The Disability Discrimination Act

Introduction

If you live in Northern Ireland and have epilepsy, or have had epilepsy in the past, there is a law to protect you from unfair treatment in different areas of your life. This is called the Disability Discrimination Act (DDA).

The aim of these web pages is to explain how the DDA can help you. There are also suggestions about things you can do if you feel that you have been treated unfairly because you have epilepsy.

If you live in England, Scotland or Wales, you are covered by a different law called The Equality Act.

In this section

• What is The Disability Discrimination Act (DDA)?
• Why are people with epilepsy protected by the DDA?
• What is discrimination?
• Which areas of life can the DDA help me with?
• What is ‘reasonable adjustment’?
• When could somebody be justified in treating me differently to somebody without epilepsy?
• What can I do if I think I’ve been discriminated against?
• How can I take legal action against someone who’s discriminated against me?
• Where can I get more information about the Disability Discrimination Act?

Acknowledgement

Epilepsy Action would like to thank Claire Dawson, a solicitor in the Employment Department at Russell, Jones and Walker Solicitors, UK, for reviewing this information.

Disclaimer

This information is for general guidance only. It should not be treated as a complete guide to the Disability Discrimination Act, or considered to be legal advice. The information was correct at the time of writing.