Supervising disabled researchers - Premia

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. The Equality Act 2010, replaced the Disability Discrimination Act (2005).

For the purposes of the Act:

• substantial means neither minor nor trivial
• long term means that the effect of the impairment has lasted or is likely to last for at least 12 months (there are special rules covering recurring or fluctuating conditions)
• normal day-to-day activities are things people do on a  regular or daily basis, such as eating, washing, walking, going shopping, reading, writing or having a conversation.    

The Act makes it unlawful for higher education institutions to discriminate against, harass or victimise a disabled person in relation to:

• admissions
• the provision of education
• access to benefits, facilities or services
• the conferment of qualifications

Disability discrimination can occur when a disabled person is treated less favourably than their non-disabled peers or there has been a failure to make a ‘reasonable adjustment'.

The Act continues the existing duty upon institutions to make reasonable adjustments in relation to students, staff and services. These adjustments apply where a disabled person is placed at a substantial disadvantage in comparison to non-disabled people. The three requirements of the duty are in relation to:

• provision, criteria or practice
• physical features
• auxiliary aids

The duty to make reasonable adjustments requires institutions to take positive steps to ensure that disabled students can fully participate in all aspects of the education environment. This goes beyond simply avoiding discrimination. It requires education providers to anticipate the needs of potential disabled students for reasonable adjustments.