Disability equality

Employers have a duty not to discriminate against people with disabilities.

Under the terms of the Disability Discrimination Act 1995, 'disability' is defined as 'a physical or mental impairment which has a substantial and long term adverse effect on a person's ability to carry out normal day to day activities'.

'Impairment' covers people with physical, sensory or mental impairments, including learning difficulties. 

'Substantial and long term effects' means the disability must have lasted for at least 12 months, be likely to last 12 months or is likely to last for the rest of the person's life. 

However, the Disability Discrimination Act 2005 amended the definition of disability to include people with mental illness (not necessarily 'clinically well recognised'), HIV infection, multiple sclerosis (ms) or cancer (from the point of diagnosis) as from December 2005.

Regarding 'day to day activities', the impairment must affect at least one of the following:

• manual dexterity
• physical co ordination
• ability to lift, carry or otherwise move everyday objects
• speech, hearing or eyesight
• memory or ability to concentrate, learn or understand
• perception of risk of physical danger.
• the definition of disability also now include individuals with cancer, MS and those who are HIV-positive (from the point at which they are diagnosed), before they actually suffer from any symptoms that affect their ability to carry out day-to-day activities. 

Disabled employees have much to contribute to schools, as pupils benefit from opportunities to learn from a variety of people.

There are two ways in which an employer may discriminate against a disabled employee. Firstly, the employer may treat the employee less favourably for a reason related to his or her disability. Secondly, the employer may be discriminatory if it fails to make reasonable adjustments to its employment arrangements or to the physical features of its premises and this results in the disabled person being substantially disadvantaged. 

In either case, the employer can argue that its action or inaction is justified. However, the employer must show that its justification is both material, relevant to the job, directly related to the disabled person's circumstances and substantial.

Disabled employees have much to contribute to schools, as pupils benefit from opportunities to learn from a variety of people. Pupils with disabilities will be encouraged by their presence. It should never be assumed that the responsibility of schools to protect the health and safety of pupils will be compromised by the employment of disabled people.

As regards reasonable adjustments to premises, schools can: 

• provide wheelchair accessible toilets, ramps and automatic opening doors
• allocate classrooms on ground floors
• provide a designated car parking space
• widen doorways and re arrange furniture to allow wheelchair users to move around
• provide ergonomically designed chairs or adapted keyboards
• acquire specialist equipment with magnifying facilities
• alter duties, e.g. replacing outdoor supervision duty with management tasks 
• allow a gradual return to work after a period of absence.

Changes to working arrangements to accommodate the needs of a disabled employee could include: 

• employing an assistant to undertake administrative tasks
• providing a reader or signer for a visually impaired person
• adjusting the timetable or allowing extra non contact time
• allocating some duties to another employee
• altering working hours to allow part time work or job sharing
• providing additional training.

While the potential costs of the above changes often concern educational establishments, many are inexpensive. Under the Employment Service's Access to Work Scheme, funding is available for human support and adaptations to premises and equipment. Disability employment advisers in employment service Jobcentres offer free independent advice on adjustments to the workplace. In addition, many LEAs employ disability officers.

A claim for disability discrimination must be lodged at an employment tribunal within three months of the date on which the discriminatory act took place. Discrimination can occur in relation to any aspect of employment including opportunities for employment or promotion, terms and conditions of employment, career development or training or dismissal proceedings. 

Increased awareness of disabled people's needs and positive attitudes can help to ensure that disabled employees contribute significantly to the education of all students.

Any member that feels s/he is being discriminated against on the grounds of his/her disability should contact ATL for guidance.

Further information  

A free booklet, Balancing disability rights and health and safety requirements - a guide for employers, has been produced by a consortium of organisations in Northern Ireland with the aim of addressing the inequalities experienced by some disabled employees with regard to health and safety at work.

The guide contains practical information to help employers balance the rights of disabled employees with health and safety requirements. Case studies are used to illustrate the benefits of making sensible adjustments to accommodate disabled employees.

For a copy, call the Health and Safety Executive Northern Ireland's Information helpline on 0800 0320121.

If you that feel that you have been discriminated against in any way you   should contact ATL for guidance.

Help and support 
For further advice on this issue, ATL members can speak to their school rep, their branch secretary or their regional official. They can also call the London (020 7930 6441), Cardiff (029 2046 5000) or Belfast office (02890 327 990) or email info@atl.org.uk.

For out of hours enquiries, call the out of office hours helpline on 020 7782 1612 (Monday-Friday, 5-8pm during term time).

If you are not a member, join now.

Resources

• Briefing on Disability Descrimination Act 2005, Word document, 819 KB