UK Discrimination Act DDA

The Disability Discrimination Act 1995 (DDA 1995) is a UK parliamentary act of 1995, which makes it unlawful to discriminate against people in respect of their disabilities in relation to employment, the provision of goods and services, education and transport.

The DDA is a civil rights law. Other countries use constitutional, social rights or criminal law to make similar provisions. The Equality and Human Rights Commission provides support for the Act. Equivalent legislation exists in Northern Ireland, which is enforced by the Northern Ireland Equality Commission.

The DDA 1995 departs from the fundamental principles of older UK discrimination law (the Sex Discrimination Act 1975 and the Race Relations Act 1976). These Acts depend on the concepts of direct discrimination and indirect discrimination. However, these concepts are insufficient to deal with the issues of disability discrimination.

The UK Disability Discrimination Act applies to all employers and everyone who provides a service to the public, except the Armed Forces.

It is a law designed to end discrimination against disabled people. It also meets the needs of small to medium sized businesses because it is flexible enough to take account of your business's individual circumstances.

The Disability Discrimination Act (DDA) 1995 aims to end the discrimination that many disabled people face. This Act has been significantly extended, including by the Disability Discrimination Act 2005.

The UK Disability Discrimination Act gives disabled people rights in the areas of:

The Act requires public bodies to promote equality of opportunity for disabled people. It also allows the government to set minimum standards so that disabled people can use public transport easily.

(1) Subject to the provisions of Schedule 1, a person has a disability for the purposes of this Act if he has a physical or mental impairment which has a substantial and long-term adverse effect on his ability to carry out normal day-to-day activities.

The duties on service providers have been introduced in three stages:

Since 2nd December 1996 - It has been unlawful for service providers to treat disabled people less favorably for a reason related to their disability.

Since 1st October 1999 - Service providers have had to make 'reasonable adjustments' for disabled people, such as providing extra help or making changes to the way they provide their services.

Since 1st October 2004 - Service providers may have to make other 'reasonable adjustments' in relation to the physical features of their premises to overcome physical barriers to access.

Further Information Regarding UK Discrimination Act DDA

Britain's New Equality Bill Fairer and Stonger
The Equality Bill sets out groundbreaking new laws which will help narrow the gap between rich and poor; require business to report on gender pay; outlaw age discrimination; and will significantly strengthen Britain's anti-discrimination legislation.

Should UK Hotels be afraid of the DDA?
Disability Discrimination laws now protects those with vision and hearing impairments, learning difficulties, speech impediments etc etc. In short the duties under the DDA includes all disabilities from wheelchair users to asthma suffers.

Disability Discrimination Act
The 1995 Disability Discrimination Act (DDA) aims to protect disabled people against discrimination - both in employment and when using a service or facility.