According to the authors the purpose of this book is to “demystify, in a readable way, the whole subject of disabled people and employment”. This is done essentially by providing a review of current best practice among employers, government agencies and voluntary groups as well as examining issues related to the introduction of the Disability Discrimination Act, 1995, particularly its employment aspects. The book is targeted at a practitioner audience, although for academics researching or teaching in this area any contribution that provides informed insights into the law and company practice is to be welcomed.
The book is split into two parts and eight chapters, with quite lengthy appendices (58 pages). Part one reviews a number of themes, which are designed to set the scene before examining the legislative changes. Chapter two looks at the nature and type disabilities in the labour market and some possible implications for employers. Chapter three is devoted to discussing the language and/or aids deemed acceptable or otherwise when communicating with disabled people. Chapter four is concerned with looking at the implications of disability on a wide range of employment issues from recruitment and selection through to dismissal, and including health and safety, redundancy and sickness absence. Chapter five then outlines a range of governmental and non‐governmental guides and codes of practice relevant to employers with people with disabilities in their labour force, and also provides a summary of possible sources of help, including employer networks and voluntary groups. Throughout these chapters, the reader is directed to look at recent judgements from employment tribunals relating to the DDA. The second part of the book is then wholly devoted to reviewing the legislative changes under the DDA, including a very short chapter on the non‐employment aspects of the Act. Particular strengths within the book include the section in Chapter three relating to the preferred language when meeting/communicating someone with a disability. The book also provides some useful contact addresses for advice from within the voluntary sector.
However, there are a number of problems with the text for both practitioners and academics. The first is a structural issue. It appears a little strange that the main analysis of the DDA is left until one of the last chapters in the book, while at the same time the reader is directed to case law throughout the previous chapters. It would have perhaps made more sense to provide some review/analysis of the implications of the DDA and its well‐publicized limitations in order to place the reported cases in some context.
Another problem is the lack of any analytical rigor in the book. A lot of the chapters are essentially descriptive in their approach, offering the reader little analysis of some of the issues that are raised. For example, in Chapter three the authors outline various models of disability as explanations as to why disabled people experience discrimination, but these are written with little thought regarding their wider relevance to the purpose of the book, or what they might contribute to employers’ understanding of their own discriminatory practices. Another example is in Chapter five, which reviews a number of the codes of practice, such as that from the Open University. These codes are useful, but the authors provide little personal insight from their own experience or wider literature as to how these documents can be brought to life and drive change within organizations. A further example is in Chapter seven relating to the review of the questionnaire procedure for employers who are served with claims under the DDA. This reviewer has heard employers voice concerns regarding the complexity in completing some aspects of these forms, yet this book merely reproduces them without any comment or guidance from the authors.
The authors acknowledge that they are not lawyers, and therefore their commentary on case law, or the complexity of the Act, is not as informed as a law text. However, there are still some disappointing aspects to their review of the legislation. For this reviewer at least, it would have been useful to see the authors attempt to more effectively demystify the complexity of some of the case law such as Clark v. Novacold. There are also one or two notable gaps. In particular, there is little significant commentary relating to the issue of alterations to listed buildings, the mutual responsibility of tenant and landlord in making physical adjustments to premises, or victimization.
There were other crucial areas where there was little analysis. The first is in relation to discussions surrounding overcoming resistance to change. The authors appear to devote only two pages to this issue in Chapter three. However, practitioners and academics will be only too aware that organizations can adopt equality statements such as those outlined in this book, but then find resistance or lack of commitment from senior executives, line managers and employees a powerful impediment to implementing such policies. The second relates to the role of occupational health services. A discussion relating to occupational health’s role in managing the onset of disability with a current employee in liaison with the HRM, health and safety specialists and possibly trade unions would have formed a useful part of Chapter four.
Many experienced practitioners who have been responsible for managing disability in the workplace since the advent of the DDA may feel that their own experiences have at least matched or gone beyond the scope of this book. It would, therefore, offer them little in the way of new advice or guidance. Perhaps a saving feature is that for many organizations in the UK, the management of disability at work remains unexplored territory, and that aspects of this book may provide some initial guidance. This is especially the case with the authors’ review of certain codes of practice such as that used by the Open University. However, even those with least experience in the field of disability management are advised to only use this text as a beginning. More detailed advice would be gained by contacting some of the help lines operated by governmental and voluntary bodies that are quoted in this book.
