Critical Thinking
How effective is the Equality Act 2010 at getting people with disabilities in to employment
In 1995 the Disability Discrimination Act was established to prevent people with disabilities being treated unlawfully. The Disability Discrimination Act remained in force until all the discrimination acts was consolidated into one, the Equality Act (EA) 2010. The Act was introduced to promote equality and diversity and was designed to enhance clarity, making it easier to understand for both employers and employees if discrimination was taking place. This assignment determines the effectiveness of the EA 2010 specifically getting adults with disabilities in to employment.
According to the Department for Working Pensions (2012, DWP) “you are disabled under the Equality Act 2010 if you have a physical or mental impairment that has a substantial and long term effect on your ability to do normal daily activities”. Over the past century society has come a long way with how it views people with disabilities; years ago people with such needs were protected looked after and would not be seen working. With the changes in the, law disabled people now have the right to be included in society and are viewed as equals. The law states that disabled people have the same rights to employment as any other individual. There are over 10 million disabled people in the UK, one in seven are working age adults (ODI, 2012). Under the EA 2010, “It’s against the law for employers to discriminate against you because of a disability.” (DWP, 2012). The term “disabled” will be used throughout this essay whilst it can be seen as a term that is not favourable, it is used throughout the office of national statistics (ONS) website.
After analysing the statistics tabled within Appendix A, it would appear that the EA 2010 is continuing to support disabled people within employment, with an increase of 0.5% of disabled people within employment from 2010 – 2012. Appendix B highlights that the gap
In 1995 the Disability Discrimination Act was established to prevent people with disabilities being treated unlawfully. The Disability Discrimination Act remained in force until all the discrimination acts was consolidated into one, the Equality Act (EA) 2010. The Act was introduced to promote equality and diversity and was designed to enhance clarity, making it easier to understand for both employers and employees if discrimination was taking place. This assignment determines the effectiveness of the EA 2010 specifically getting adults with disabilities in to employment.
According to the Department for Working Pensions (2012, DWP) “you are disabled under the Equality Act 2010 if you have a physical or mental impairment that has a substantial and long term effect on your ability to do normal daily activities”. Over the past century society has come a long way with how it views people with disabilities; years ago people with such needs were protected looked after and would not be seen working. With the changes in the, law disabled people now have the right to be included in society and are viewed as equals. The law states that disabled people have the same rights to employment as any other individual. There are over 10 million disabled people in the UK, one in seven are working age adults (ODI, 2012). Under the EA 2010, “It’s against the law for employers to discriminate against you because of a disability.” (DWP, 2012). The term “disabled” will be used throughout this essay whilst it can be seen as a term that is not favourable, it is used throughout the office of national statistics (ONS) website.
After analysing the statistics tabled within Appendix A, it would appear that the EA 2010 is continuing to support disabled people within employment, with an increase of 0.5% of disabled people within employment from 2010 – 2012. Appendix B highlights that the gap
References: www.gov.uk (2012) Disability Rights, Available at. https://www.gov.uk/rights-disabled-person/employment acssessed 5/12/2012 odi.dwp.gov.uk (2012) Involving Disabled people, Available at. http://odi.dwp.gov.uk/involving-disabled-people/index.php accessed 10/12/2012 odi.dwp.gov.uk (2012) Disability Equality Indicators, B1 – Employment rates, Available at. http://odi.dwp.gov.uk/disability-statistics-and-research/disability-equality-indicators.php assessed 6/12/2012 odi.dwp.gov.uk (2012) Disability statistics and research. Research reports, Available at http://odi.dwp.gov.uk/disability-statistics-and-research/index.php Accessed 17/12/2012 odi.dwp.gov.uk(2012) Disability Equality Indicators D1 – Unfair Treatment At Work, Available at. http://odi.dwp.gov.uk/disability-statistics-and-research/disability-equality-indicators.php accessed 5/12/2012 SHIVERS,C,HERBERT.(March98)Halo, Horns & Hawthorne: potential flaws in the evaluation process. Professional saftety.Vol.43 issue3.p38. Available at. http://ezproxy.staffs.ac.uk/login?url=http://search.ebscohost.com/login.aspx?direct=true&db=bth&AN=376534&site=ehost-live Marks & Spencer’s v Powell UKEAT/0258/10/LA