Deaf people have been considered as disabled under the provisions of the Disability Discrimination Act since 1995, and subsequently by the extended 2005 DDA. Has the Disability Discrimination Act worked for Deaf people? Has it made life better for Deaf people?
Broadly the DDA gives disabled people rights in the areas of:
- Employment
- Education
- Access to goods, facilities and services, including larger private clubs and transport services
- Buying or renting land or property, including making it easier for disabled people to rent property and for tenants to make disability-related adaptations
- Functions of public bodies, for example issuing of licences
In areas of employment, Deaf people are still more likely to be unemployed than non-Deaf people. A survey by the Royal National Institute for Deaf and Hard of Hearing People (RNID 2002) elicited the fact that 19% of those in the survey were unemployed. A third were earning less than £10,000 a year, three times the national average.
There is some anecdotal evidence to suggest that employers are wary of recruiting Deaf people, as they are considered to be expensive to employ. However, a survey in 2001 found that fewer than 10% of companies had to make adjustments to recruit a disabled person. One third reported a financial cost and the average was £772 per employee. (Statistics from www.employment-studies.co.uk)
The cost therefore need not be a major factor and obtaining specialised advice is recommended when considering going through the process of recruitment with a Deaf applicant as there are certain rights that disabled and Deaf people now have under the DDA.
It is clear that, despite legislation, there is still some way to go before we can achieve equality in terms of employment rates – we are not suggesting that Deaf people should be given preference for jobs – only that there is a level playing field for Deaf people to show what they are capable of. Managers in organisations that employ staff can do a great deal to ensure this fairness.
For everyday life, the DDA requires public bodies to promote equality of opportunity for disabled people. Directgov.uk adds that this also allows the government to set minimum standards so that disabled people can use public transport easily.
Everyday services are also required to make reasonable adjustments to enable disabled and Deaf people lead independent lives. The now defunct Disability Rights Commission produced a booklet: Making access to goods and services easier for disabled customers (download from http://www.direct.gov.uk/en/DisabledPeople/Everydaylifeandaccess/Everydayaccess/DG_4018353)
The booklet does not however provide much guidance in the way of how to improve access for Deaf people. However yet again, it is advisable to seek specialist advice to ascertain what changes may be needed to your particular venue or to your staff training. Often, it is merely an attitudinal change that is required by staff. For example, people managing the flow of customers to pubs or clubs should not turn away customers on the basis that they are Deaf as this is illegal. There may also be need to fit visual alarm systems. The key concept is ‘reasonable adjustment’ hence the need to be advised sensibly not as to incur unwarranted cost.
Agencies that do service a lot of Deaf people as part of a service for the general public should provide sign language interpreters or communication support that is appropriate for users’ requirements as well as other possible equipment such as loop systems for hearing aid wearers.
There is some anecdotal evidence that, on the whole, there have been improvements in attitudes towards Deaf customers, but there is little evidence that apart from High Street banks and some public services that Deaf customers have increased access either through sign language communication or provision of equipment.
Again, more needs to be done to improve access for Deaf people, for example, call centres that refuse to use texting messages or emails as means of communicating may be laying themselves open to litigation.
In conclusion, it is indeed frustrating to acknowledge that while the DDA has helped matters in some ways, it has not greatly altered the situation for Deaf people in employment or for those using services that are over-reliant on the phone. Yet with some goodwill and determination, a lot could be achieved on the part of those who have some authority to insist on changes within organisations.
Could you be an agent of change? If so, contact us at Deafworks!
This article was written in 2008 by Paul Redfern who was until recently the Chief Executive of Richmond Advice and Information on Disability. Paul is now working in Swaziland.
