Shona Thomas
M2 – Explain the possible impact of the Disability Discrimination Act in promoting
anti-discriminatory practice
“A disability may be generally defined as a condition which may restrict a person's
mental, sensory, or mobility functions to undertake or perform a task in the same
way as a person who does not have a disability.”1 The Disability Discrimination Act
(DDA) of 1995 helps encourage organisations and health and social care settings
which provide for others to overcome barriers and make reasonable adjustments to
ensure full accessibility for everyone. An example of this is in a nursing home if there
was a service user who was in a wheel chair it would be against the law to
discriminate against them just because of their disability. Also inside the nursing
home there would have to be wheel chair access to make it disabled friendly.
However, this act was updated by the Equality Act 2010 meaning that a disabled
individual should be treated equally to everyone else. The types of discrimination it
can help an individual challenge are when they have experienced or experiencing
direct discrimination, this would be something such as a ban on employing blind
people. It also helps with disability related discrimination, for example if a taxi driver
was to refuse to take a b-lind passenger in their car because they have a guide dog.
As well as the failure by an organisation to make a reasonable adjustment to allow
the individual with a disability access to goods, facilities and services. It protects
people with a disability when they have been experiencing victimisation and/or
harassment.The DDA covers key areas of an individual’s life such as employment,
training education, goods, facilities and services as well as premises and transport.
Employment discrimination
If an individual has been discriminated against at work or when applying for a job,
they can raise a formal grievance or complaint against the service, seek “Alternative
Dispute Resolution (ADR), such as independent mediation or they have a choice
whether they would like to take their case to an Employment Tribunal.”2 There are
lots of ways the Disability Discrimination Act can help an individual in employment
1 http://www.dwa.org.au/whatisadisability.htm
2 http://www.rnib.org.uk/information-everyday-living-your-rights/disability-discrimination-act-dda
M2 – Explain the possible impact of the Disability Discrimination Act in promoting
anti-discriminatory practice
“A disability may be generally defined as a condition which may restrict a person's
mental, sensory, or mobility functions to undertake or perform a task in the same
way as a person who does not have a disability.”1 The Disability Discrimination Act
(DDA) of 1995 helps encourage organisations and health and social care settings
which provide for others to overcome barriers and make reasonable adjustments to
ensure full accessibility for everyone. An example of this is in a nursing home if there
was a service user who was in a wheel chair it would be against the law to
discriminate against them just because of their disability. Also inside the nursing
home there would have to be wheel chair access to make it disabled friendly.
However, this act was updated by the Equality Act 2010 meaning that a disabled
individual should be treated equally to everyone else. The types of discrimination it
can help an individual challenge are when they have experienced or experiencing
direct discrimination, this would be something such as a ban on employing blind
people. It also helps with disability related discrimination, for example if a taxi driver
was to refuse to take a b-lind passenger in their car because they have a guide dog.
As well as the failure by an organisation to make a reasonable adjustment to allow
the individual with a disability access to goods, facilities and services. It protects
people with a disability when they have been experiencing victimisation and/or
harassment.The DDA covers key areas of an individual’s life such as employment,
training education, goods, facilities and services as well as premises and transport.
Employment discrimination
If an individual has been discriminated against at work or when applying for a job,
they can raise a formal grievance or complaint against the service, seek “Alternative
Dispute Resolution (ADR), such as independent mediation or they have a choice
whether they would like to take their case to an Employment Tribunal.”2 There are
lots of ways the Disability Discrimination Act can help an individual in employment
1 http://www.dwa.org.au/whatisadisability.htm
2 http://www.rnib.org.uk/information-everyday-living-your-rights/disability-discrimination-act-dda
