What is the Disability Discrimination Act?

The DDA makes it unlawful to discriminate against anyone, employee or customer, on the grounds of disability. All employers are required to make 'reasonable' adjustments so that disabled employees can access jobs and disabled customers can access the goods or services provided by your organisation.

What does this mean to you?

Many people assume that adjustments will often be major and therefore costly. However research shows that the average cost of adjustments is as little as £50, and many cost nothing at all.

These could include:

• Adding a ramp or increasing aisle space
• Allocating disabled parking spaces
• Making company literature available in alternative formats such as audiotape or large print
• Providing a list of products that are upstairs and arranging for a member of staff to help

Benefits to your business

To meet the legal requirements of the DDA, you should try to anticipate the possible needs of your disabled employees and customers. You should demonstrate that you have considered and implemented the most reasonable options for the nature, size and resources of your business.

The legal obligation is not the only reason for complying with the DDA - it could actually make your business more profitable. Opening up job opportunities to disabled people means you are more likely to find the right person with the right skill as you are not precluding a huge proportion of the labour market from consideration. Through improved accessibility you will be open for business to a new market of disabled customers, with a spending power of over £45bn.

You may also want to know whether there any social inclusion policies or corporate responsibility measures you can take.

Remploy offer consultancy services that can provide individual answers to all these questions. We can help to separate the fact from the fiction surrounding the subject of disability and physical or mental health conditions. Removing prejudice, outlining etiquette and sharing best practice.

Our flexible training programmes and workshops will address your particular organisation's concerns and objectives - from legislation awareness to policy development.

The fact is, the more you and your colleagues know about the important topics, the more the benefits can spread throughout your organisation.

Update December 2005

(Definition): The scope of the DDA was extended to cover, effectively from the point of diagnosis, people with HIV infection, cancer or multiple sclerosis. The requirement that a mental illness must be "clinically well-recognised" is removed.

Part 2: third party publishers (eg newspapers) are liable for publishing discriminatory advertisements. Unlawful for locally-electable authorities to treat their members less favourably.

Part 3: A new DL56 questionnaire - relating to complaints under the DDA relating to rights of access - came into force. Less favourable treatment of disabled people by private clubs is unlawful.

The Disability Discrimination Act and Small Businesses - What does it mean for you?

From October 2004, the Disability Discrimination Act (DDA) was extended to apply to companies with fewer than 15 employees. The law now requires small businesses to comply with new service standards for disabled customers.