Qualifying for DDA coverage

Q: One of our members has a degenerative eye condition and has been told that he will be dismissed if he can no longer do his job. He has not yet been certified as partially sighted - will he be in a better position if he is?

A: Your member will have greater protection if he is covered by the Disability Discrimination Act 1995 (DDA) than if he is not, because his employer will then have a duty to make reasonable adjustments to his working conditions or environment.

Anyone certified as blind or partially sighted is automatically covered by the DDA - but lack of certification does not necessarily mean lack of coverage.

If your member is not certified and his employer refuses to accept that he has a disability, he will have to demonstrate that he meets the definition of a disability under section 1 of the DDA, by proving that his condition has a "substantial adverse effect on his ability to carry out normal day-to-day activities".

Certification simply means that he will not have to go through this procedure in order to be covered.