Auxiliary aids in adjustments claims: Charles Pigott looks at a less frequently used aspect of the Equality Act
- The EAT has said that it is ‘all too common’ for auxiliary aids to be overlooked when assessing disability discrimination claims.
- The breadth of this element of the reasonable adjustments regime was recently demonstrated in judicial review proceedings against the government.
The duty to make adjustments is defined in s 20, Equality Act 2010, and applied across a number of different parts of the Act, including Part 3 (services and public functions) and Part 5 (work). Section 20(2) provides that the duty comprises three requirements, which are defined in sub-sections (3) to (5).
The first two requirements, triggered by the application of a provision, criterion or practice (PCP) and the physical features of premises respectively, are more familiar. However, the third requirement is not encountered so frequently, at least in employment case law.
The third requirement applies where a disabled person ‘would, but for the provision of an auxiliary aid, be put at a substantial disadvantage in relation to a relevant
