Do you think the DDA has made any real, practical impact for disabled graduates?
The Disability Discrimination Act 1995 (DDA) makes it illegal for employers to discriminate against disabled employees or jobseekers and also requires employers to make what are termed "reasonable adjustments" to both the physical features of their premises and to any policies or practices that might place a disabled person at a substantial disadvantage. If an employer has not complied with these duties a candidate may be entitled to bring a case against them under the DDA.
Practically, employers need to think very carefully about both conventional and online recruitment schemes to make sure that they do not place disabled people at a disadvantage. This could be providing and accepting application packs in alternative formats like braille, audiocassette etc. It may also require changes to be made to interview or assessment procedures, for example providing extra time for an applicant with dyslexia to complete an assessment or providing a BSL interpreter for an interview for a deaf candidate. Bear in mind, these are only examples.
One thing to be aware of though, is that if an employer does not know you have a disability, they cannot be expected to make reasonable adjustments - so if you need any changes to be made to the standard recruitment procedures to enable you to perform at your best, you have to tell them.
