Disability law

The exemption from having to follow disability discrimination law, which currently applies to employers with fewer than 15 staff, should be lowered to those employing two, a government task force has recommended.

It also says that future legislation should cover all employers, no matter how few they employ, and that the Disability Discrimination Act should be beefed up so that it offers the same remedies as are available under sex and race discrimination law.

In relation to recruitment of staff the task force says employers should not be able to ask questions about disability until after a job offer has been made. It also suggests that employers should be required to anticipate the need for adjustments, rather than justifying not having made them after the event. Copies of the report are available on the internet at www.disability.gov.uk.