Know Your Rights: Employment

Dear readers,

For someone who claims to be a disability rights blogger (among other things) I realise that it has been several weeks since I actually wrote about disability rights. With my engagement, Christmas holiday and all-important Blues Reviews, this topic had become quite neglected. Yet fear not; your friendly neighbourhood cripple is here to fill you in on disability and employment rights in the UK!

Employment law is a complicated field, with laws scattered across many different pieces of legislation. For this reason, I've decided to narrow it down, and discuss the single document which protects the rights of disabled people to be protected from workplace discrimination; The Equality Act (2010).The Act itself represents an effort to bring together the complex patchwork of anti-discrimination law into a single document.

The basic aim of the Act is to protect people from discrimination based on what are called 'protected characteristics'. These are characteristics which are inherent to each of us cannot be changed and therefore should not be judged negatively. They include age, gender, race, sexuality, religion and disability. The Act places responsibility on both the government and employers to prevent discrimination on these grounds. Discrimination is defined as being treated unfavourably compared to someone with different inherent characteristics, and unless an employer or other person can demonstrate that this unfavourable treatment has some legitimate aim, they have technically broken the law.

The Act is significant for disabled people because not only does it protect us from discrimination we might face within the workplace (such as bullying or being sacked because of our conditions) but it also makes the workplace more accessible in the first place. The Act puts responsibility on employers to make "reasonable adjustments" so that they can hire disabled people. This can mean providing auxiliary aids, getting rid of physical barriers and eliminating discriminatory practices or cultures in the workplace (for example, by changing the criteria for job applications, or providing equality training).

Of course, it is difficult to define what constitutes a 'reasonable adjustment.' One might argue that it is reasonable to adjust the width of all the doors in your office so that a wheelchair user can access it, but your employer might disagree. The Act recognises this, and suggests that these decisions should be made on a case-by-case basis. If you feel your rights as defined under the Equality Act have been violated, you can take the employer to county or sheriff court, or to an employment tribunal, where a judge will decide whether the law has been broken and if compensation is due.

There are some employers who are exempt from certain sections of the Equality Act. A good example is the Armed Forces, which discriminates against disabled people because the nature of the job requires employees to have a high standard of fitness and health. Another example is charities which provide services in sensitive environments, where, for example, only women may be hired to work in a women's shelter. However, if you feel you were fired or passed up for a job as a result of your disability, and your disability wasn't impacting on your ability to perform the role, you might just have a discrimination case on your hands.

The Equality Act hasn't fixed the problems that disabled people face in the workplace. Discrimination is still common, and we have a lower employment rate than our abled peers. After all, indirect discrimination can be difficult to prove unless an employer directly states something to the effect of "we aren't hiring you because you're disabled." However, it does provide a legal framework which we can use to defend our rights, and gives us a basis upon which to keep fighting.

Thanks for reading,

Rebecca