The Equality Act defines 'disability' as a 'physical or mental impairment that has a substantial and long-term adverse effect on the ability to carry out normal day-to-day activities'.  The Government has published detailed guidelines on what this means in practice.

Many employers and employees believe that you need a medical diagnosis to have a disability. There are only three medical conditions, Multiple Sclerosis (MS), infection with HIV, and 'cancer' that are automatically considered disabilities by the Equality Act, along with being certified blind or partially sighted. There are some other conditions such as hay fever, and some criminal tendencies that are excluded by the Act.

In all other cases, it is not an issue of 'diagnosis' but just a simple assessment 'does the individual have a substantial impairment that is long term'. So, for example, some individuals with dyslexia will have a disability, some will not. Most individuals with mild to moderate depression will not have a disability.

The Equality Act also considers impairment 'without treatment', so any treatment must be discounted when deciding how disabled a person is. So, for example an olympic athlete with insulin-dependent diabetes would become extremely unwell if they stopped treatment; they are disabled in accordance with the Act even though they can win an olympic gold medal.

Where can I find out more?

The Equality and Human Rights Commission has a useful website that explains some of the issues of the Equality Act.