Nearly a million UK businesses still do not comply with disability access rules that came into force last October, requiring businesses and service providers to ensure that people with disabilities have physical access to premises. As a result, the Disability Rights Commission is preparing to launch its first legal case over breaches of the rules contained in the amended Disability Discrimination Act. But managing disability is not just about abiding by the law. It is, as the Employers Forum on Disability puts it, about being “disability-confident” – being able to perceive disability as an opportunity rather than a liability, not only when it comes to consumers but also to employees.
Disability in Britain
According to the Disability Rights Commission, there are 9.8m people in the UK with disabilities – about a fifth of the adult population. Disabled people of working age are twice as likely as non-disabled people to be unemployed and claiming benefits and also twice as likely to have no qualifications. By 2010 two-fifths of the UK population will be over 45 – the age at which the chance of developing a disability or health condition increases sharply.
So what are the rules?
Legal rights for people with disabilities covering employment came into force under the Disability Discrimination Act (1995). These laws prohibit employers from discriminating against a disabled employee or job applicant:
– by treating him or her less favourably (without justification) than other employees or job applicants because of his or her disability, or;
– by not making reasonable adjustments (without justification).
In October 2004, further employment rights and rights of access were added to the law, which was also extended to apply to small businesses with fewer than fifteen employees.
The EU Employment Directive outlaws discrimination on grounds of sexual orientation, religion or belief, disability and age in employment and vocational training.
Where can businesses get advice?
The Employers’ Forum on Disability is an employers’ organisation focused on the issue of disability in the workplace. It has over 380 members who employ a fifth of the UK’s workforce. The EFD essentially aims to make it easier for employers to bring on board people with disabilities. It facilitates knowledge sharing between companies and helps them to develop robust policies on disability.
The Disability Rights Commission
The DRC is a government body set up to work towards the elimination of discrimination against disabled people. Its goal is to create “a society where all disabled people can participate fully as equal citizens”.
The Commission for Equality and Human Rights
The government plans to merge the DRC with the Commission for Racial Equality and the Equal Opportunities Commission to form a single equality body, the Commission for Equality and Human Rights. From 2006, the new body will take responsibility for new laws on disability, as well as age, religion and belief, and sexual orientation.
What tools can I use to help me?
The Disability Standard has been developed by the EFD to help organisations attain best practice on disability and transform legal and ethical obligations to the benefit of themselves and people with disabilities. Developed in association with 15 of the forum’s members, including Centrica, BT and Abbey, the standard consists of a benchmarking survey, the standards directory and individually tailored reports and workshops. The standard enables organisations to measure their performance on disability in every way in which it affects the business, and to put in place action plans that deliver business improvements. The 83 organisations taking part in the first benchmarking survey completed the process at the end of March.
Corporate Citizenship Briefing, issue no: 81 – April, 2005
Zanna Rodrigues is Briefing’s newswriter and a researcher at the Corporate Citizenship Company.
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