What equality law means - Birmingham Disability Resource Centre

In addition, to make sure that a disabled worker has the same access, as far as is
reasonable, to everything that is involved in doing a job as a non-disabled worker, you
must make reasonable adjustments.
For example:
An employer usually gives workers a written copy of their draft annual appraisal and
gives them a morning to read the draft and to send any comments to their line
manager. The employer arranges for a worker with severe dyslexia to meet their line
manager instead and talk through the draft and provide comments. This is likely to be
a reasonable adjustment for the employer to make.
You can read more about making reasonable adjustments to remove barriers for disabled
people in Chapter 3.
At page 29 ‘When a worker becomes a disabled person’, we look particularly at the
process you should follow if one of your existing workers becomes a disabled person or if
the impact of a disabled person’s impairment changes.
Situations where equality law is different
Sometimes there are situations where equality law applies differently. This guide refers
to these as exceptions.
There are two exceptions which relate to managing workers and which apply to
all employers:
• The possibility that direct age discrimination can be objectively justified.
• Health and safety considerations in relation to pregnancy and maternity.
We only list the exceptions that apply to the situations covered in this guide. There are
more exceptions which apply in other situations, for example, when you are recruiting
someone to do a job. These are explained in the relevant guide in the series.
In addition to these exceptions, equality law allows you to:
• Use voluntary positive action in the way workers are managed. While positive action
is most often seen as applying in recruitment, promotion and training, it can also be
helpful in addressing workers’ different needs when you are managing them.
• Treat disabled people better than non-disabled people.
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