Originally published on The Publications Office of the European Union
In the United Kingdom it is believed that voluntary action is not enough to meet the reasonable aspirations of disabled people or provide sufficient
guarantee that unwarranted discrimination can be dealt with satisfactorily.
Accordingly, under the Disability Discrimination Act (DDA), any employer with 15 employees or more may not treat a disabled person less favourably than someone else because of their disability, unless there is good reason. Under the Act the employer is required to adapt to a reasonable extent conditions of employment or the workstation if that helps to overcome the practical consequences of a disability unless there is good reason not to do so.
A number of government programmes have been introduced to encourage vocational integration of disabled people into the ordinary work environment, for example, placement assessment and counselling teams (PACTs) who offer specialist services as regards access to employment and
rehabilitation; the disability working allowance (DWA) encourages disabled people to move from invalidity schemes into the world of work; the
access to work programme provides financial assistance for overcoming obstacles to employment; the supported employment programme provides appropriate assistance to severely disabled people.
The Department for Education and Employment, in cooperation with the National Advisory Council for the Employment of People with Disabilities, oversees implementation of the employment aspects of the DDA. The social partners are active at national level through the Confederation of British Industry and the Trades Union Council.