The Equality Act 2010 defines a disabled person as someone who has a physical or mental impairment that has a substantial and long-term adverse effect on his or her ability to carry out normal day-to-day activities.
Based on research, around one in five people of working age are considered by the Government and by the Equality and Human Rights Commission to be “disabled”. People in these circumstances and some others (such as people with a facial disfigurement) are likely to have rights under the Equality Act 2010.
It is important that people have rights – people with cancer, diabetes, multiple sclerosis and heart conditions; people who have a hearing or sight impairment or a significant mobility difficulty, caused for example by arthritis, can be treated unfairly. The same is true of people who have mental health conditions or a learning disability.
People need protection against being treated unfairly. While they might be considered “disabled” according to the Equality Act 2010, they don’t need to use that term about themselves – and very many people with rights under the Act don’t.
For more information on this topic, visit the Equality and Human Rights Commission’s website
