Equality Legislation

1
Equality LegislationDisabilityResponsibility
of Service Providers

• University College Cork
• 12 Feb 2008

2
Equal Status Act 2000

• Refers to goods, facilities, services,
• accommodation, education
• Promotes equality
• Prohibits discrimination on 9 grounds
• Prohibits Sexual Harassment Harassment
• Clubs which discriminate

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Vicarious Liability

• Service Providers
• - Train Staff
• - Policies Procedures
• Defence reasonable steps to prevent
  discrimination
• responsible person

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Responsible Body

• Section 7 Equal Status Acts
• .an institution providing adult,continuing or
  further education, or a university or any other
  third-level or higher-level institution

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UCC No Discrimination

• Admissions and exclusions
• Services and participation
• Suspending and expelling

6
Services

• Training courses
• Distance learning
• Careers advice and training
• Examinations and assessments
• Day or evening education courses
• Curriculum design
• Catering facilities etc. etc.

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Employment Equality Act 1998

• Specific Provisions of Employment Equality Act
  1998
• Work - Access, Promotion, Dismissal, Pregnancy
• Collective Agreements
• Advertising
• Employment Agencies
• Training
• Trade Unions
• Professional Associations
• Self-employed
• Partnerships
• Employment in another persons home

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Equal Pay

• Equal remuneration between persons or a group of
  persons for like work
• Like work is defined as the same, similar or work
  of equal value
• Same or associated employer

9
Disability Discrimination

• Less Favourable treatment
• Failure to make reasonable accommodation
• Victimisation

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Equality Authority 2006 Casework

• Employment Equality Act
• Total 404
• Race 26
• Gender 20
• Age 18
• Disability 17

• Equal Status Act
• Total 366
• Disability 30
• Traveller 24
• Race 11
• Education
• Accommodation
• Public services

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Facts and Figures

• Employment Equality Acts
• access,
• dismissal
• promotion
• working conditions
• Equal Status Acts
• restaurants
• hotels
• shops
• education
• transport

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Roche -v- Madigans

• Visually impaired with guide dog
• No access
• Contrary to Food hygiene Regulations for dog in
  pub that serves food
• No accommodation dog stay at the door while
  claimant had refreshments
• Guide dog exempt from regulations
• Unable to avail of service discrimination

13
Reasonable Accommodation

• Disability affects balance and facial expressions
• Approach pub doorman refused entry
• Doorman not engage no accommodation
• Award 600 900 to family

14
Sr Brid Smith vs Conways

• Visual impairment with guide dog
• Arrived 4.30pm for coffee
• Refused abruptly told to leave escorted out
  dont care about law
• Effect undermined confidence
• Letters exchanged but no responsibility/apology
• EA representation
• Intoxicating Liquor Act
• 6,300 (max.)

15
Settlement- Disability Education

• Claimants daughter profoundly deaf
• Attends mainstream primary school
• Earplant in one ear/ hearing aid in other
• Sound field system requested refused
• EA intervention. Advised DES later supplied

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Case Kwiotek vs NUIGalway

• Claimant has visual impairment
• Required BRAILLE material
• College provided facilities
• Claimant deemed accommodation inadequate
• Findingno discrimination as claimant failed to
  clarify
• Need for assessment at outset

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Case Traveller with ADD

• Principal teacher recognised symptoms
• Another pupil with ADD granted assistance
• Finding no reasonable accommodation
• Procedure
• Assess with educational psychologist
• Requesting supports from DES
• Liaise with parents

18
A Worker -v- A Company

• Epilepsy controlled by medication
• Permanent position medical exam
• Dismissal work environment posed dangers
• No reasonable accommodation
• Award 15,000

19
Employment Equality Act

• A Motor Company -v- A Worker
• Service Receptionist
• Later informed that there were problems with
  communicating on the telephone
• Informed company of hearing aid
• Headset provided no consultation
• not the correct type

20
Employment Equality Act

• After trial period given notice
• Discrimination
• - Proper headset not provided
• - Nominal cost
• - Reasonable accommodation to
• include induction training

21
A Strategy for Equality

• Report of the Commission on the Status of people
  with Disabilities (1996)
• Restrictions
• Housing, transport,education
• Provision of goods and services
• Entertainment Leisure Activities
• Mainstream Irish life, training employment

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Barriers

• Attitudinal opinions formed
• Environmental physical access
• Institutional fail to accommodate
• for example educational institutions
• External transport employment

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Equality Infrastructure

• Employment Equality Act 1998
• Equal Status Act 2000
• Equality Act 2004
• Equality Authority
• Equality Tribunal

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Equality Authority

• Call Centre
• Legal Unit
• Equality Reviews and Action Plans
• Code of Practice
• Policies equality/anti-harassment
• Equality/Disability Proofing
• Accessibility, recruitment, retention, progress,
  awareness, culture

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GROUNDS OF DISCRIMINATION

• DISABILITY
• RACE
• MEMBERSHIP OF
• TRAVELLER
• COMMUNITY
• RELIGION

• GENDER
• MARITAL STATUS
• FAMILY STATUS
• SEXUAL ORIENTATION
• AGE

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Equality Legislation

• Equal Treatment across 9 grounds
• Disability Differently abled
• Identical treatment will not provide equality
• i
• Reasonable Accommodation or Appropriate Measures
• Positive Measures

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Disability

• Broadly defined to include total or partial
  absence of bodily or mental facilities, chronic
  disease, whether manifest or not, and learning
  and personality conditions.

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Direct Discrimination

• Direct Discrimination occurs if a person is
  treated less favourably that another person is
  treated on the basis of membership of any of the
  nine grounds.
• It will not only cover current and past
  documentation but also discrimination that may
  exist in the future or is imputed to a person.

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Equal Status Act

• Reasonable Accommodation
• Service providers reasonable accommodate PWD
• Special treatment or facilities
• Without impossible or unduly difficult to avail
• Nominal cost factor size resources
• State grants?

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Victimisation

• New Definition
• - sought redress
• - lawfully opposed
• - given evidence
• - notice of intention
• - complaint of discrimination
• - represented complainant

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What is Harassment?

• Harassment takes place where a person subjects
  the victim to any unwelcome act, request or
  conduct including spoken words, gestures or the
  production, display or circulation of written
  words, pictures or other material which is based
  on any discriminatory ground and could reasonably
  be regarded as offensive, humiliating or
  intimidating to the victim.

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Making a Claim

• Individual
• Service provider in writing
• EA assist
• (2 months)
• Equality Tribunal
• (within 6 months)
• 6350 and/or course of action

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Primary Schools Equal Status ActsPrinciples

• Access
• Anti-discrimination
• Culture
• Affirmative Action
• Admission
• Consultation
• Integration

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Primary Schools Equal Status ActsQuestions

• Methodologies curriculum
• Visibility
• Identities
• Extra curricular life

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Primary Schools Equal Status ActsChallenges
for Schools

• Provider of benefit across nine grounds
• 1. Mainstreaming
• 2. Access
• 3. Experience
• 4. Accommodating Diversity

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Primary Schools Equal Status ActsInclusive
School

• Accommodate Diversity
• Specific needs
• Assessment
• Positive environment

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Annotated Leaving Cert

• 2 Students with Dyslexia applied to State
  Examinations Commission for RACCOM
• Granted with beside certain subjects indicating
  all parts in this subject were assessed except
  spelling punctuation
• Equality Tribunal discrimination re students at
  disadvantage for employment

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Annotated Leaving Cert

• DES appeal to Circuit Court
• Decision no discrimination
• Secrecy about disability not desirable
• Employers need to know in order to RACCOM
• Issue
• Disclosure
• Public knowledge giving rise to discrimination
• EA considering appeal

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AHEAD guidelines

• Student should disclose disability in order for
  College to plan
• Student enquire
• Funding
• Supports(tutors,note takers etc)
• Library supports (extended book loans etc)
• Examinations (extra time etc)
• Sign language interpretation services
• Mobility
• Visual impairments (campus orientation etc)
• Other supports

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Disclosure

• Students right to confidentiality on disclosure
• Students need to be made aware of the requirement
  that college has obligations of reasonable
  accommodation
• Encourage positive/open atmosphere for disclosure
  and continuing opportunities to share information
• SWD has responsibilities to inform
• and support College equality policies

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ISSUES

• Information accessible consult PWD groups
• College admission,curriculum,participation
• Inclusion welcome acceptance
• Challenge teach the way student can learn
• SWD support College policies and inform
• Disability Proof criteria for core learning
• RACCOM course demands vs person can do
• Extra time,waivers,extra tuition,study
  skills,train on technology, typing skills, read
  machine playback
• Inclusive teaching
• Nature of subject core?
• Nature of teaching chalk talk can exclude
• Expectations a lot of exams over a short time
  period
• Assessment are exams the only way
• Physical environment

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Criteria for Selection All Students

• Prospectus explain content of prog
• What topics will be covered
• Elements of course of study are..
• Welcome SWD
• Promote RACCOM
• Engage and dialogue with SWD
• Maintain academic standards through establishing
  core elements of course
• Core elements vs RACCOM

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CAVEAT

• Currently Caselaw in relation to PWD in the
  main relate to the failure of employers and
  sevice providers to reasonably accommodate need
• Disability discrimination law will evolve to
  establish precedent
• The following scenarios are for general
  information and should not be treated as an
  authoritative statement of law

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Less Favourable Treatment

• A university makes an offer of a place to a
  student who is a wheelchair user on the condition
  she finds her own living accommodation locally
• No other students have this condition placed upon
  them
• This is likely to be unlawful

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Reasonable Accommodation

• A student with a visual impairmant is following a
  distance learning course.
• She sends in her essays electronically but
  receives marked essays by post with handwritten
  comments in the margin unable to read
• Reasonable accommodation comments returned
  electronically

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Lack of Knowledgenot a Defence

• Student discloses his disability
• Receives none of the support or adaptations he
  needs
• Tutor claims the she was unaware of students
  disability
• Failure to offer support here is unlawful due to
  initial disclosure

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Short notice and large financial commitment
influences what is reasonable

• A person with multiple sclerosis who is a
  wheelchair user applies to do a metalwork class
  in a building that is inaccessible
• College is in the process of making its buildings
  accessible
• However, because of the large amount of fixed
  equipment needed for this class, it is impossible
  to move location this academic year
• Could a lift be installed in the interim?

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Short notice and large financial commitment
influences what is reasonable

• Answer
• The college has a large number of statutory
  commitments. Its ability to find additional sums
  of money at short notice is extremely limited
• It is unlikely to be reasonable to expect the
  college to make an adaptation in this case.

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Justification for less favourable treatment

• Section 7 (4)(b)
• The ES Acts allow educational establishments to
  treat students with disabilities differently (
  apart from RACCOM) only if the disability is
  making the provisions of educational services
  impossible to other students or having a
  seriously detrimental effect on that provision

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Less Favourable Treatment?

• A student with emotional and behavioural
  difficulties applies for a course.
• Her disability is disclosed on application.
• College reviews application and considers
  reasonable accommodation requirements, plus
  contacts her school.
• Informed that student is extremely disruptive and
  makes a great deal of noise during classes which
  prevents other students learning
• College rejects application after careful
  consideration
• Lawful as long as procedures for rejecting
  application conform to the Equal Status Act

51
Justification?

• A student with autistic spectrum disorder applies
  for a course.The student can be disruptive and
  sometimes will talk inappropriately during
  classes. However her interruptions are not much
  more than those made by other students and with
  an assistant her behavour improves.
• No justification for not admitting student

52
Justification?

• A student with severe dyslexia applies to take a
  course in Journalism.
• Even with the provision of reasonable
  accommodation, the prospective student may not
  have the necessary literacy skills to complete
  the course.
• Reject application based on justification of
  academic standards and the investigation of
  reasonable accommodation

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Justification?

• A blind woman applies to do a Forensic Science
  degree. Although she can undertake some parts of
  the course, she cannot undertake the parts of the
  course which involve visual analysis of
  materials. This is a core and necessary component
  of the course.
• Justification in not accepting student lawful

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Disability

• Appropriate Measures/Reasonable Accommodation
• The employer/service provider shall take
  appropriate measures where needed in a particular
  case, to enable a person who has a disability
• To have access to employment/service
• To participate or advance in employment, or
• To undergo training
• Unless the measures would impose a
  disproportionate burden/nominal cost.

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Disproportionate Burden/Nominal Cost

• In determining whether the measures would impose
  a burden, account will be taken of
• - Financial burden other costs entailed
• - The financial resources available
• - Availability of public funding / assistance

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Reasonable Accommodation

• Concept of Reasonable Accommodation
• UK Disability Discrimination Act (1995)
• - Physical alteration of premises
• - Job restructuring
• - Modified working hours
• - Adjustments in working practices
• - Provision of qualified readers or interpreters

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Reasonable Accommodation

• Anticipatory
• College ensures in advance that SWD are not
  disadvantaged
• Reactive
• Responding to students needs

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Anticipatory

• All teaching staff in a college produce all
  their handouts in electronic fromat, thus
  ensuring that they can easily be converted into
  large print or put into other alternative formats
• Regular training sessions on issues connected
  with disability available to staff

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Reactive

• For a particular programme there is a maths
  entrance test.A SWD has severe back pain when
  seating still for long periods and needs to be
  able to get up and move around.
• The college arranges for her to sit the test in a
  separate room and for a longer period so she can
  do this

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Equal Status Policy

• Statement of Policy
• Aim of the Policy
• Scope of Policy
• - Materials
• - Communications Strategies
• - Consumer Feedback
• - Physical Environment
• - Outcomes
• - Staff Training

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Equal Status Policy

• Responsibility
• Monitoring
• Review
• Key putting policy into practice

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AccessibilityService Provision

• Premises supermarket aisles, shelving,
  checkouts
• Communication telephone, website, publications
• Service points / cash desk visible accessible
• Actively engage with customers with
• disabilities

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Equal Status Review

• Barriers to equality in service provision
• Evidence based data developed
• Action Plan for enhancement
• Service providers, service users, advocacy groups
  and 9 ground organisations input into design and
  delivery

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Equal Status Review Template

• Planning-corporate,budgets, allocate resources
• Equality Infrastructure- anti-discrimination
  procedures
• Service provision- mainstream provision
• Access materials/communications
• Perceptions providers/users eq part of design

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Action Plan Content

• Steps for equality corporate objective
• Mainstream equality re service provision
• Enhance participation
• Develop data collection
• Accessible information
• Staff training awareness

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• Screening
• ?
• Data Collection
• ?
• Consultation/Participation
• ?
• Assessment of Impact ?
• ? Measures to Mitigate
• Impact Assessment ?
• ?
• Implementation
• ?
• Monitoring

Equality Proofing
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Equality Authority Service Providers

• Dialogue engaging customers with disabilities
• Audit service provision to eliminate barriers
• Accessible services
• Market strategies
• Equal Status Policy Customer Charter

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Way Forward

• Reasonable Accommodation
• Equality Impact Assessment
• Screen
• Data research
• Consultation participation
• Assess impact
• Implement
• Monitor

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Core Elements

• Core Elements Implementation Steps
• 1. Declare - Organisation Commitment
• - All employees dignity respect
• - Complaints confidentiality
• - Disciplinary action
• 2. Definition and scope
• 3. Procedures and monitor

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Core Elements

• Core Elements Implementation Steps
• 4. Trade Union Input Role
• 5. Disseminate to all staff
• - leaflets, statement, training manuals,
  website, notice boards, contracts
• 6. Training and support
• 7. Informal / Formal Resolution

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Accessibility - Employment

• Premises ramp, reception desk, buzzer, loop
  system, lift, toilets, parking
• Recruitment positive action, qualifications
  reasonable, interview procedure (equality
  legislation, training, competencies), special
  recruitment

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Accessibility - Employment

• Flexibility flexible hours, job design,
  disability liaison officer, awareness training
• Promotion monitor progress
• Assistive Technology

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Benefits

• 1. Better staff morale
• 2. Increased productivity
• 3. Competitive edge in recruitment
• 4. Reduced wastage
• 5. Enhance Image
• 6. Reduced litigation
• 7. Increased customer access
• satisfaction

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Equality Authority Employers

• Rights in legislation - redress
• Equal Opportunities Policy
• Equality Review Action Plans
• Access but also participation
• Accessibility, recruitment, retention, progress,
  awareness, culture
• Engaging employees with disabilities
  accommodating needs

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In Summary

• Not to be discriminated against
• Not to be harassed or victimised
• To be reasonably accommodated subject to
• Disproportionate burden (employees)
• Nominal cost (pupils)
• Positive action full equality in practice
• Plan for equality including disability
• Monitor and SWD inform
• Target most vulnerable pupils
• Promote reasonable accommodation facilities
• Procedures for selection of applicants must
  conform to equality legislation

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Contact Details

• Equality Authority
• 2 Clonmel Street
• Dublin 2
• Tel [phone]
• Lo Call 1890-245545
• Text Phone [phone]
• Fax [phone]
• Email info_at_equality.ie
• Website www.equality.ie