Bournemouth Solicitors

EMPLOYMENT LAW FAQS FROM BOURNEMOUTH EMPLOYMENT SOLICITORS

DISABILITY DISCRIMINATION

The Equality Act 2010  is intended to protect the rights of individuals who are disabled and prevent discrimination against people who have an association with a disabled person. The legislation deals with recruitment, selection, and promotion and applies to self-employed and employed workers. It also applies to dismissal, including constructive dismissal.

•             The Act states that people must not be discriminated against or harassed because they are wrongly perceived to be disabled. It also covers post-termination discrimination and states that it is unlawful to discriminate against a disabled person where it is closely connected to his employment.

•             Under the Act, a person is disabled if ‘they have a physical or mental impairment’ and ‘the impairment has a substantial and long-term adverse effect on their ability to perform normal day-to-day activities’.  Conditions such as dependency on alcohol, tobacco and drugs are not under the protection of the Act.

The most important changes

•             The titles of age, disability, race, religion or belief, sex, sexual orientation, gender reassignment, marriage and civil partnership, and pregnancy and maternity are now to be known as ‘protected characteristics’.

Seven different types of discrimination:

•                    Direct discrimination

•                    Associative discrimination

•                    Indirect discrimination

•                    Harassment:

•                    Harassment by a third part

•                    Victimisation

•                    Discrimination by perception

Justification

o   An employer can justify the indirect disability discrimination on objective grounds.  The treatment must be ‘a proportionate means of achieving a legitimate aim’.

o   An employer must make reasonable adjustments in order to be able to justify the treatment.

o   Prospective employee cannot be asked about their health before offering him work

o   This includes pre-employment health questions, either in written or oral form

o   However, it is allowed to ask health questions which are directly related to the job.

o   If unlawful questions are being asked and the prospective employee does not get the job, the burden of proof is on the employer to convince the court that there was discrimination.

Remedies

•             The time limit for making a claim is three month of the date of the discrimination

The tribunal can:

o   Specify the rights of the disabled employee

o   Make the employer to compensate the disabled employee ; or

o   Suggest what could benefit the employer’s wider workforce in order to prevent similar discrimination

Do I qualify for redundancy?

If you have over two years’ continuous employment, the company is closing down a place of work, or ceasing or diminishing the particular work undertaken by you, then you have a right to redundancy payment if made redundant.

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