The legislation helps to promote equal opportunities as it obligates care settings to actively promote equality, and makes it illegal to treat someone (whether they are a service user or member of staff) less favourably because of their race. For example, the Act would make it illegal to deny a person access to a care setting, or to particular services within a care setting, because of the colour of their skin, or to deny a job applicant a position within a care setting on the grounds of their ethnicity.
Key features of legislation relating to disability
The key features of legislation relating to disability would be the Disability Discrimination Acts (1975, 1995, 1998 and 2005). The legislation is in place to prevent discrimination against those who are disabled, and to promote their civil rights. The 1975 Disability Act also made it unlawful to discriminate between men and women; women must not be treated less favourably than men, (Fisher, 2006). According to direct.gov the legislation obligates public bodies to promote equal opportunities for the disabled and gives disabled individuals greater rights in the following areas:
- Employment
- Education
- Access to goods, facilities and services
- Buying or renting land or property
According to the Act an employer cannot discriminate against an employee, or potential employee, on the grounds of their disability or any disability they may have had in the past. This ensures that interview and appointment policies and procedures within organisations do not put those who are disabled in a less advantageous position than others. However, for obvious reasons the Act does not apply to particular jobs such as being a fire fighter, police officer, or a member of the armed forces; the Act also doesn`t apply to organisations which employ fewer than fifteen people or to employees who work abroad (Fisher, 2006).
Employers must make any reasonable adjustments to the work setting to prevent putting the disabled person at a disadvantage. Reasonable adjustments could include providing a new desk suitable for wheelchair users or permitting absences from work if it is in relation to the employee’s disability. An unreasonable adjustment could be: needing a lift to be fitted in the building if the cost is far outside of the budget of the organisation, and too much disruption would be caused.
Since October 1999 service providers must ensure that disabled individuals are able to access their services; this includes care settings such as residential homes, nurseries and schools. Care settings can make their premises more accessible by having a ramp at the entrance for wheelchair users and allowing guide dogs on to the premises. Upon admission to a care setting individuals will usually be asked if they have a disability; this information is acquired to help measure equal opportunities and other statistics, and primarily to find out if the service user has any additional needs the setting should know about in order to provide good care. For example, a child with dyslexia in a primary school may need extra help during English lessons, and a service user in a residential home may have poor sight and need information provided in large print for them.
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