Welcome to our monthly disability news update……remember to keep coming back each month for a regular review of all things Inclusion, OT, DDA and disability related!!

We’ve mainly been working with the KCC Occupational Therapy Adult and Paediatric Departments for the past few months but we’ve also been fortunate enough to work with the following other clients on both private Occupational Therapy and DDA audit related work:

• Kynixa
• Steel & Shamash Solicitors
• Brentwood Council

General news:

Guidelines on accessible technology

The Tiresias website is run by the Royal National Institute of Blind People’s (RNIB)
Scientific Research Unit. It provides detailed information and guidelines about the
accessibility of information and communication technology (ICT) systems. It is
intended to help engineers and technicians make the ICT systems they design and
manufacture useable by disabled and older people.

Dr John Gill, RNIB’s Chief Scientist, has developed a set of Guidelines to inform
engineers and technicians about accessible ICT systems. The Guidelines are
grouped into the following categories:

• User groups: provides demographic information about the types of disabilities
that designers need to consider, and emphasises that older people should also
be considered

• Application areas: the everyday situations and environments in which
accessibility should be a major consideration

• Technology: refers to specific technological systems such as radio frequency
identification and smart media and how accessibility issues can be addressed
within these

• Related: examines more general areas and everyday situations that people
with disabilities and older people will encounter

These Guidelines are available on the Tiresias website
www.tiresias.org/guidelines

New product catalogue from RNID

The Royal National Institute for Deaf People (RNID) has launched an online guide
specifically designed to help businesses meet their duties under the Disability
Discrimination Act. The guide, called Sound Solutions, provides information on the
equipment that is available to improve access to a workplace or a service. As well
as emphasising the legal obligation of companies to consider their duties, it also
highlights the benefits that improved access to employment or services will bring.

The Sound Solutions catalogue is split into four distinct sections:
• alerting
• listening
• recording and telephones
• tinnitus and extras

Mark Catling, Director of Business Development, RNID Products, said: ‘No longer
should businesses be daunted by the prospect of making themselves accessible.
Sound Solutions clearly lays out the support RNID Products can provide – advice,
equipment, installation and maintenance – meaning help is at hand for the whole
process.’

The Sound Solutions catalogue is available to download from RNID’s website
www.rnid.org.uk/shop/download_catalogues/?from=/soundsolutions

Ruling that baldness is not a disability

A retired schoolteacher, who claims he was taunted as a result of his baldness,
has lost his claim of disability discrimination. James Campbell, who was an art
teacher at Denny High School in Stirlingshire, took his case against Falkirk Council
to an employment tribunal. He alleged that his baldness has a ‘substantial and
long-term adverse effect’ on his ability to do his job, due to his pupils harassing
and bullying him about his lack of hair.

Mr Campbell said during the hearing: ‘How can I stand in front of a class with
confidence to get on with my job when I am getting teased and bullied about
baldness, when I think they are laughing at me all the time?’ He also voiced his
concern that if the children were so quick to launch verbal attacks on him, then one
day these attacks might turn physical.

However, Robert Gall, the tribunal judge, ruled that baldness cannot be classed as
an impairment under the Disability Discrimination Act (DDA). He said: ‘If baldness
was to be regarded as an impairment then perhaps a physical feature such as a
big nose, big ears or being smaller than average height might of themselves be
regarded as an impairment under the DDA. That, to me, cannot be right looking to
the DDA, the guidance and relevant case law.’

Reasonable adjustments for employee with ME

An employment tribunal has ruled that an employee with Chronic Fatigue
Syndrome was unlawfully subjected to unfair dismissal, victimisation and disability
discrimination. In December 2006, Julie Pine was made redundant from her job as
a database administrator for Cinven. When she took the case to an employment
tribunal, it ruled that although she was not dismissed as a result of her disability –
but rather that there was no more work for her to do – her company failed to make
reasonable adjustments for her disability. Cinven was criticised for not offering her
part-time or home-based work at the time her role came to an end while she was
on long-term sick leave. It also did not offer her any alternative to redundancy. The
tribunal will meet shortly to discuss the amount of compensation Ms Pine will
receive.

Speaking about the judgement, Cinven said: ‘We are pleased that no harassment
or direct discrimination on grounds of disability has been upheld and our constant
case that Julie Pine was dismissed by being made redundant has been upheld.
We are undertaking a full review of all our employment procedures and hope that
we can learn from this episode and move on.’

Workplace Law Network’s website has more information about this case
www.workplacelaw.net/news/display/id/14466

Taking a taxi as a wheelchair user

Despite the existence of anti-discrimination legislation, many disabled people –
especially those who are wheelchair users – still encounter problems when they try
to travel by taxi. Geoff Adams-Spink, the BBC’s Age and Disability Correspondent,
has investigated this issue, interviewing wheelchair users about their experiences,
and trying to find out why refusal of service still happens so frequently when it
comes to taxis.

A report of what he discovered is available on the BBC News website
www.news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/magazine/7294746.stm

Inclusion are based around London, Kent, Surrey, Sussex and cover the whole of the south of the UK. We also cover up to the midlands and over towards the south west of the country – please contact us for further details or for free support and advice around any DDA or Occupational Therapy issues.