by trade organisations and qualifications bodies and describes their duties. The way in which vocational qualifications are awarded is now covered by the Disability Discrimination Act for the first time.

There have also been important changes which affect the types of employment now covered by the Act.
All employers (except the armed forces) are now covered by the legislation. Prior to 1 October 2004, only employers with fifteen or more employees had duties under the DDA. This means that small businesses will be affected by the law for the first time – and this includes private households.

In addition, there are other groups who, though they do not fall within the definition of employment, now have obligations under the Act. These include contract workers, public office holders, partners in firms and barristers.

An example would be the situation where a group of self-employed accountants decide to go into partnership. One of them is disabled because of cancer and discloses this to the other accountants. If the others then decide to go ahead and form a partnership without the disabled person, because they are worried that this person may be absent from work for medical treatment, this is likely to be unlawful.
Another situation now covered by the law for the first time is practical work experience for the purposes of vocational training. Take, for example, the situation where a bank offers three month placements in its accounts department to students on a business studies course. If the bank believes - without asking the student herself - that she will not be able to cope with a three month placement, and therefore offers her a placement on the basis that it lasts for only two weeks, this is likely to be unlawful.
People working as fire, prison and police officers are now protected by the Disability Discrimination Act for the first time (civilian workers within these organisations were already protected by the Act).
Qualification bodies, such as the Law Society and the General Medical Council, are also covered for the first time.

The new provisions also cover discriminatory recruitment advertisements and trade organisations including trade unions will now have broader duties under the Disability Discrimination Act.

There have also been changes to what is classed as disability discrimination under the law. The main change is that a new type of discrimination – direct discrimination - has been introduced to accompany the two main existing types of discrimination under the Act: less favourable treatment (now known as disability related discrimination) and failure to make reasonable adjustments.

An example would be where a blind person is not short-listed for a job involving computers because the employer wrongly assumes that blind people cannot use them. If the employer makes no attempt to look at the individual circumstances, it would be treating the disabled person less favourably than other people if it did not short-list the blind person for the job. The treatment would be on the ground of the person’s disability because such assumptions would not have been made about a non-disabled person.

One in five people in Northern Ireland has a disability – this represents a significant potential employment pool that is currently undervalued. While many businesses already employ disabled people (sometimes without knowing it, as many disabilities are not obvious) there is a myth amongst business that disabled employees cost more money. This myth was recently dispelled by a survey in Britain that showed that two thirds of employers with up to 50 employees incurred no extra costs as a result of employing a disabled person. Among the third that did incur a cost, the average for the smallest employers (those with under fifteen employees) was just £76.

Small practical changes in the working environment can often provide the opportunity for people who are now excluded from work to participate in productive rewarding jobs. Desks, chairs, telephones, PCs and keyboards can all have modifications made to them to make them easier for people with disabilities to use. Staff could be allowed to have time off for rehabilitation or treatment or flexible working arrangements could be used to facilitate domestic and medical arrangements. Employers must remember that accessibility is not just about providing access for wheelchairs users; they must make their businesses accessible for all disabled people.

For more information on the Codes of Practice or the DDA contact the Equality Commission: Tel (028) 9050 0600; Fax: (028) 9033 1544; Email: information@equalityni.org; Textphone: (028) 9050 0589 or visit www. equalityni.org.