Discrimination in relation to goods, facilities and services.
Discrimination in relation to goods, facilities and services
Part III of the DDA gives disabled people important rights of access to everyday services that others take for granted. Duties under Part III are coming into force in three stages.
. Treating a disabled person less favourably because they are disabled has been unlawful since December 1996. Since 2 Dec 1996
* It has been illegal for service providers or employers to treat disabled people less favourably.
* A reasonable adjustment must be made.
2. Since October 1999, service providers have had to consider making reasonable adjustments to the way they deliver their services so that disabled people can use them. Service providers have been required to take reasonable steps to:
* Change policies, procedures or practices to provide a service to a person who is disabled; or
* Provide auxiliary aids to enable service provision; or
* Provide services by other means
3. The final stage of the duties, which means service providers may have to consider making permanent physical adjustments to their premises, comes into force in 2004.
From 1 Oct 2004, the law will apply to ALL employers, however small. Where a physical feature makes it impossible or unreasonably difficult for disabled people to make use of services, a service provider will have to:
* Take reasonable steps to remove, alter or avoid that feature (considering these options in the order listed); or
* Where that is impossible, provide the service by a reasonable alternative method.
It is unlawful for a provider of services to discriminate against a disabled person-
(a) in refusing to provide, or deliberately not providing, to the disabled person any service which he provides, or is prepared to provide, to members of the public;
(b) in failing to comply with any duty imposed on him by section 21 in circumstances in which the effect of that failure is to make it impossible or unreasonably difficult for the disabled person to make use of ...
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* Where that is impossible, provide the service by a reasonable alternative method.
It is unlawful for a provider of services to discriminate against a disabled person-
(a) in refusing to provide, or deliberately not providing, to the disabled person any service which he provides, or is prepared to provide, to members of the public;
(b) in failing to comply with any duty imposed on him by section 21 in circumstances in which the effect of that failure is to make it impossible or unreasonably difficult for the disabled person to make use of any such service;
(c) in the standard of service which he provides to the disabled person or
the manner in which he provides it to him; or
(d) in the terms on which he provides a service to the disabled person.
Three Major Areas Affect Facilities Managers
* Service
* Information
* Premises
No grounds for turning away a disabled person only if narrowly defined justifications
apply.
By 2005 service providers must remove physical barriers in premises or provide services by other means.
What Services/Facilities?
* Vegetarian meal
* Fax point in accessible position
* Nappy changing facilities
* Wheelchair accessible bathroom-shower
* Vibrating alarm pillow pad
* Buffet selection within easy reach
* An induction loop
* Meal for a guide dog
* Access to premises and facilities
Goods Facilities and Services
. Discrimination against disabled people unlawful
2. Illegal to offer a worse standard of service
3. Must provide necessary aids, i.e. induction loop, Braille menus/bills, access to
guide dogs
4. Just provide necessary (by 2005) access to and use of , any place which members of
the public are permitted to enter, i.e.
* Accommodation in a hotel
* Facilities for entertainment, recreation or refreshment
* Services of a trade or profession
(May exclude transport)
5. A disability rights commission set up by the government to take up cases of
disability discrimination.
Duty of providers of services to make adjustments
This section imposes duties only for the purpose of determining whether a provider of services has discriminated against a disabled person; and accordingly a breach of any such duty is not actionable as such.
(1) Where a provider of services has a practice, policy or procedure which makes it impossible or unreasonably difficult for disabled persons to make use of a service which he provides, or is prepared to provide, to other members of the public, it is his duty to take such steps as it is reasonable, in all the circumstances of the case, for him to have to take in order to change that practice, policy or procedure so that it no longer has that effect.
(2) Where a physical feature (for example, one arising from the design or construction of a building or the approach or access to premises) makes it impossible or unreasonably difficult for disabled persons to make use of such a service, it is the duty of the provider of that service to take such steps as it is reasonable, in all the circumstances of the case, for him to have to take in order to-
(a) remove the feature;
(b) alter it so that it no longer has that effect;
(c) provide a reasonable means of avoiding the feature; or
(d) provide a reasonable alternative method of making the service in question available to disabled persons.
(3) Where an auxiliary aid or service (for example, the provision of information on audio tape or of a sign language interpreter) would-
(a) enable disabled persons to make use of a service which a provider of services
provides, or is prepared to provide, to members of the public, or
(b) facilitate the use by disabled persons of such a service,
it is the duty of the provider of that service to take such steps as it is reasonable, in all the circumstances of the case, for him to have to take in order to provide that auxiliary aid or service.
Check it for action plan!
http://www.google.co.uk/search?q=cache:W9Ed9P7c1PEJ:www.manchester.gov.uk/disability/policies/daps.htm+Disability+policies+for+hospitality+organisation&hl=en&ie=UTF-8
http://www.drc-gb.org/uploaded_files/documents/4008_223_Code%20of%20PracticePart3.pdf
http://www.drc-gb.org/open4all/publications/publicationdetails.asp?id=223§ion=
. Disabled Users of Premises
Premises are quite likely to be used by disabled people, both staff and visitors, at any time. Indeed with the Disability Discrimination Act 1995 being in full force now, it is not permissible to prohibit access or facilities to a disabled person unless it is possible to demonstrate that it would be unreasonable not to do so.
In addition to the permanently disabled, there is often a situation where employees are temporarily disabled, perhaps through a sports injury. In this case, the sudden occurrence of the temporary disability and the inexperience of the person to the limitations of their condition can make this a much more hazardous situation. This coupled with the likely desire to get the employee back into the workplace, possibly before their disability is fully resolved, increases the risks both to themselves and also to those who may increase their personal risk in helping them in an emergency where proper procedures do not exist.
As a result it is important to determine the needs of any likely disabled users of the premises, whether permanent or temporary, staff or visitors, and how these needs may reasonably be met. One of the more common mistakes is to presume that the access is acceptable forgetting that in an emergency situation, lifts cannot be used and stairwells become full of people who may not appreciate the difficulties of a disabled person
(http://fm.consultgee.co.uk/app/gbn/gbn/main)
