In this section you can find out more about some legal rights including those in the Disability Discrimination Act (DDA), The Mental Health Act, The Mental Capacity Act, The Human Rights Act and Consumer Rights and legislation, and the Data Protection Act.

The Disability Discrimination Act (DDA)

The DDA has 4 parts, the first tells us about the scope of the Act the definition of disability etc, Part 2 concerns Employment, Part 3 is about access to goods services and facilities, and Part 4 is concerned with Education. The DDA was amended in 2005 to include new regulations on transport, and a new Disability Equality Duty for public authorities.

To have the rights and protection that come from the Disability Discrimination Act, you need to meet the definition of disability laid out in the Act:
A physical or mental impairment which has a substantial, long-term adverse effect on a person’s ability to carry out his/her normal day to day activities. more>>

Part II: Employment

The Act covers all employers apart from the armed services.
Employers covered by the Act are required to make 'reasonable adjustments' to accommodate disabled employees or job applicants. more>>

Part III: Goods and Services and facilities
This part of the Act includes service providers like shops, theatres, railway stations, solicitors, banks, hospitals, private clubs, housing associations, community organisations etc Insurance Companies have different rules.

The Act says it is unlawful to discriminate against disabled people by refusing to provide (or deliberately not providing) a service, or providing the service on less favourable terms, to a lower standard, or in a worse manner.

more>>

Part IV: Education
This part of the Act covers schools, colleges, universities and other post-16 education, but there are different rules for schools and post-16 education. More>>

Bringing a case under the Disability Discrimination Act.

To take an Employment case to Tribunal, you must apply within 3 months of the discrimination, using an ET1 form, you can get this from the local Employment Tribunal office, which is in Birmingham:
Phoenix House, 1-3 Newhall Street, Birmingham, B3 3NH
Phone: 0121 236 6051 Fax: 0121 236 6029
Email: birminghamet@ets.gsi.gov.uk
Or you can fill it in online>>

If you think you have been discriminated against on grounds of disability in the way a service, facility, or goods have been provided, you can either take your case to Court, or go through a conciliation process. more>>


If you think you have been discriminated against on grounds of disability in Education, you should approach the head teacher in the school first, or the local authority complaints procedure, if this doesnt work you may wish to get help from the EHRC helpline:
Telephone: 0845 6046610
Textphone: 0845 6046620

Human Rights Act

The Human Rights Act brought the rights enshrined in the European Convention on Human Rights into British Law. It gives all British Citizens:
The Right to Life
Freedom from Inhuman treatment
Freedom from Slavery and forced labour
Right to Liberty and security
Right to a fair trial
Right not to be held guilty of a criminal offence by a law created after the offence
Right to privacy, family life, home and correspondence
Freedom of expression, conscience, thought, and religion
Freedom of Assembly and association
Right to marry
Right to education
Right to free elections.
While many of these are fairly basic rights, they may have a greater impact on some disabled people’s lives, for example it they challenge the right of a doctor to withhold treatment, or the abuse or infringement of liberties experienced by some people in care homes, it also protects the rights of disabled people to form sexual relationships or to marry.
The British Institute of Human Rights produces a guide for disabled people>>

Mental Capacity Act

The Mental Capacity Act has measures to protect people who cannot make decisions for themselves due to mental health condition, learning disability, or other reason like brain injury or dementia.
The Act states that everyone should be treated as if they are able to make their own decisions unless it is show that they are not, and this is established at the time a decision needs to be made.
The Act allows the person, while they are still able to make decisions, to appoint someone to make decisions on their behalf once they lose the ability to do so themselves. This includes decisions on the person's health and welfare, as well as finances.
The Act provides a checklist for decision makers, to make sure they are acting in the person’s best interests. It also introduces a code of practice for people healthcare workers and support workers and advocates.
The Act set up the Independent Mental Capacity Advocate service. An Independent Mental Capacity Advocate is someone appointed to support a person who lacks capacity but has no one to speak for them, such as family or friends.
The Office of the Public Guardian, will safeguard the rights of the person who lacks capacity - If there are suspicions that an attorney or deputy might not be acting in the best interests of the person they represent, the Office of the Public Guardian will work with other organisations to ensure that any allegations of abuse are fully investigated and acted on.
When a persons support or healthcare worker disagree with other parties like the social worker, the Court of Protection will decide what is in the person’s best interests.
You can find out more about the Act on the Office of the Public Guardian website>>

Mental Health Act

The Mental Health Act covers the assessment, treatment and rights of people with a mental health condition.
Most people who receive treatment in hospitals or psychiatric units for mental health conditions are there on a voluntary basis and have the same rights as people receiving treatment for physical illnesses. A small number of patients may be compulsorily detained under a section of the Mental Health Act:

section 2 : admission to hospital for up to 28 days for assessment
section 3 : admission to hospital for up to six months for treatment
section 4 : admission on an emergency basis for up to 72 hours
The Act explains who is involved in the decision about compulsory admission or detention, and the person’s right of appeal.
The Act gives certain rights to the nearest relative which can be used to protect the patient's interests.
You can find out more about the Mental Health Act on the MIND website>>

Consumer Rights

Your rights when buying goods and services
The law states that when you buy or hire something it should be:
(a) Of satisfactory quality
(This includes appearance, finish, safety, durability. Also the purchase should be free from minor defects, unless they were brought to your attention at the time of purpose)
(b) Fit for purpose
(c) As described
(Including the seller’s description, and descriptions on the packaging)
Goods that don’t meet these three criteria can be taken back, as long as you do it in a reasonable time. You are entitled to your money back – you do not have to accept an exchange or a credit note.
This applies to goods bought in sales too – any notice in a shop saying you can’t bring back sales goods amounts to an unfair contract term.
If a purchase is faulty it is the seller’s responsibility to refund you. You do not have to contact the manufacturer.
If the faulty item is bulky and expensive to return, you can ask the seller to collect it.
Sellers do not have to changes goods which are not faulty, so if you buy the wrong colour or size, it is up to the policy of the store as to whether you can get an exchange – ask at the till.
You cannot return something as faulty if you damaged it, or you were told about the fault when you bought it, or you examined the item when you were buying it and it was reasonable that you should have noticed the fault.
If you buy privately or at auction you have fewer rights.

This right to return faulty goods lasts for the first few weeks – usually 28 or 30 days.
If it’s a minor problem, and you just want it fixed contact the seller.
If the problem arises after a month but before 12 months, your manufacturer’s warranty (which is usually a year) protects you – in this case you have to contact the maker of the goods, not the seller.
There is also an EU warranty Directive 999/44/EC that may allow you to return faulty goods up to 2 years after you bought it and get a replacement.
If you buy your goods from a private seller (eg second-hand classifieds) you only have a right for the item to be “as described”, so if you buy a book “like new” and it arrives dog-eared and damaged, you can return it and ask for your money back.

Ending consumer contracts

With most contracts, once you have signed it, you are committed, but with some contracts you have a 7 day cooling off period:
If you enter into a contract away from the trader's premises, eg if you make an agreement with someone who comes to your home, there are Doorstep Selling Regulations which give you a seven-day cooling-off period during which you can cancel the contract without harm unless the contract was for something costing less than £35, for perishable goods, or an insurance or investment agreement.
If you buy something over the phone or the internet, or by mail order, the Distance Selling Regulations give you a 7 day cooling-off period. If you're buying goods in this way, the 7 day cooling-off period starts the day after you receive the goods.
If you're buying services, the cooling-off period starts the day after you make the agreement, but if make an agreement for the services to start right away, you lose the right to a cooling off period.
Under the Sale of Goods Act 1979 and the Supply of Goods and Services Act 1982, a seller must provide goods that are ‘fit for the purpose’, 'as described', and of 'satisfactory quality', failure to do so may be a reason to cancel the contract.

If you order something and it takes too long to come, you can write to the supplier to cancel on the grounds that they have breached the contract by not giving you the goods in a reasonable time. Contact them with a reasonable deadline for delivering the goods, letting them know that if them fail to deliver in that time, you will cancel.
If you need help enforcing these rights, contact Consumer Direct>>
Telephone: 0845 040506
Textphone: 08451 281384

Consumer Protection

The Consumer Protection from Unfair Trading Regulations 2008 make it an offence for traders to treat consumers unfairly through misleading actions or omissions or aggressive practices that have the effect of misleading the consumer (you) and affecting your decision.

Traders who are aggressive and wont take know for an answer or who bully someone into agreeing a contract will now be committing an offence.
If you need help enforcing these rights, contact Consumer Direct>>

Textphone: 08451 281384

Data Protection Act

The Data Protection Act gives you rights to control the way your personal information is used,including the following:

• The right to find out what information is held about you on computer and in some paper records
• The right to take steps to prevent your personal data being processed if the processing is likely to cause you or someone else to suffer substantial damage or substantial distress which is unjustified.
• The right to prevent a company from using your personal data to market you with products, services or ideas
• The right to have inaccurate information about you destroyed
• The right to claim compensation where a data controller has failed to comply with the Act in a way that affects you

Where a solution cannot be reached by writing to the data controller in a Company, organisation or Authority, the Act allows you to take legal proceedings against the data controller.