Employment

This page outlines very briefly employment rights under the DDA, assuming your stammer is a disability" within the DDA. For more detail, including cases, see Employment FAQs.

Link to BSA website:
- Employment page has guidance beyond your legal rights.

Practically anything to do with employment is covered, including recruitment, promotion, transfers, dismissals, redundancy, training or other benefits.

What is unlawful? -

Direct discrimination: An example may be where the employer makes stereotypical assumptions, without adequately considering the person's individual abilities. The employer has no 'justification' defence.

From the Code of Practice: Employment and Occupation:

"A man with a stammer feels he is being harassed because his manager makes constant jokes about people with speech impairments. He asks his manager to stop doing this, but the manager says he is being 'oversensitive' as he habitually makes jokes in the office about many different sorts of people. This is likely to amount to harassment ..." Para. 4.39

"An employer sets candidates a short oral test. An applicant is disabled by a severe stammer, but only under stress. It is likely to be a reasonable adjustment to allow her more time to complete the test. Alternatively, it may be a reasonable adjustment to give the test in written form instead - though not if excellent oral communication skills are necessary for the job and assessing those skills was the purpose of the test.." Para. 7.25

Disability-related discrimination: Broadly, this is where an employer treats you less favourably for a reason related to your stammer, without it amounting to 'direct discrimination'. Here, the employer has a defence if he shows the treatment was 'justified'.

Failure to make reasonable adjustments: The employer's duty to make reasonable adjustments is very important - both at interviews and on the job. Tribunal cases have been brought successfully on stammering and recruitment. See Examples of reasonable adjustments, which includes the tribunal cases.

Harrassment: The Employment Code of Practice includes an example on stammering (see right).

Victimisation: Protecting people who brought or have been involved in proceedings under the DDA.

Some individual points:

The armed forces are excluded from the DDA.
If cases are not resolved internally, they can be taken to an Employment Tribunal. Conciliation through ACAS may also be possible.
The burden of proof shifts to the employer if the claimant makes out a prima facie case.
Agency workers, some self-employed people, and certain other categories who are not actually 'employed' are covered by the rules.
See sources of help and advice.

There is much more detail on employment rights on Employment FAQs, and the pages linked from it.

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Employment

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