Disabled People and Employment
Definition of Disability
There are two main models when considering disabled people:
- The Medical Model of Disability focuses on a person's
impairment or medical condition, suggesting this is the cause of
disabled people being unable to access goods and services, or to
participate fully in society.
- The Social Model of Disability recognises that it is the
barriers that society creates that prevent disabled people from
participating fully in daily life, and not their impairment or
difference. Barriers can be physical, like buildings not having
accessible toilets, or they can be caused by people's attitudes to
difference, like assuming disabled people can't do certain things
(Scope, 2020).
For purposes of employment law in the UK, a person is considered
disabled if they have "a physical or mental impairment that has a
substantial and long-term effect on their ability to carry out
normal day-to-day activities". This is based on the Equality
Act (2010) definition, but would be considered to follow the
medical model as it focuses on what disabled people cannot do.
However, the Social Model of Disability allows us to better
identify, and tackle the barriers that disabled people face and as
such it is the Scottish Government's and Disabled People's
Organisations preferred model. Likewise, we would encourage
employers to adopt the Social Model when designing and modifying
their policies, and in the way they interact with disabled
people.
Further information on Disabled people and Employment can be
found at:
Further information
To keep up to date on any developments or news with regards to
disabled people in the workplace, please sign up for the Employability in
Scotland e-bulletin from the Scottish Government.
for more information on the work being done to reduce the
disability employment gap in Scotland, please contact the Disability Employment
Policy Team