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Essex Access Forum
Disability Discrimination Act - Part 3
Part 3 of the Disability Discriminations Act (DDA) relating to
goods and services has made it unlawful for businesses providing services to
the general public to treat disabled people less favourably than others because
of their disability.
Since 1st October 2004 service providers must have made
'reasonable adjustments; to their premises so that there are no physical
barriers making it 'unreasonably difficult' for disabled customers to use their
services.
What to do if you have a complaint and wanting to take up a
case
STEP 1:
In the first instance make a verbal complaint to the employer or
service provider of your grievance, and if not successful/satisfied put it in
writing. It is essential to keep all the correspondence involved.
STEP 2:
Next seek advice from the DRC's helpline to confirm that you have
a sound case - the DRC will advise about the likelihood of you having good
grounds under the provisions of the DDA, or otherwise.
Previously the DRC's casework department took on discrimination
cases for disabled people but, the closure of this department is now imminent.
Despite this retrograde development the DRC's helpline is still able to offer
guidance regarding various alternative sources of legal advice and support
which can to be turned to once a sound case has been confirmed, these
alternatives include:
- An address list of solicitors and lawyers who will consider
taking cases on a 'no win-no fee' basis
- The Citizens Advice Bureaus some of which have a contract with
the Legal Services Commission to provide free advice
- Some lawyers offer a free hour of advice
- The community legal service
- Other useful contacts could be
STEP 3:
Having taken legal advice from one or other of the above sources
it is invariably necessary to proceed through the DRC's Conciliation process
before proceeding to action through the courts. If a satisfactory solution
cannot be found through the conciliation process your legal advisor will then
initiate action via the courts.
Terms and possible options
- Conciliation - This is a step in the process of pursuing
a grievance which is required prior to taking any action via the courts. The
DRC is charged with the responsibility of providing conciliation in seeking to
negotiate a solution which is acceptable to both parties. Most firms prefer
this route as any compensation payments tend to be less, and it saves the
expenses and negative publicity of going to court. Amongst the disadvantages is
that there are no enforcement mechanisms to activate any promises made but not
honoured. Also there is a lack of publicity surrounding cases determined by
conciliation as it is an informal process and carried out it private. It also
means that lawyers do not have any precedents to follow and thus there is very
little reported case law which would be invaluable for future cases.
- Tribunals - Lots of employment cases go before tribunals
where there is no appeal and payments tend to be low. Tribunal members now have
to undergo training on disability issues.
- No Win - No Fee - As most disabled people are reluctant
to go to court because of the fees and other costs involved No Win - No Fee is
an option worth considering, and it has the advantage of making more case law.
The costs are awarded separately from compensation.
- The Small Claims Court - This has been successfully used
in several cases. This route is available for claims below £5,000 and
entails an informal hearing; the parties are encouraged to negotiate, without
lawyers, in the presence of a district judge.
- A Judicial Review - This is, or can be, an extremely
long and expensive process, and the plaintiff needs a great deal of support to
reach this stage as it usually involves claims against public bodies where they
are deemed to have acted outside of the powers delegated to them by Parliament.
For example where a local authority makes a decision that is deemed
unreasonable or where a particular procedure has not been followed.
- The Human Rights Act - If the DDA fails to address your
grievance satisfactorily, the Human Rights Act has been used, and there have
been several cases won using this legislation because all too frequently a
denial of access is a breach of human rights. Advice about using this Human
Rights option should be sought from legal advisors when exploring possibilities
of pursuing a grievance
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