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These pages relate principally to the United Kingdom.

What's new

June, 2008

• Equality Bill announcement by Harriet Harman, including proposals on the single equality duty, transparency, and enforcement.
• From April 2008, Northern Ireland has revised Guidance on the meaning of disability.
• Disabled Students' Allowances for electronic fluency devices - update
• The UN Convention on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities came into force in Spring 2008. The UK has signed the Convention but has not yet ratified it.

February, 2008

• In Coleman v Attridge Law, an initial opinion has been given in the European Court of Justice that someone who experiences discrimination because of association with a disabled person (eg a carer) should be protected. The discrimination need not be against the disabled person. The final European Court decision is expected later this year.

January 2008

• Wider protection for harassment required by EU law? - a case on sexual harassment last year is also likely to have implications for the DDA.
• Updates reflecting response of Equality and Human Rights Commission to the Single Equality Bill Green paper, including proposals for 'light touch' regulation of private sector in the form of business self portraits and self-improvement plans (to supplement existing rights of individuals).

December 2007

• Update on timetable for Single Equality Bill.
• New European directive - a directive covering disability discrimination beyond the scope of employment is to be proposed.
• The government has published an Employment Bill which will repeal the current statutory dispute resolution procedures for employment.

November 2007

• Wakefield v HM Land Registry - employment tribunal decided that a person who had a stammering problem in interviews should have been allowed to give written responses to interview questions, even if the job required oral skills. The decision is under appeal.

October 2007

• New Equality and Human Rights Commission website is now live at www.equalityhumanrights.com. An archive of the old Disability Rights Commission website can be accessed via www.drc-gb.org

September 2007

• Pages on Single Equality Bill updated to reflect Disability Rights Commission response to Green Paper: A Framework for Fairness Response (on DRC website).
• Link to article on the British Stammering Association website: How to succeed at university if you stammer (link to BSA website).
• In 'Examples of reasonable adjustments', additions about Interviewers' awareness and references.
• Final draft Code of Practice for exam boards (general qualification bodies) now available, covering eg GCSEs and A-levels. Also the new rules came into force on 1st September.

August 2007

• Oral assessments, and assessed presentations - for students in higher and further education, eg university.
• Cunningham v Ballylaw Foods Ltd - Northern Ireland Court of Appeal said the substantiality of an impairment is influenced by the time it is likely to last. This might help in arguing that a stammer (which is often lifelong) has a substantial effect and is thus a disability, even if fairly mild.
• More examples of reasonable adjustments: group discussion as part of a selection process and, for some people, opportunity to prepare words to be used in interview answers.
• Compensation for employment discrimination - expanded information including 'Vento bands'.
• Link to Draft Charter for Communication - Communications Forum consultation on a draft Bill of Rights for People with Communication Disabilities. Please send in your views. My impression is it needs to be made more relevant to stammering. (There is an existing international Bill of Rights and Responsibilities for People who Stutter).
• At www.1million4disability.eu you can sign the European Disability Forum's petition to introduce EU-wide disability legislation. For background see my EU page: New disability specific directive?.
• The European Commission would like your views on whether further EU measures are needed to tackle discrimination, and is so what - www.ec.europa.eu/yourvoice/ipm/forms/dispatch?form=Discrimination&lang=EN. For background, see my EU page: New disability specific directive?
• Reasonable adjustment case study - typing answers at interview which are projected onto the wall or a large screen.
• In Paterson v Commissioner of Police of the Metropolis a high pressure exam for promotion was held to be a normal day-to-day activity. This is a very important case if upheld, extending what can be a 'normal day-to-day activity' to cover more work-related activities, and citing the European case of Chacón Navas to support that.

July 2007

• Proposed changes pages updated to reflect Green Paper on Single Equality Bill, and Disability Rights Commission views.

June 2007

• The Discrimination Law review Green Paper has now been published, consulting on proposals for a Single Equality Bill for Great Britain. The proposals include important changes to disability discrimination law.

May 2007

• Reasonable adjustment examples reviewed, including more on time off work for speech therapy.
• Resolving disputes in the workplace' - consultation document which proposes uses different methods to encourage resolution of disputes outside of the formal tribunal system.
• Publication of revised Code of Practice for providers of post-16 education and related services (link to DRC website). More on post-16 education...
• Link to Working with students who stammer (pdf) - examples of adjustments for students who stammer, on the De Montfort University website.

April 2007

• Link to Say it again, says telephone Sam (on BSA website), and example of a problem with voice-activated telephone systems.
• Assessment and consultation section added to page on on reasonable adjustment rules, and page reviewed generally.
• If you find the phone too difficult to contact the Disability Rights Commission helpline, you can now use their HelpLive service to have a text discussion via their website: https://www.drc.org.uk/helplive/.
• Proposals to use lie detector test for benefit claims - voice analysis technology for benefit claims announced this month could unfairly disadvantage people who stammer.

March 2007

• Volunteers - new guidance from the Disability Rights Commission
• Final report of the Equalities Review now published.

February 2007

January 2007

• Smith v Churchills - important 2005 Court Appeal decision on reasonable adjustments, particularly on who the disabled person must be compared with in deciding whether he has suffered a disadvantage.
• High Quality Lifestyles v Watts, the first appeal case on direct discrimination. The EAT looked at the dismissal of a healthcare worker due to danger of onward transmission of HIV.
• New page on public authority functions, for which rules which came into force on 4th December.
• Pages on service providers generally revised, including new pages on Which rules apply?, Private clubs, and Cost of taking longer (on whether one can be charged more for taking longer).