Redundancy does not discriminate. Or does it?

David Bennett suffers from cerebral palsy, a group of lifelong conditions that affect movement and co-ordination. David worked as a switchboard telephonist at the Theatre Royal in Plymouth before deciding to go on a trip to Australia.

After being verbally told that his job would be safe for him upon his return, he came home to a letter saying he was to be made redundant. He felt very let down by his former place of work and fears that given his condition, it will be very hard for him to find work elsewhere due to indirect or even direct discrimination.

Employment rights among the disabled community has come a long way since the 1980s. By law, all employers must treat all applicants equally regardless of any health conditions they have. The Equality Act 2010 brought the framework of protection against direct and indirect discrimination, harassment and victimisation for those working in public and private environments.

The Disability Confident Employer Scheme encourages employers to think differently, it will show which employers have committed to offering an interview to a representative number of disabled people. There are 4.7 million disabled people currently at work in the UK.