ABSTRACT
The Act is similar in some ways to the Sex Discrimination Act (SDA) 1975 and the Race Relations Act (RRA) 1976, and its procedural and remedial provisions are almost identical. The major differences of substance are, first, that direct discrimination is potentially justifiable and, secondly, that there is no explicit outlawing of indirect discrimination; rather, there is a duty to make reasonable adjustments to the needs of disabled people, a duty which fulfils many of the same functions as the concept of indirect discrimination. Another difference is that far more details of the law are given in the form of Regulations and Guidance. The reason is that the many different forms and varying severity of disabilities make it more difficult to deal with every issue through primary legislation. The technical complexities of the Act were noted by Mummery LJ in Clark v TGD t/a Novacold:2
It is certainly more ambitious in its aim and scope than the system of registered disabled persons and quotas in the Disabled Persons (Employment) Act 1944, now repealed [see below]. And it is without doubt an unusually complex piece of legislation which poses novel questions of interpretation. It is not surprising that different conclusions have been reached at different levels of decision.
