United Kingdom

United Kingdom

At a glance

• The main law governing disability discrimination in the UK is the Equality Act 2010. 

• The UK has signed and ratified the UN Convention on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities. 

Key stats

• Nearly one in four (24 per cent of) people in the UK are disabled (Department for Work and Pensions, 2021/22). 

• 53.6 per cent of disabled people in the UK are employed, compared with 82.5 per cent of non-disabled people. (Department of Work and Pensions, 2023). 

• The spending power of disabled people and their households in the UK was estimated to be worth £274 billion in 2020 (Purple Pound). 

The law

• Definition of disability – Under the Equality Act, a person in the UK is considered disabled if they have a “physical or mental impairment” that has a “substantial or long-term adverse effect” on their “ability to carry out normal day-to-day activities.” 

• Disability legislation – The Equality Act offers disabled people broad protections in all areas of life, including as employees and consumers. The Act prohibits unfavourable treatment, including discrimination, harassment and victimisation. 

Culture

• Access to healthcare – The UK has universal healthcare provision, free at the point of use, through the National Health Service. This is accessible regardless of employment status. 

• Acceptable language:
  •  Disabled person / person with a disability – People in the UK commonly use either or both phrases. Some people may find one or the other offensive. Generally, person-first language (“person with X disability”) is less likely to cause offence. When speaking to or about an individual, ask if they have any preferences about the language you use. 
  • Adjustments – When talking about changes to remove barriers relating to disability, people in the UK generally talk about ‘adjustments.’ They may say ‘reasonable adjustments,’ as that is the language of the Equality Act. 
  • More information – We have created guidance on words to use and avoid when talking about disability. See our resource, Inclusive language: What it is and why it is important, for more information. 

• Unacceptable language: 
  • Other terms for disability – Terms such as ‘handicapped,’ ‘invalid,’ or ‘cripple,’ for example, are not acceptable in the UK. 
  • Collective nouns – Avoid using collective nouns, such as ‘the disabled,’ or ‘the blind’ to refer to groups of disabled people. 
  • More information – We have created guidance on words to use and avoid when talking about disability. See our resource, Inclusive language: What it is and why it is important, for more information. 

Employment

• Adjustments / accommodations – Workers in the UK are entitled to ‘reasonable adjustments’ at work. An adjustment is anything that removes or reduces a barrier relating to that person’s disability. Whether it is ‘reasonable’ depends on the circumstances and is ultimately decided by a judge if there is disagreement. We have guidance for employers on deciding whether an adjustment is ‘reasonable’ in our resource, What is reasonable? 

• Positive discrimination – Employers can treat disabled applicants in general more favourably in recruitment. However, it is not usually lawful to privilege a specific group of disabled people (for example, people with autism). We have more guidance in our resource, Ringfencing – Positive and proactive action. 

• Asking for information: 
  • During recruitment – It is generally unlawful to ask applicants and candidates about health and disability before making a job offer. See our resource, Asking for information about disability during recruitment, for more information. 
  • Data monitoring – Employers are generally allowed to ask about disability anonymously as part of a data monitoring exercise. This is lawful during recruitment and employment. We have more guidance in our resource, Data monitoring – Asking about disability.  
  • During employment – Managers can ask members of their team questions about health and disability in order to provide reasonable adjustments. It is not inherently unlawful to ask generally about disability, but this could become harassment, and subsequent treatment of that employee could be construed as discrimination. It is not advisable to ask employees about disability apart from to identify and implement adjustments or assess their ability to perform the role. 

• Quotas – The UK does not require organisations to meet a set quota of disabled people in their workforce. 

• Data – Employers are not legally required to monitor the numbers of disabled people who apply for jobs or are employed by them. It can be legal to collect data about disabled employees if this meets the relevant legal standards. See our resource, Data monitoring – Asking about disability, for more information. 

• Incentives – There are no government incentives for employers to hire more disabled people. 

Customers

• The Equality Act also provides protection for disabled customers. Providers of goods and services have a duty to make reasonable adjustments for disabled customers. There is also an ‘anticipatory’ duty to remove barriers before being asked to do so.  

• We have further guidance and research in the Disabled consumers section of our Knowledge Hub. 

Built environment

• The Equality Act requires public buildings to be accessible to disabled visitors. New buildings must be built to building regulations set out by the different national governments. Existing premises do not need to be upgraded to meet these regulations, but the operators must provide reasonable adjustments to allow disabled visitors to access the premises. 

Digital accessibility

• The Equality Act requires digital products to be accessible to disabled users. It does not establish a specific standard of accessibility.  

• Public sector bodies must meet the Web Content Accessibility Guidelines (WCAG) 2.1. This does not apply to other organisations. 

Case studies

Would you like to showcase your organisation’s work on our Knowledge Hub? Contact enquiries@businessdisabilityforum.org.uk.

Country-specific disability organisations

• Business Disability Forum – A membership organisation for businesses to access guidance and support on disability inclusion. 
• Disability Rights UK – A campaigning charity that advocates for the rights of disabled people in the UK. 
• Disability Unit – A part of the UK Cabinet Office that seeks to promote the interests of disabled people within central government.