Cuts and Disability Discrimination :
the latest casework and the
worsening position of disabled
workers
Diana Holland
Assistant General Secretary Equalities & Organising
Unite the Union
CON-DEMS CONDEMN!
• ‘Getting disabled people into work’
– At time of global economic crisis, where are the
jobs?
– Jobs disabled workers have more likely to be
affected by cuts
– Services and financial support to disabled workers
being reduced just creates poverty
• Coalition ‘Fairness Test’
– Impact assessment of all proposed cuts - disability
Disabled workers, employment rights
and civil rights
• Disabled Persons (employment) Act (postwar)
– Quota 3%
• Disability Discrimination Act 1995
• Equality Act 2010
Moving towards or away from civil
rights?
• DDA 1995 – now Equality Act 2010
• Social model recognised and referred to
• DWP ‘The Coalition government has made
firm our commitment to equality for disabled
people... Changes are designed to support
disabled people into work while providing
unconditional support to disabled people who
have highest support needs.’
‘Firm commitment’? Cuts-driven
• Disability Living Allowance
– social model of disability – medical diagnosis
being introduced
– abolished for working age people in state-funded
residential care after 28 days
• Incapacity Benefit – Employment Support
Allowance
– Speeding up assessments – ‘to get people back to
work’ – without impact assessment (Mencap)
Firm commitment? Cuts driven
• Access to Work programme
– Not listed for cuts, but ...
– ‘not funding what employer reasonably expected to
pay for’
– Creating new barriers for employers
– At a time of job insecurity
Poorer families will be affected 6 times as much by
announced cuts (Fabian Society)
“Employment and personal responsibility are
fundamentally important in tackling poverty” (Lord Freud)
Firm commitment? Cuts driven
Poorer families will be affected 6 times as
much by announced cuts
(Fabian Society)
Disabled people have a higher rate of poverty. Don
Touhig asked about cuts and disabled people living in
poverty. Lord Freud’s answer included the phrase :
“Employment and personal responsibility
are fundamentally important in tackling
poverty”
Moving towards or away from civil
rights?
• Disabled people are far less likely to be in paid
work to start with
• Are much more likely to be low paid, in
temporary, part-time and vulnerable jobs
• 1 in 3 disabled workers are in the public sector
• Scope annual survey of disabled people 2009
showed increase in those who had
experienced disability discrimination in work
and in applying for a job
Reality in the Workplace – recent cases
• Disabled worker with learning disability in
work, thriving, informal ‘buddy’ also union
rep; then moved to different working area :
– Bullied
– Employer inaction
– Counter-accusation - disciplinary
– Absence – signed off by GP
– SOLUTION? – parent, Access to Work, union, law
Reality in the workplace – recent cases
• Employer in private sector making
redundancies
• Redeployment available
• 3 disabled workers identified as not being able
to do the work in new area because of
disability, therefore no redeployment offered
• No reasonable adjustment considered
• Union rep/disability champion intervened
Disability Equality at Work and in the
wider community
• Pre-interview questions – new right
• Discrimination by association and Perceived
characteristic – new rights
• Public sector duty - Impact assessments and
disabled workers
• Redundancy matrices and absence management
– ‘sickness’ and disability
• Keep advancing disability audits, paid disability
leave, disabled people fully involved and in union
• Support 26 March 2011 TUC Rally against cuts
The DDA has become the Equality Act
• Protected characteristic = ‘disability’
• Disability = ‘physical or mental impairment’
• ‘impairment has a substantial (more than minor
or trivial) and long-term (has lasted or to last
more than 12 months) adverse effect on ability to
carry out normal day-to-day activities’(includes if
eg medication not taken)
• ‘Has’ includes ‘has had’ unless stated – recurring
conditions included ‘the effect could well happen
again’
• A disabled person is a person who has a disability
The DDA has become the Equality Act
• Prohibited conduct = DIRECT DISCRIMINATION
less favourable treatment
(more favourable treatment of a disabled person is not
discrimination)
• DISCRIMINATION ARISING FROM DISABILITY (arising in
consequence of disability and cannot be justified as
proportionate means of achieving a legitimate end)
• DUTY TO MAKE ADJUSTMENTS (provision, criterion or
practice; physical feature; auxiliary aid inc accessible info
• INDIRECT DISCRIMINATION (puts at particular
disadvantage and cannot be justified ...)
• COMBINED DISCRIMINATION (future potential?)