Asthma and DDA

Is asthma covered by the DDA. Any help would be much appreciated on this about to have a 4th stage disciplinary meeting at work and really dont want to be sacked.

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yep it is, I'm a union disability confrence delegate because of my asthma. have you disscussed your problems at work with your union?

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Hi there Heidiho,

Sorry to hear that you are having so many problems at work. Have you asked to be seen by Occupational Health? They can be very useful in advising your employer of changes they can make to make your working environment easier for you and hopefully minimise your time off.

In terms of your question about the Disability Discrimination Act, the answer is that it depends. Asthma does not automatically count as a disability under the terms of the DDA, it is dependent on how severe your asthma is and how it affects you. There is not a specific list of conditions that is covered, it is more to do with ability and level of functional impairment.

The DDA states that 'a person has a disability for the purposes of this Act if he has a physical or mental impairment which has a substantial and long-term adverse effect on his ability to carry out normal day-to-day activities'. For the purposes of the Act, an impairment is to be taken to affect the ability of the person concerned to carry out normal day-to-day activities only if it affects one of the following -

(a) mobility;

(b) manual dexterity;

(c) physical co-ordination;

(d) continence;

(e) ability to lift, carry or otherwise move everyday objects;

(f) speech, hearing or eyesight;

(g) memory or ability to concentrate, learn or understand; or

(h) perception of the risk of physical danger.

There are no specific guidelines as to the degree of effect on one of these areas that the condition must have, but obviously it must have a significant effect - a slight effect on mobility such as the inability to walk several miles may well not qualify.

Ultimately, the person who decides whether your asthma would be covered by the DDA would be the judge, if you brought a civil case to court under the DDA, or the chairperson of the tribunal, if you appealed your employer's decision and brought it to tribunal.

As you can see, it is not a simple issue, and therefore you may well need more specific advice. There are lawyers who specialise in employment law, although they can be expensive. You can find lawyers who specialise in particular areas by looking on the Law Society website. The Citizen's Advice Bureau can also be of help, as can the Equality and Human Rights Commission (previously the Disability Rights Commission). They both have websites.

Hope you manage to get this resolved, I know employment issues can be extremely stressful.

Take care,

Em H

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OH have directly stated that I am covered under the DDA, but I know that if it went to tribunal there WOULD still be a chance that they would not find in my favour due to the requirements being quite woolly.

That said, if I stated to my boss I believe that I have a disability, my boss is under a legal obligation to show that they have tried to work around, it making reasonable adjustments.

My advice is if part of a Union contact them immediately.

I would also speak with your GP to ask what his professional opinion on your ability to carry out your job - albeit if the GP can offer suggestions for reasonable adjustments possibly - for example some leeway with absences etc.

Review these sites: direct.gov.uk/en/DisabledPe...

ncab.org.uk/Disability%20ad...

equalityhumanrights.com/en/... (I have used this site to contact their advisors and take further advice etc...strongly advise you to do the same if you haven't already!)

[0845 604 6610 - England main number,

0845 604 6620 - England textphone

0845 604 6630 - England fax

Mon, Tue, Thu, Fri 9:00 am-5:00 pm; Wed 9:00 am-8:00 pm (last call taken at 7:45pm)]

Hope this is of some use!

[yaf_user681_30003]

Particularly agree with OH and union involvement. Both are there to help. OH is not, as some seem to believe, an ogre there to support the management in getting rid of employees. It is there to help indiviuals and employers with finding a way forward through their health issues and making recommndations to BOTH sides, particularly as to adjustments that can be made. They certainly helped me through issues at work last year and both sides now have a clear understanding of the effects of the recommended adjustments. (eg: my anticipated days and spells of sick absence are now based on my worst year, rather than far stricter targets that apply in general across my organisation.)

It is also worth pointing out that the last lot of amendments to DDA, which brought in disabilites such as asthma and epilepsy, where the symptoms tend to be episodic, talk about the abilities without drugs, not with. Therefore, although one can be well-cotrolled much of the time because of a successful treatment regime, DDA could still apply.

As the others have said though, much of this still has to be tried in law, so there is still no clear answer. Let's hope that common sense sees you through. Good luck, Heidiho.

Alan

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