News and events
Equality Act 2010
What is it?
The Equality Act 2010 has superseded the Disability Discrimination Act (DDA) 1995, amended in 2005. This is a basic overview of this legislation. The most useful refrence point formmore information on the Equality Act is the Equality and Human Rights Commission's (EHRC) website. The Government Equalities Office also has information on the Act, including a provisional timetable for implementation.
The Equality Act aims to unify different pieces of equality legislation to provide greater consistency and, in some areas, to strengthen provisions. The Act is structured around nine different 'protected characteristics', of which one is disability. It aims to prohibit discrimination, harassment and victimisation.
Different parts of the Equality Act give disabled people rights in the areas of:
goods, facilities and services (Part 3)
buying or renting land or property (Part 4)
employment (Part 5)
education (Part 6)
transport (Part 12)
Relevant statements covering disability
Who is 'disabled'?
Like the DDA, the Equality Act defines a disbaled person as:
'someone who has a physical or mental impairment which has substantial and long-term adverse effect on their ability to carry out normal day-to-day activities'
However, the Equality Act goes further than the DDA by defining 'substantial' as 'more than minor or trivial'. This Act does not have a requirement to show that the impairment affects a particular capacity, such as manual dexterity, mobility, or continence. this should make it easier for someone to show they meet the definition.
What is discrimination?
Across the Act various types of 'prohibited conduct' are outlined, although they are applied differently under different circumstances.
Nowhere in the Equality Act does it actually state that accessible environments should be provided for disabled people, either in their workplace or for access to goods, facilities, or services. However, duties under the Act include the requirement to consider barriers created by physical features of buildings, and to make adjustments in certain circumstances.
There are three main types of disability discrimination under the Equality Act:
Direct discrimination - this can take the form of discrimination by association or by perception. Combined discrimination is still being considered at this time.
Indirect discrimination - this brings services in line with employment, but to a large extent it was already covered by the duty to make reasonable adjustments in the DDA.
Discrimination arising from disability - this replaces the disability related provisions in the DDA which were effectively discredited in the Malcolm v Lewisham case.
Reasonable adjustments
The duty to make reasonable adjustments occurs where disabled people experience a 'substantial disadvantage' in fulfilling their roles at work, or in accessing goods and services for example. This is in contrast to the DDA. where service providers were only required to make adjustments if it was 'impossible or unreasonably difficult' for disabled people to access their services.
The requirements of the duty reflect the DDA duties but in a more consistent way. The equality Act makes it clear that providing information in accessible formats is a reasonable adjustment and that this relates to policies as well as auxiliary aids. It also makes it clear that the cost implications of a reasionable adjustment cannot be passed onto the disabled person.
Under the new legislation the only question to consider is whether the adjustment is a reasonable one to make. Previously service providers could justify their failure to provide a reasonable adjustment.
Semantics
Just as under the DDA, it is still a fallacy that a product or building can be 'Equality Act compliant'. Buildings and products cannot comply with the Equality Act. This Act places duties on employers and service providers to consider barriers (both physical and nonphysical) that disabled people might face when trying to access a service or employment. Using a particular product or designing in a certain way might help someone meet their duties, but having an 'accessible' building in itself does not guarantee compliance.
Guidance
The Equality Act is accompanied by Explanatory Notes which help explain the Act. These can be found by visiting the Legislation website www.legislation.gov.uk
Each part of the Equality Act will be supported by one or more Codes of Practice, which offer guidance on how to meet duties under the new Act, as well as practical examples. While Codes of Practice neither impose legal obligations nor are authoratative statements of the law, they may be referred to in any legal proceedings pursued under the Act. They can help you to interpret the legislation.
The Codes of Practice for services, employment and equal pay were laid before Parliament on 12 October 2010. If no objections are raised, they will be published 40 days from this date. You can download these draft Codes from the EHRC website.
The Equality and Human Rights Commission (EHRC) has also produced some non-statutory guidance to help people understand how the Act will work.
To view this, visit the EHRC website, Advice and Guidance section.
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