Disability Discrimination

The Disability Discrimination Act 1995, a parliamentarian act of the United Kingdom, was brought in to prevent any unreasonable discrimination against disabled people. This act is now law and makes it illegal to discriminate on the basis of disability. The act was passed to put a stop to discrimination related to disabled persons’ employment, education, transport, provision of goods and services amongst other things.

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In order to get a lawful protection under the act, one has to conform to the rules and definitions stated in the act.

The act covers a number of disabilities. Some of them are- physical disabilities (that affect movement and senses), mental disabilities (any medically identified mental impairment), conditions which aggravate with time (diseases like HIV, multiple sclerosis, etc) and any kind of disfigurement (like facial scars, birthmarks), etc.

The Disability Discrimination Act 1995 has now been replaced by the Equality Act 2010. The act, however, applies in Northern Ireland.
Some of the main sections of The Disability Discrimination Act 1995 are explained as follows:-

Employment:
The Disability Discrimination Act 1995 aids the disabled and prevents the discrimination based solely on their condition. The law categorizes and describes the act of such discrimination by employers as-

One major point to be noted is that earlier versions of this law did not contain employment provisions for all jobs or employers. Employees on ships, aircraft and hovercrafts, armed forces and police constables are examples of groups that were exempted. Also, the law applied to only employers with 15 employees or more.
As of 1st October 2004 the Disability Discrimination Act 1995 also applies to employers with less than 15 employees.

It also applies to people working on board ships, fire fighters, aircraft and hovercraft workers, prison officers, police officers, partners in business partnerships and barristers (this includes the advocates in Scotland too).

The government also launched the Access to Work scheme. This scheme is dedicated towards providing assistance, support, information and advice to disabled people as well as their employers so that they can overcome any hurdle, as a result of any disability that comes their way of having a smooth employment. Other than this, the scheme also provides monetary help through the Employment Service to take care of any additional employment costs due to disability.
The website www.employmentservice.gov.uk provides all the necessary information regarding all of this.

Education:
The Disability Discrimination Act 1995 makes it compulsory for colleges and universities to make their campuses more disabled friendly by making reasonable changes wherever required. This includes providing lifts, altering steps, better lighting, and clear signage to name just a few. If such measures are not taken then the law also enables the disabled students to take action against the university.

Transport:
The act contains regulations that all new vehicles coming into service should be disabled friendly. Some adjustments should be made wherever they can be made, so that disabled people do not have to face problems unreasonably and unnecessarily.
These regulations apply to land vehicles like buses, trains, taxis, etc. 

Access to Goods and Services:
This is the most elaborate part of the Disability Discrimination Act 1995 as it covers a number of aspects such as holidays, insurance, motability, entertainment, food and eating out, etc. According to the act, the disabled are not to be treated less favourably and they are not to be refused services of any kind based on the cause of their disability unless it is justified. Like, a restaurant or a hotel cannot refuse entry to a person with a disfigurement or disability and it would be illegal for them to do so.
But in some cases, when it is logical and reasonable, a company or organization can refuse to provide services.  Just as an example, consider a blind person opting for insurance. Since the entire business of insurance is based on the risk factor, so if the insurance company is able to prove that the blind person is more of a risk and the blind person is not able to prove otherwise, then the insurance company can increase the premiums for him. However, proof and evidence are important here.