ABSTRACT
There are some 11.6 million people in Great Britain with a disability, with about 5.7 million being of working age, 5.1 million being over state pension age and about 0.8 million who are children. This constitutes some 19" of the working population. There is much evidence that disabled people face discriminatory attitudes from those who are not disabled. It is important to remember that one in five disabled persons suffer this discrimination on a daily basis. Many experience being patronised, not being talked to directly, being stared at or just people not being prepared to do things differently to take into account a disability. The United Nations Convention on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities and its Optional Protocol was adopted in December 2006 and entered into force on 3 May 2008. The Convention describes how rights apply to persons with disabilities and identifies where accommodations have to be made in order for persons with disabilities to exercise their rights.
