Slough Borough Council: Disability

Disability

We subscribe to the social model of disability, which states:

"Most of the day-to-day problems that disabled people face are caused by the fact that society is designed to meet the needs of non-disabled people. What disables people is not a particular condition but the way society reacts to it."
Local Government Association (2003), Access to Services: Disability Equality in Local Government, page 19.

The Equality Act 2010 requires public bodies to:

eliminate unlawful disability discrimination. The Equality Act 2010 also means the ban on direct discrimination will now apply in other areas, such as access to goods and services
eliminate unlawful harassment or victimisation of disabled people
promote equality of opportunity for disabled people
take steps to take account of a persons' disabilities (make reasonable adjustments)
promote positive attitudes towards disabled persons and encourage participation in public life

To qualify for protection from discrimination, a disabled person no longer has to show that their impairment affects a particular 'capacity', such as:

mobility
speech
hearing
eyesight

Also there is a new provision which makes it unlawful, except in certain circumstances, for employers to ask about a candidate's health before offering them work.

The Act also includes a new form of disability discrimination: Discrimination arising from Disability. This states that it is discriminatory to treat a disabled person unfavourably because of something connected with their disability.

More details about disability can be found below.