From October 2010, the Equality Act 2010 (EqA) replaced the Disability Discrimination Act 1995 (DDA). Disabled people have the same level of protections under the EA as the DDA currently provides. It also brings in some new rights for disabled people and fill gaps in protection. The EqA is the law in Great Britain (Wales, England and Scotland). In Northern Ireland the DDA is still the law.
This section gives a brief overview of the Equality Act as it applies to employment. For more detailed information please see our Your rights in employment factsheet below.
Your rights in employment (Equality Act) factsheet (Word, 406 KB)
What does the Equality Act aim to do?
The Equality Act aims to eliminate discrimination and promote equality. It does this in relation to what are called 'protected characteristics'. Disability is one of the protected characteristics.
The Equality Act says that employers are not allowed to engage in 'prohibited conduct' which is linked to someone's 'protected characteristic'. Although this might sound complicated, it is actually fairly straightforward.
How does the Equality Act work?
The Equality Act describes different types of discrimination (such as direct discrimination) which apply to specific discriminatory acts (such as refusing to offer someone a job).
Does the Equality Act apply to people with sight loss?
Yes. As long as you meet the Equality Act's definition of a disabled person, then the Act applies to you. The definition is largely the same as the one used in the DDA. It means someone with a "physical or mental impairment, which has a substantial and long term adverse effect on the ability to carry out normal day to day activities". Most blind and partially sighted people are likely to be "disabled" within the meaning of the Act.
Types of discrimination
There are different types of discrimination.
Direct discrimination
In employment situations, someone (usually an employer) discriminates against someone else (an employee) if because of a protected characteristic, such as disability, the employer treats the employee less favourably that the employer treats or would treat someone else.
For example: Anne is not offered a job because she is blind, but Mabel, who is sighted, is given the job.
Indirect discrimination
This is where someone (such as an employer) has a practice which appears to be neutral, but, because of a person's disability, the practice is discriminatory.
For example: An employer says that all medical/hospital appointments must be taken as sick leave. Patrick has to have regular appointments at the eye hospital. This means that he has a higher than acceptable level of sickness absence. This could be indirectly discriminatory.
Discrimination on the basis of association or perception
This is where the person does not have the protected characteristic him/herself, but is associated with someone who does or where the discriminator thinks he does have the characteristic (perception).
For example: Jane is treated less favourably by her employer because she needs to take more time away to care for her elderly blind mother.
Harassment
Harassment includes what is called 'conduct discrimination'. This is unwanted conduct on the grounds of a particular characteristic that has the purpose or the effect of violating their dignity or creating an intimidating, hostile, degrading, humiliating or offensive environment.
For example: A sighted worker objects to a registered blind colleague's guide dog and frequently makes loud and false comments that the dog is smelly. The blind worker finds these comments embarrassing and feels that she is singled out for this attention. This is likely to amount to discrimination
Victimisation
This is where an employer treats someone unfavourably because that person has brought legal proceedings under the Equality Act or given evidence or information in such proceedings or made an allegation that the employer has breached the Equality Act.
All of the types of discrimination explained above apply to any of the protected characteristics. There is another type which only applies to people with disabilities - discrimination arising from disability.
Discrimination arising from disability
In employment situations, someone (usually an employer) discriminates against a disabled person if the employer treats the disabled person unfavourably because of something arising from that person's disability.
For example: Anne works as an administrator in a busy office. Anne experiences sight loss (and meets the definition of disability). Anne's work performance worsens and she is dismissed because she cannot do as much work as a sighted colleague. The less favourable treatment isn't because of Anne's sight loss, but because of something arising out of it. Anne's poorer performance than her sighted colleague is due to something which arises out of her disability (she now has difficulty reading documents and her computer screen) it is not the fact of her disability itself.
If the employer tried to justify the dismissal, he would have to show that it was a reasonable or proportionate means of achieving a real and legitimate need of the business - the need to complete a certain amount of work, to a specific standard in a given timescale.
However, in this type of situation, an employer should comply with the duty to make reasonable adjustments, as these could be a way to deal with the issue. For example, the employer provides Anne with adapted software and a magnifier or CCTV.
This type of discrimination does not apply if the employer does not know and could not have reasonably been expected to know of the employee's disability. This is something which you should bear in mind if you are considering whether or not to tell your employer about your disability.
Reasonable adjustments
The Equality Act says that employers have a duty to make reasonable adjustments. This is the way in which employers can support disabled staff to carry out their jobs. There are many different sorts of reasonable adjustments; here are some examples:
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Providing equipment (such as a CCTV).
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Providing software (such as ZoomText/JAWS/Supernova).
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Changing the working environment (altering lighting levels).
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Changing procedures (medical appointments about someone's disability are recorded as 'disability-related leave' rather than sick leave) or enabling someone to bring her assistance dog into the workplace (there may be some limitations e.g. in a hospital to comply with infection control requirements).
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Making changes to a job description to reassign some duties to other staff.
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Providing a support worker.
Do I have to tell an employer about my disability?
There is nothing which states that you have to tell an employer about your disability. However, you will not be able to succeed in a claim for discrimination arising from disability or a failure to make reasonable adjustments (unless you are a job applicant), if your employer didn't know or could not reasonably have been expected to know. An employer does not have to make a reasonable adjustment unless it knew or could reasonably be expected to know that you would need any adjustments.
What if my employer asks about my disability?
Under the Equality Act employers are not able to ask about an employee's health prior to making a job offer (including whether or not they are disabled) although there are exceptions. These are to help the employer to make reasonable adjustments to the interview process (for example, having any test questions in large print) or regarding abilities that are an essential part of the job (for example, a bus driver has to be able to see in order to hold a driving licence).
What if I become disabled while I am working or my sight deteriorates?
If you are concerned about carrying on your job, or about difficulties that you are having, you should contact your Disability Employment Adviser at your local job centre. S/he can talk about the Access to Work scheme; may be able to arrange for an assessment of your work or your skills; or arrange for rehabilitation. You can also contact one of our employment specialists for advice, via our Helpline on 0303 123 9999.
What if I feel I have been discriminated against?
If you believe you have experienced discrimination, there are a number of different ways you can challenge it.
Grievance
If you believe that your employer has discriminated against you, then you could use the employer's grievance procedure. A grievance is essentially a type of complaint. You as the employee are making a formal complaint that your employer has acted unlawfully and that this has breached your rights in employment law. All employers should have a grievance procedure.
Alternative Dispute Resolution
Not every dispute has to go to the formal Employment Tribunal. It is possible to resolve many disputes through what is called 'alternative dispute resolution' (ADR). This covers a range of ways in which an employee (or job applicant) and employee can engage to try to resolve the dispute without having to go to the Employment Tribunal. The most common form of ADR is called 'mediation', where a professionally trained and independent mediator is brought in to resolve the issue.
Employment Tribunal
If you are unable to resolve a dispute through other means, such as a grievance or an appeal, then you could go to an Employment Tribunal and ask it to decide your case. You can do this if your complaint is against your current employer or because you were turned down for a job. You can also take a case against a former employer.
Further sources of information
Advisory, Conciliation and Arbitration Service
ACAS (Advisory, Conciliation and Arbitration Service) aims to improve organisations and working life through better employment relations.
Tel: 08457 47 47 47
Text Relay: 18001 08457 474747
Acas website
LawWorks
LawWorks is a charity which aims to provide free legal help to individuals and community groups who cannot afford to pay for it and who are unable to access legal aid.
Tel: 020 7092 3940
Fax: 020 7242 3407
LawWorks website
The Equality and Human Rights Commission
The Equality and Human Rights Commission have a statutory remit to promote and monitor human rights; and to protect, enforce and promote equality across the nine "protected" grounds - age, disability, gender, race, religion and belief, pregnancy and maternity, marriage and civil partnership, sexual orientation and gender reassignment.
Tel: There are different numbers for Wales, England and Scotland (check the website below for details)
Email: info@equalityhumanrights.com
The Equality and Human Rights Commission website
The RNIB Legal Rights Service
The RNIB Legal Rights Service is a specialist level advice service. We hold the Community Legal Service Specialist Quality Mark - this is a quality assurance standard for legal advice providers.
We can give you information and legal advice about the Equality Act (or Disability Discrimination Act in Northern Ireland). In some situations we may be able to provide you with representation. This is a free service for blind and partially sighted people. We use a set of criteria to help us work out what cases we can support. You can contact us through the Helpline, details of which are given below. The RNIB Legal Rights Service produces a series of factsheets on the Equality Act, all of which are available in alternative formats.
Tel: 0303 123 9999
Email: helpline@rnib.org.uk
Your local Citizens Advice Bureau
The Citizens Advice service helps people resolve their legal, money and other problems by providing free, independent and confidential advice, and by influencing policymakers. Visit the website below to find your local office.
Citizens Advice website or Find your local law centre.
Your Trade Union
The TUC has 58 affiliated unions representing 6.2 million working people from all walks of life, they campaign for a fair deal at work and for social justice at home and abroad. They negotiate in Europe, and at home build links with political parties, business, local communities and wider society.
Tel: 020 7636 4030
Fax: 020 7636 0632
TUC website