Press Release
DRC hails new legal protection for 250,000 people with serious health conditions
30th November 2005
At least a quarter of a million people with serious health conditions have new legal rights not to be treated unfairly from Monday 5 December.
People diagnosed with cancer, HIV and multiple sclerosis (MS), but not yet showing signs of their illness, will be protected for the first time under the Disability Discrimination Act (DDA) 2005. This means that employers and organisations providing services to the public will not be able to discriminate against people – for example, by sacking them from their jobs – just because they’ve found out they have HIV, cancer or MS.
Welcoming the changes, Bert Massie, chairman of the Disability Rights Commission (DRC) said:
“This closes a significant loophole in the law. We have been unable to help people who have been diagnosed with serious illnesses and then treated unfairly, because they didn’t fall under the legal definition of disability. This is plainly wrong. People diagnosed with serious long-term health conditions shouldn’t be discriminated against – full stop.”
The changes also mean improved access to justice for people with mental health conditions. Under the current legislation, people have to prove that they have a mental impairment that has a ‘substantial and long-term impact’ on their lives to get legal protection from the law. They also have to prove that the impairment is ‘clinically well recognised’ before they can bring a case under disability discrimination legislation. Those with a physical impairment don’t have to prove this. The new law means that the requirement to have a ‘clinically well recognised’ condition, which has proved a significant barrier to justice, is now dropped.
The Disability Discrimination Act 2005 also brings in other changes that give extra protection to disabled people from 5 December. These include: the extension of the DDA to private clubs with 25 or more members; sanctions for publishers of discriminatory adverts; a simpler process for people who think they have been discriminated against when using services; and new protection for local authority councillors.
Bert Massie added: “This isn’t just an academic exercise. The new law protects and supports people facing unfair treatment who are also having to cope with a significant life change. The law will help people stay in work where they can, and to get the full range of public and private services that every person should be able to take for granted.”
Details on the new legislation are available from www.drc-gb.org or by calling the DRC helpline on 08457 622633.
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