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Disability

Guidance on equality monitoring in relation to disability.

Advance HE has updated its recommended question and response options for disability status to better reflect both legal developments and the social model of disability. This updated wording is compatible with HESA requirements.

Disability monitoring questions should include an explanation of definitions and/or examples (or a web link to definitions) of what is included and not included under the definition of disability used in the diversity monitoring exercise.

For example, the Equality Act 2010 defines a disabled person as someone who has a physical or mental impairment that has a substantial and long-term adverse effect on their ability to carry out day-to-day activities. Advance HE recommends including additional explanation for this question, such as:

Under the Equality Act 2010, a person is considered to be disabled 'if they have a physical or mental impairment, and the impairment has a substantial and long-term adverse effect on his or her ability to carry out day-to-day activities’. ‘Substantial' is defined by the Act as 'more than minor or trivial'. An impairment is considered to have a long-term effect if:

  • It has lasted for at least 12 months
  • It is likely to last for at least 12 months, or
  • It is likely to last for the rest of the life of the person.

Day-to-day activities are not defined in the Act, but in general they are things people do on a regular or daily basis, for example eating, washing, walking, reading, writing or having a conversation.

Only visual impairments that are serious are covered by the Equality Act 2010. For example, a person whose eyesight can be corrected through the use of prescription lenses is not covered by the Act; neither is an inability to distinguish between red and green. However, the same logic does not apply to other impairments or conditions that have a substantial adverse effect on the ability to carry out normal day-to-day activities and which are managed through medication or equipment. For example, if someone has epilepsy which is controlled by medication, they are still considered disabled. Conditions that are progressive, such as HIV/AIDs and cancer are covered from the point of diagnosis and if a person has previously had a condition that met the definition of the protected characteristic of disability under the Equality Act, they still have the protected characteristic of disability.