Companies in the UK are behind schedule in meeting requirements of the Disability Discrimination Act (DDA), and it looks like they will not be in compliance for quite a while. The Institute of Directors recently questioned nearly 200 of its members on the progress of their DDA compliance, yielding surprising results. Nearly 80% had not made “reasonable adjustments” to their employment practices or policies to prevent discrimination against disabled persons. Over 70% of service businesses had not made any adjustments, although all had been required to do so since October 1999. Forty-five percent of businesses opposed being obligated to make “reasonable adjustments” to the physical features of their facilities; 44% were in favor.
The Institute of Directors used government figures to show that the cost of making the necessary physical adjustments could top 1.1 billion. The Institute contends that businesses, particularly smaller ones, need more advice on what the DDA requires them to do.
Based on a report from i-FM
