Equality in Employment Law: Age

and Disability
Discrimination
and Protected
Characteristics
Two layers:

(a) Protecting people

(employees) from
discriminations in important
protected characteristics.
(b) Protecting people from
discrimination by way of an
association with someone on
the above protected
PROTECTED CAHARACTERISTICS

UK Equality Act 2010, Sec. 4 – 12

 The Protected Characteristics
Age Discrimination

i – Equal Treatment in Employment and Occupation Directive (2000) EC  This documents

provides the general legal framework  65 years
ii – Equality Act 2010 (UK)  unless proportionate to legitimate aims
Hampton v Lord Chancellor (2008) – judicial position of recorder
Rolls Royce v Unite the Union (2009)
iii – Exception – Equality Act 2010, Part II (Para 9)
Homer v Chief Constable of West Yorkshire (2012)
Age Discrimination
(b) Retirement

Seldon v. Clarkson Wright and Jakes (2012)

R v Secretary of State for Business (2009)
 Discrimination on
Disability
• UK Framework Directive on Equal Treatment in Exception:
Employment and Occupation 2000  measures
to combat discrimination on the grounds of Unless a disproportionate
disability  principle of equal treatment burden on employer
• Employer has a duty to provide reasonable
accommodation (Art. 5)
• access
• participation
• Work advancement
• training.
 What is Disability?

Sec. 6(1) of Equality Act 2010

A person has disability if he or she has a
Disability physical or mental impairment that has
substantial and long-term adverse effect on
his or her ability to carry out normal day-to-
day activities.
 Disability
What would Addiction to alcohol
not be Addiction to Nicotine or other substance
considered a
disability? Tendency to damage property (set fire)
Tendency to steal
Seasonal allergy
Disfigurement from tattooing or piercing
Hay fever
Goodwin v The Patent Office (1999)

Four conditions to determine disability:

(a) Existence of mental or physical impairment
(b) Impairment affects employee ability to carry out normal day to day activities
(c) The effect is substantial
(d) It is long-term
Attridge v Coleman (2010)

• Sharon Coleman's son Oliver was born with a rare condition affecting his breathing and also has a hearing
impairment. Ms Coleman brought a case claiming she was forced to resign from her job as a legal
secretary after, she claims, being harassed by her employers and being refused flexible working which
other employees were granted. Ms Coleman's case is that she was targeted because she has a child with
a disability, and was denied flexible work arrangements offered to her colleagues without disabled
children.
• Since Ms Coleman's case relied on the application of European law (European Employment Framework
Directive 2000/78/EC) to the Disability Discrimination Act, before deciding on the facts of her claim, the
Employment Tribunal first asked the European Court of Justice (ECJ) to determine whether the Directive
protects employees who are treated less favourably or harassed because of their association with a
disabled person.
• In July 2008, the ECJ ruled that disability discrimination by association is unlawful in the workplace.
 Employer Duty to Three requirements:

make Arrangement (1) Where a provision, criterion or practice

puts a disabled person at a substantial
for Disabled Person disadvantage in relation to the relevant
matter in comparison to other persons wo a
not disabled, to take such steps as it is
reasonable to have to take to avoid the
disadvantage.
 Employer Duty to (2) Where a physical feature puts a disabled
make Arrangement person at a substantial disadvantage in
relation to the relevant matter in
for Disabled Person comparisons with persons who are not
disabled, to take such steps as it is
reasonable to have to take to avoid the
disadvantage
 Employer Duty to (3) Where a disabled person would but for
make Arrangement the provision of an auxiliary aid, be put at a
substantial disadvantage in relation to a
for Disabled Person relevant matter in comparison with persons
who are not disabled, to take such steps as it
is reasonable to have to take to provide the
auxiliary aid.
Employer Duty to make Arrangement for
Disabled Person

The obligation Knowledge of

Whether employer
applies to existing employer of the
had made suitable
and future disability is
arrangement
employees important

Secretary State for Ridout v TC Group

Work and Pension (1998) Archibald v
 (1) Inadequate policies and standards.
• Policy design does not always take into account the
needs of people with disabilities, or existing policies
and standards are not enforced.
WHO on • For example, for inclusive education policies, a review
of 28 countries participating in the Education for All
Disability Fast Track Initiative Partnership found that 18 countries
Barriers either provided very little detail of their proposed
strategies to include children with disabilities in schools
or did not refer to disability or inclusion at all
• The common gaps in education policy include a lack of
financial and other targeted incentives for children with
disabilities to attend school as well as a lack of social
protection and support services for children with
 (2) Negative attitudes.
WHO on
Disability
Barriers For example, the attitudes of teachers,
school administrators, other children, and
even family members affect the inclusion
of children with disabilities in mainstream
Beliefs and prejudices constitute barriers schools. Misconceptions by employers
to education, employment, health care, that people with disabilities are less
and social participation. productive than their non-disabled
counterparts, and ignorance about
available adjustments to work
 (3) Lack of provision of services
• People with disabilities are particularly vulnerable to
deficiencies in services such as health care, rehabilitation,
and support and assistance.
WHO on • Data from four Southern African countries found that only
Disability 26–55% of people received the medical rehabilitation they
needed; 17–37% received the assistive devices they
Barriers needed; 5–23% received the vocational training they
needed; and 5–24% received the welfare services they
needed.
• Research in Uttar Pradesh and Tamil Nadu states of India
found that after cost, the lack of services in the area was
the second most frequent reason for people with
disabilities not using health facilities
 (4) Problems with service delivery
• Poor coordination of services, inadequate staffing, and
weak staff competencies can affect the quality,
accessibility, and adequacy of services for persons with
WHO on disabilities.
• World Health Survey data from 51 countries revealed that
Disability people with disabilities were more than twice as likely to
report finding health care provider skills inadequate to
Barriers meet their needs, four times more likely to be treated
badly and nearly three times more likely to be denied
needed health care. Many personal support workers are
poorly paid and have inadequate training.
• A study in the United States of America found that 80% of
social care workers had no formal qualifications or training
(12).
 (5) Inadequate funding
• Resources allocated to implementing policies and plans are
WHO on often inadequate. The lack of effective financing is a major
obstacle to sustainable services across all income settings.
Disability (6) Lack of accessibility

Barriers • Many built environments (including public

accommodations) , transport systems and information are
not accessible to all. Lack of access to transportation is a
frequent reason for a person with disability being
discouraged from seeking work or prevented from
accessing health care
 (7) Lack of consultation and involvement
WHO on • Many people with disabilities are excluded from decision-
making in matters directly affecting their lives, for example,
Disability where people with disabilities lack choice and control over
how support is provided to them in their homes.
Barriers (8) Lack of data and evidence
• A lack of rigorous and comparable data on disability and
evidence on programmes that work can impede
understanding and action