The Disability Discrimination Act (DDA) 1995 aims to end the discrimination that many disabled people face. This Act has been significantly extended by the Disability Discrimination Act 2005. It now gives disabled people rights in the areas of: Employment, Education, Access to Goods, Facilities and Services.
Does your workplace accommodate a disabled person if not why? There are simple steps that you as a company can do to ensure that a disabled person does not feel alienated, these can include: Identifying the hazards, decide who might be harmed and how, evaluate the risks and decide on precautions. The law states that a person who has a physical or mental impairment, that has a substantial or long term effect on that persons ability to do normal day to day duties can be classed as disabled.
The key thing is not the impairment but its effect, some people don’t realise that impairments such as migraines, dyslexia, asthma and back pain can count as a disability if the adverse effect on the individual is substantial and long-term.
If a disabled person is employed within your company ask them for help when designing or arranging office or work space all to often the simple things are missed, desk too high, chair not suited to person, no room for a wheelchair, no hand rails in toilet area.
Do you know that a failure to make a reasonable adjustment can be classed as a discrimination against that person? Carry out a risk assessment this is a simple careful examination of what could harm people and how likely this is to happen, so that employers can weigh up whether or not the steps they have taken are sufficient to comply with health and safety law. Record your findings and act on them. Review the assessment and update if necessary.
Some employers worry because they don’t know or understand enough about that persons disability, often using health and safety as an excuse not to employ.
As an employer ask that person about their disability and work together, this will help with prejudices and judgements. All to often people make assumptions which are misleading and embarrassing to that disabled person.
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