The Disability Discrimination Act
Background
First introduced in 1996 and amended in 2004, the Disability Discrimination Act (DDA) aims to end prejudice against the less able. It makes it unlawful for 'service providers' (anyone that provides a service to the public) to treat someone less favourably because of a disability.
Implications
The DDA requires service providers to make reasonable adjustments to tackle physical building features, which act as a barrier to less able people who wish to access their services. This may mean installing a ramp or platform lift to replace a flight of stairs, or lowering door handles to a convenient height for wheelchair users.
Objectives
The Disability Discrimination Act aims to end prejudice against less able people. It has been significantly extended over the last ten years and now gives less able people rights in the following areas:
- Education
- Employment
- Renting or buying land or property
- Access to goods, facilities and services
- Activities, clubs, sports and associations
What classes as a disability?
The DDA defines a disabled person as someone who has “a physical or mental impairment which has a substantial and long-term adverse effect on the person’s ability to carry out normal day-to-day activities.” These include:
- Learning difficulties, mental illnesses, and brain damage.
- Paralysis, severe disfigurement, or limb injuries.
- Deafness, blindness, or heart disease.
Obligations
The DDA requires service providers (e.g. shops, libraries, cinemas etc) and all workplaces to make reasonable adjustments to overcome physical features, which obstruct the less able. These include anything arising from a building’s design or construction, fixtures, fittings, equipment, or materials.
To overcome a physical feature means to either remove it, alter it so that it no longer has an effect, provide an alternative access route, or make services available to the less able in another way.
Reasonable Adjustments
There is no legal definition of a reasonable adjustment. It depends on the kind of service provided, an adjustment’s cost and practicality, and the size of the service provider. Reasonable adjustments could include:
- Replacing steps with a ramp or platform lift
- Widening a building’s entrance and exit to accommodate wheelchairs
- Making toilets and washing facilities accessible to all.
