‘The dying of the light’: the impact of the spending cuts, and cuts to employment law protections, on disability adjustments in British local authorities

Harwood, Rupert

doi:10.1080/09687599.2014.958132

Cited by 16 publications

(24 citation statements)

References 23 publications

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“…Being in a trade union can assist workers in obtaining their rights through informal means [26], with, for example, unions helping disabled workers to negotiate adjustments [27]). However, the general weakening of unions-with laws curtailing union activities ( [28], p. 221), and the decline in membership ( [29], p. 5) and in collective industrial relations (e.g., ([30], p. 359)-has reduced the power of unions to influence decisions in favour of individual workers (e.g., [31], p. 1521). Informal dispute resolution action does not, of course, take place in isolation from the legal environment.…”

Section: Pre/no Legal Claim Actionsmentioning

confidence: 99%

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Can International Human Rights Law Help Restore Access to Justice for Disabled Workers?

Harwood

2016

Laws

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The research literature indicates that legislative changes in recent years, including the introduction of tribunal fees, have made it harder for workers in general to enforce their rights under UK employment laws. Drawing on the author's qualitative study, conducted in 2015 and with information from 265 participants, this paper finds that these legislative changes could be having disproportionate adverse impacts on disabled workers. Of particular note, fees had deterred substantial numbers from submitting discrimination claims; and it appeared that this reluctance to take legal action had in turn emboldened some employers to commit what might have been found to constitute unlawful acts if taken to tribunal. The paper goes onto consider whether these adverse impacts on disabled workers could render fees unlawful under UK and European equality and human rights law and/or could entail violations of rights under the United Nations Convention on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities. The paper concludes that the intent behind UK laws might (in relation to the lawfulness of fees) have been frustrated in the domestic courts and that the impact of any future successes in the domestic courts, or under international law, might be dependent upon public opinion and political expediency. The paper also briefly compares developments in Britain with developments in neighbouring and other comparable jurisdictions.

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Section: Pre/no Legal Claim Actionsmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…Informal dispute resolution action does not, of course, take place in isolation from the legal environment. In some cases, for example, employees referring to legal requirements (without explicitly or at all threatening legal action) led to previously denied adjustments being made (e.g., [31], p. 1517).…”

Section: Pre/no Legal Claim Actionsmentioning

confidence: 99%

Can International Human Rights Law Help Restore Access to Justice for Disabled Workers?

Harwood

2016

Laws

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“…Changes in benefits, such as the end of Disability Living Allowance (DLA) and the introduction of Personal Independence Payment (PIP) as well as the closure of the Independent Living Fund (ILF), have meant that many disabled people had to be reassessed and either lost their benefits altogether or were moved to Employment Support Allowance (Cross 2013;Morris 2013;Harwood 2014). It is beyond the scope of this article to describe these changes in detail.…”

Section: Disablism In the Context Of Employment And State Supportmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…Although in England it has been possible for people living with chronic illnesses to apply for some state support in the form of benefits, along with other disabled people, this type of social support has been strongly eroded in the last few years in a fundamental and profound way (Cross 2013;Morris 2013;Harwood 2014). Changes in benefits, such as the end of Disability Living Allowance (DLA) and the introduction of Personal Independence Payment (PIP) as well as the closure of the Independent Living Fund (ILF), have meant that many disabled people had to be reassessed and either lost their benefits altogether or were moved to Employment Support Allowance (Cross 2013;Morris 2013;Harwood 2014).…”

Section: Disablism In the Context Of Employment And State Supportmentioning

confidence: 99%

Disablism in the lives of people living with a chronic illness in England and Portugal

Bê

2016

Disability & Society

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Disablism in the lives of people living with a chronic illness in England and PortugalThis paper is based on research about the daily lives of people living with chronic illnesses in England and Portugal. Through the first-person narratives of participants, I argue that the lives of people living with debilitating chronic illnesses are affected by disablism, discrimination and exclusion. These aspects affect them in several important realms of life such as lack of or poor social support, difficulties in obtaining reasonable adjustments or the inability to obtain any kind of state support at all. These aspects are also widespread and compound and greatly influence their lives, beyond or in addition to the physical experience of the illness itself. I conclude that it is fundamental to change these structural and policy aspects and that people should have access to what I have termed a paradigm of sustained wellbeing, despite the illness.

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“…At the same time, we live in a context of neoliberalism and austerity, with widespread political agreement that public expenses should be limited (Isin and Turner 2007;Taylor-Gooby 2004). The erosion of the welfare state affected a wide range of citizens and had a particularly negative impact on the lives of disabled people (Altermark 2017a;Briant, Watson, and Philo 2013;Dodd 2016;Garthwaite 2011;Grover and Soldatic 2013;Hande and Kelly 2015;Harwood 2014;Hauben et al 2012). Citizens mobilise to challenge this status quo and some argued that a new wave of disability rights activism emerged to struggle 'against the cuts' (Gill and Schlund-Vials 2014;Pearson and Trevisan 2015).…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Tensions and unity in the struggle for citizenship: Swedish disability rights activists claim ‘Full Participation! Now!’

Sépulchre

2018

Disability & Society

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This article analyses the claims of contemporary disability rights activists mobilising in a context where de facto secondclass citizenship co-exists with legal and political declarations about the rights of disabled people. As an empirical case, it focuses on the blog 'Full Participation.Now' , which was initiated by disability rights activists in Sweden. Drawing upon citizenship research, the article points to the tensions and dilemmas featuring the bloggers' demand for participation and equality, as well as the challenges relative to their struggle. Although the bloggers formulate contrasting arguments, the article highlights that the activists share a common aspiration for 'full citizenship'. Points of interest • The aim of this article is to analyse a blog named 'Full Participation.Now' , which was written by disability rights activists in Sweden struggling for full citizenship. • To understand the context of the blog, the article sketches the history of the citizenship of disabled people in Sweden. • The content analysis of the 323 blogposts found that the bloggers claim recognition for the equality of disabled people as full citizens, as well as recognition for the injustices and the situation of second-class citizenship they experience. • Although they emphasise different aspects, the blogposts share a common claim for full citizenship understood in terms of social justice based on equality. • The article suggests that, while recognition claims are crucial to establish disabled people as equal citizens, disability rights activists should also emphasise redistribution claims.

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‘The dying of the light’: the impact of the spending cuts, and cuts to employment law protections, on disability adjustments in British local authorities

Cited by 16 publications

References 23 publications

Can International Human Rights Law Help Restore Access to Justice for Disabled Workers?

Can International Human Rights Law Help Restore Access to Justice for Disabled Workers?

Disablism in the lives of people living with a chronic illness in England and Portugal

Tensions and unity in the struggle for citizenship: Swedish disability rights activists claim ‘Full Participation! Now!’

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