Lords move to prevent disability discrimination

Posted 24/03/2010

Employers could soon be prevented from asking for information about the health of job applicants as part of their recruitment process.

The proposed piece of legislation was one of a number of changes to employment law recommended by the House of Lords during the third reading of the Equality Bill.

If the amendment becomes law, employers would not be permitted to ask for information about disabilities and other health problems before making a job offer.

Members of the Lords approved the amendment in a bid to reduce the chances of people with disabilities being discriminated against during the job application process and as a result, not being selected for interview.

Groups campaigning for the rights of people with disabilities have been calling for the employment law change to be made for some time and several expressed their dissatisfaction when it was not included in the original draft of the Equality Bill.

The House of Commons now has to scrutinise the amendments passed by the House of Lords before the Equality Bill can become law.