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Does the Disability Discrimination Act 1995 mean that employers will be forced to recognise that disabled people have valuable skills and experience to contribute to the employment market?

Too often disabled people are turned down for jobs they are suitably qualified to do because employers cannot see past their disabilities. These decisions are often based on the prejudices of the interviewers.

Sadly this does not appear to be confined to those working outside the disability field - in my experience it is also clearly evident from those who work with disabled people. It could be argued that they should know better, but maybe they feel threatened by professional disabled people who can bring invaluable personal experience to the job.


But the act means that it is unlawful for employers to discriminate against potential employees who are disabled. However, it is almost impossible to prove that one has been discriminated against, especially when the feedback states that you gave a good interview but the successful candidate had more experience. This means that discrimination often goes unchallenged and the disabled person's confidence is undermined.

In cases where discrimination is clearly visible it takes a great deal of determination, time and effort to challenge it. Sometimes these are things that disabled people run out of just trying to cope with ordinary life.

When I was pursuing my case against a London authority I sought the advice of the Disability Rights Commission. I was assigned a caseworker who despite being up in Manchester was with me every step of the way. She led me through the maze of complex procedures that needed to be dealt with in order for me to log my complaint at tribunal level. My caseworker proposed that the DRC award me legal representation.


Things moved quickly after that and the council began to take the case seriously. Ultimately it was settled out of court with the authority admitting that they were guilty of discriminating against me. Without the act this victory would not have been possible.

Employees should now be aware that they are entitled to use the Disability Discrimination Act to challenge acts of discrimination. Hopefully, employers will start recognising this and start to employ a more diverse group of people that have valuable skills and experience to offer.

Julie Turner is an outreach worker for a direct payment scheme.