This section covers some of the laws affecting disabled people and others.
You will find information on what the Disability Discrimination Act (DDA) says about Disability, Education, Employment and Goods & Services. There is also a section on your rights as a shopper/comsumer, and on the Human Rights Act(HRA) and Disabled People.
Let us know if you want other legal rights covered.
Disabled people and Disability Discrimination Act (DDA)
The DDA has 4 parts, the first tells us about the scope of the Act the definition of disability etc, Part 2 concerns Employment, Part 3 is about access to goods services and facilities, and Part 4 is concerned with Education.
Part I: Definition
To have the rights and protection that come from the Disability Discrimination Act, you need to meet the definition of disability laid out in the Act:
A physical or mental impairment which has a substantial, long-term adverse effect on a person’s ability to carry out his/her normal day to day activities
Physical impairment means things like mobility impairment, blindness, hearing impairments etc
Mental impairment can mean a developmental disability or learning disability or it can include someone with a recognised mental illness like depression or schizophrenia.
The disability needs to have existed for at least 12 months.
The law says you can be protected by the Act if you used to have a disability (for over 12 months) and are discriminated against because of it now (eg past mental illness).
The law protects people with a severe disfigurement. Like facial scars or "withered" limb.
The law protects people with progressive illnesses like cancer, MS and HIV as soon as they get the condition - they don't have to have the 12 month qualifying period.
The law excludes people whose impairment relates solely to substance abuse, exhibitionism, fire starting etc
Part II: Employment
The Act covers all employers apart from the armed services.
Employers covered by the Act are required to make 'reasonable adjustments' to accommodate disabled employees or job applicants.
Reasonable adjustments include physical access (like installing a ramp or a widening a doorway), providing equipment (like a telephone amplifier, text-to-speech software, or a suitable chair), or flexible working arrangements (like changing working hours, time off for treatment, a signer at the job interview, etc).
The decision on whether an adjustment is 'reasonable', will be based on how effective the adjustment would be in overcoming the problem, how practicable it is for the employer to carry out the adjustment, the cost of making the adjustment, and whether it is reasonable to expect the employer to spend that money, whether there is alternate funding available.
Employers can only treat you less favorably than others because of your disability if they can show the treatment is 'justified'.
The employer must show that the reason for the treatment was both relevant and substantial.
The employer can exclude people with certain impairments from certain jobs providing they can show it is justified in each case.
An employer can exclude a disabled person on grounds of health and safety if s/he can show that the disabled person would expose other employees or others to risk, even with a reasonable adjustment.
If you have a complaint concerning employment under the Act you should contact your Trade Union official or an Employment Tribunal within 3 months of the discrimination.
Bringing an employment case>>
Part III: Goods and Services and facilities
This part of the Act includes service providers like shops, theatres, railway stations, solicitors, banks, hospitals, etc private clubs with more than 25 members are not included, but may be after the Act is amended this year.
Insurance Companies have different rules.
The Act says it is unlawful to discriminate against disabled people by refusing to provide (or deliberately not providing) a service, or providing the service on less favorable terms, to a lower standard, or in a worse manner.
The service provider is required to
* make reasonable changes to practices, policies and procedures that make it unreasonably difficult for a disabled person to access their service
* take reasonable steps to get aids to enable disable people to use their service (like a loop system)
take reasonable steps to alter their premises if they make it unreasonably difficult for a disabled person to access the service
* provide a reasonable alternative method of making services available The service provider should not wait until a disabled person wants to use a service before making reasonable adjustments
The decision on whether an adjustment is reasonable will be based on whether it would overcome the difficulty that disabled people face in accessing the service; the extent to which it is practicable for the service provider to take the steps; the cost of making the adjustment; the disruption the adjustment would cause; the extent of the service provider's financial and other resources; the amount already spent on making adjustments; whether there is alternative funding available.
Bringing a case about goods services or facilites >>
This part of the Act covers schools, colleges, universities and other post-16 education, but there are different rules for schools and post-16 education.
Schools
The legal framework for disabled access to schools looks at access in 3 areas, each disabled child should have:
Access to the curriculum
Access to the built environment
Access to written information/communication
Access to Curriculum
The point is to make sure disabled pupils have access to a full, broad and balanced curriculum. While schools already provide additional support to enable pupils with learning disabilities to access the curriculum through the Special Educational Needs framework, the DDA requirements extend this to children with other impairments like visual or hearing impairments.
It should cover access to:
classroom and learning support
after school clubs
field trips
leisure, sport and cultural activities
timetabling
options
Sometimes enabling access to the curriculum will be a technical or physical adjustment – like changing timetabling, or ensuring lessons involving equipment (like science) are held on the ground floor in an accessible area.
Access to the built environment
This covers improving the physical environment of the school to increase the extent to which disabled pupils can take advantage of education and associated services.
It includes all areas of the physical environment such as lifts, kerbs, exterior surfaces, doors, gates, building entrances and exits, toilet and changing facilities, parking, floor coverings, signs, furniture, ramps, handrails, lighting, heating, blinds, induction loops, well designed room acoustics and way finding systems etc.
It also covers physical aids to access equipment such as technology equipment, enlarged computer screens and keyboards, sound field systems, specialist desks and chairs, specialist pens, scientific equipment.
Wolverhampton Local Education Authority has undertaken a massive programme of physical access improvements to schools in the city.
Access to information
This is about improving the delivery to disabled pupils, in a reasonable time, information provided to non-disabled pupils. This should be done in formats which take account of views, expressed by the pupils or their parents, about their preferred means of communication.
Disabled pupils should have access to all information e.g. handouts, timetables, textbooks, information about school events etc. in their preferred format e.g. Braille ,audio tape, large print, through sign language, symbol systems, through ICT or providing information orally. This must be done within a "reasonable timeframe."
Colleges
This covers universities and colleges, adult and community education, and schools providing adult education courses.
School 6th forms are included under the schools provisions.
Providers of post-16 education and education services are not permitted to discriminate against a disabled student regarding:
Admissions
Teaching learning and other services provided (like the canteen, student union bar, libraries, accommodation, or study trips)
Excluding them from the course or institution
This means they must not treat the disabled student less favourably for a reason relating to disability, and must make reasonable adjustments. They must also prevent disabled (and other) students from being victimised.
Both duties are based on what is reasonable and what is justifiable. So if the cost of the adjustment meant the college couldn’t afford to run the course, or if the adjustment prevented other student from doing the course, the adjustment would not be seen as reasonable.
Similarly discrimination is justifiable if it can be demonstrated as necessary in order to maintain academic standards.
Bringing a case under the schools and colleges provisions>>
Bringing a case under the Disability Discrimination Act.
Employment
You should try to resolve the issue with the employer, either by meeting with him/her yourself, or via your Trade Union representative if you have one.
If you want to take things forward, the next stage is an Employment Tribunal.
If your case is interesting from the point of view of developing the law, the DRC may represent you – call their hotline to find out:
Telephone: 08457 622 633
Textphone: 08457 622 644
In most cases they will not be able to help you so you will need to bring the case yourself or with a representative (friend, CAB officer, One Voice, Trades Union official etc).
There is no legal aid for people brining a case to tribunal.
In any case the Tribunal is not as formal as a Court – the board is made up of 3 people a Chair who is in the legal profession, and 2 laypeople.
To take your case to Tribunal, you must apply within 3 months of the discrimination, using an ET1 form, you can get this from the local Employment Tribunal office, which is in Birmingham:
1-3 Newhall Street, Birmingham, B3 3NH
Phone: 0121 236 6051 Fax: 0121 236 6029
Email: birminghamet@ets.gsi.gov.uk
Or you can fill it in online at www.employmenttribunals.gov.uk/claim_form_et1.asp
It is worth noting that if your case is very weak and you lose, or if you are rude and disruptive at the Tribunal, the panel may order you to pay costs for the other side.
Goods, services, and facilities
If you think you have been discriminated against on grounds of disability in the way a service, facility, or goods have been provided, your first step should be to talk to the service provider about the difficulty, if that doesn’t work you may be able to bring a case under part 3 of the Disability Discrimination Act.
You can either take your case to Court, or go through a conciliation process.
If you want to take your case to Court you must usually start proceedings within 6 months of the date the discrimination took place.
You need to get an application form and claim pack from the County Court. You will have to pay £115 to issue the claim unless you are on benefits/low income.
You may want someone to help you with the form, as it is complicated to fill in.
Most claims (for amounts under £5,000) will be dealt with in the Small Claims Court. You can either represent yourself here, or have a solicitor or someone else represent you, but the process is fairly informal and straightforward.
If you don’t want to go through the difficulty of bringing a Court case, you may want to use the Disability Conciliation Service (DCS). The DCS is funded by the Disability Rights Commission (DRC) and is independent.
You can only use the DCS if you are referred by the Disability Rights Commission. To find out if you can get your case referred, first you need to ring the DRC helpline on and talk to them.
Telephone: 08457 622 633
Textphone: 08457 622 644
You can speak to an operator at any time between 8am and 8pm, Monday to Friday):
Staff at the DRC will look into your case and decide whether it has a basis in law, and whether conciliation is the best approach. If this is so they will refer your case to the DCS who will discuss it with you.
The DCS will try to sort out the problem by talking to you and the service provider.
The solution may involve an agreement to improve the service, it may also involve a settlement in money, but not always.
The process is voluntary, and you or the service provider can end it at any time.
You may decide that you want to stop the process and take legal action instead – using the DCS does not stop prevent you from ding this.
The main advantage of using the DCS is that you don’t have to pay Court fees, and it may be quicker.
Education
Your first step should be to bring the issue up with the school/college, by talking to the Head Teacher or Principal, and make them aware of the problem and any adjustments that are required.
If this does not get results you can try the Board of Governors, or Wolverhampton education authority’s complaints scheme.
You may want to contact the DRC helpline to get their opinion on the issue:
DRC Helpline, Freepost MID 02164, Stratford-upon-Avon, CV37 9BR
Telephone: 08457 622 633
Textphone: 08457 622 644
The helpline is staffed weekdays between 8am and 8pm.
The DRC may decide to refer you to the Disability Conciliation Service if they think your case might advance the law.
The alternative is to take your case to court within 6 months of the discrimination, as above.
Your rights when buying goods and services
As well as the rights laid out in part three of the Disability Discrimination Act, disabled people have the rights that protect all shoppers and consumers:
The law states that when you buy or hire something it should be:
(a) Of satisfactory quality
(This includes appearance, finish, safety, durability)
Also the purchase should be free from minor defects, unless they were brought to your attention at the time of purpose.
(b) Fit for purpose
(c) As described
(Including the seller’s description, and descriptions on the packaging)
This includes goods bought in sales.
Goods that don’t meet these three criteria can be taken back, as long as you do it in a reasonable time. You are entitled to your money back – you do not have to accept an exchange or a credit note.
This applies to goods bought in sales too – any notice in a shop saying you can’t bring back sales goods amounts to an unfair contract term.
If a purchase is faulty it is the seller’s responsibility to refund you. You do not have to contact the manufacturer.
If the faulty item is bulky and expensive to return, you can ask the seller to collect it.
Sellers do not have to changes goods which are not faulty, so if you buy the wrong colour or size, it is up to the policy of the store as to whether you can get an exchange – ask at the till.
You cannot return something as faulty if you damaged it, or you were told about the fault when you bought it, or you examined the item when you were buying it and it was reasonable that you should have noticed the fault.
If you buy privately or at auction you have fewer rights.
When you pay for a service, the law states that the service should be carried out:
with reasonable care and skill
in a reasonable time
for a reasonable price
If the seller or service provider refuses your legal rights, you should contact Wolverhampton’s Trading Standards department:
Law and Resources, Wolverhampton City Council, Civic Centre, St Peters Square, Wolverhampton, WV1 1RG
Phone: (01902) 554333 Fax: (01902) 554329
Minicom: (01902) 555969
E-mail: tradingstandards@wolverhampton.gov.uk
Human Rights Act and Disabled People
The Human Rights Act brings the rights enshrined in the European Convention on Human Rights into British Law. The Human Rights Act (HRA) applies to all Britain's citizens, and gives us each:
the right to life
prohibition of torture
prohibition of slavery and forced labour
the right to liberty and security
the right to a fair trial
the right not to be held guilty of a criminal offence by a law created after the offence
the right to privacy, family life, home and correspondence
the right to freedom of expression, thought, conscience and religion
the right to freedom of assembly and association
the right to marry
the right to education
the right to free elections
While many people have experienced these rights throughout their lives, many disabled people have not - for example the human rights act challenges a doctors right to decide when to withhold treatment, it challenges the abuse of disabled people who live in 'care homes', it protects the rights of disabled people to form sexual relationships and marry - a right often denied some disabled people who live in institutions, it may well challenge the new detention measures the Government plans for people with mental health problems.
In some areas it overlaps the DDA, and in some areas it goes further.
The Disability Rights Commission hosts an excellent article on Disabled People and the Human Rights Act, which also covers recent cases.
You can download the article here:
http://www.drc-gb.org/the_law/human_rights/human_rights_publications/