Disabled persons and the law

Like other disadvantaged groups, the disabled receive scant attention from the thrusting world of modern business. Somehow they slip between the legal textbooks as well as the treatises on management. Nevertheless, some legislation applies peculiarly to them such as the Disabled Persons (Employment) Acts 1944 and 1958. The common law has generally regarded them sympathetically but the relevant law is somewhat fragmented and it seems obvious that a re‐assessment is now needed. There are reliably reported to be about 600 000 registered disabled persons although some who are eligible decline to register because they have little faith that the registration system will find work for them. The value of these two statutes is being questioned on a wider front and their repeal is mooted. Like the ablebodied, the disabled have rights under the law although they are noticeably reluctant to assert themselves in the courts.