The legal definition of disability

22 April 2009

The legal definition of disability

By Corinne Day

In order to establish a claim under the Disability Discrimination Act 1995 ('the Act'), a claimant must be able to prove that they have a 'disability' in accordance with section 1 of the Act.

There are four questions that an employment tribunal will ask to establish if a claimant is 'disabled' within the meaning of the Act:

(1) Does the claimant have either a physical or mental impairment?

(2) Does the impairment affect the claimant's ability to carry out normal day-to-day activities?

(3) Does the impairment have a substantial adverse effect?

(4) Is the adverse effect long-term?

There is no definition in the Act of either a physical or mental impairment. Examples of physical impairments include arthritis, blindness, cancer and HIV. Medical evidence is important in establishing that a claimant suffers from a mental impairment. It is clear, as per the Disability Discrimination (Meaning of Disability) Regulations 1996, that an addition to alcohol, nicotine, or any other substance is not an impairment. However, if a claimant was to develop a recognised impairment as a result of their addiction, such as depression arising from their alcohol addiction, then the depression will still be classed as an impairment, irrespective of what triggered it.

A tribunal will also consider whether the impairment has an affect on the claimant's ability to carry out normal day-to-day activities, i.e. due to mobility, manual dexterity, ability to lift, speech etc. In assessing this, any medicine or special exercises that the claimant takes to alleviate the problems he or she has in carrying out normal day-to-day activities, will be disregarded.

The third criterion is that the impairment must have a substantial adverse effect (i.e. it must be more than minor or trivial).

Lastly, the impairment must be long term. Under the Act, the effect of an impairment is long-term if it has lasted at least 12 months, the period for which it lasts is likely to be at least 12 months, or it is likely to last for the rest of the life of the person affected.

Corinne Day is a trainee solicitor who specialises in information technology law and intellectual property law. She can be contacted via e-mail on corinne.day@lawdit.co.uk