New guidance on the meaning of disability

18 April 2006:

New guidance to help establish whether a person has a disability under the Disability Discrimination Act 1995 (DDA) has been issued by the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions.

The DDA defines a disabled person as a person with “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 guidance, which will be taken into account by tribunals and courts, examines in detail what is meant by “substantial”, “long-term” and “normal day-to-day activities”.

On 5 December 2005, the definition of disability under the DDA was amended to cover people with progressive conditions including HIV, cancer and multiple sclerosis from the point of diagnosis. Previously, such conditions were only covered if they had an effect on an employee’s ability to carry out normal day-to-day activities.

Amendments also removed the requirement that a mental illness has to be "clinically well-recognised" before it can be regarded as an impairment. The new guidance comes into force on 1 May 2006. The old 1996 Guidance will continue to apply to claims arising out of acts of discrimination occurring before that date. The guidance can be downloaded from the [http://www.drc.org.uk]