Mental Health and The Equality Act

Sometimes people who have mental health problems are treated unfavourably because of their mental health condition. This is called discrimination. If you experience it, you may have a legal right to challenge it.

• The Equality Act 2010 is the law that gives you the right to challenge discrimination.

• To get protection under the Equality Act, you usually have to show that your mental health problem is a disablility.

• The Equality Act protects you from discrimination when you:

  • Buy, rent or live in property

  • Use services, for example policing or benefits

  • Are in education, for ecample at college or university 

  • Join some private clubs and associations

  • Are at work, applying for a job, made redundant or dismissed

• Public authorities have an extra duty to eliminate discrimination and promote equality of opportunity. This is called the public sector equality duty.

• There are short timescales for taking a legal claim if you belive that someone has discriminated against you. 

Is my mental health problem covered?

You don't have to have a particular mental health condition to get protection uder the Equality Act. And you don't need a diagnosis. But you will need to show that your mental health problem is a disability.

Mental Health problems that could be coverd under the Equality Act include:

• Depression

• Schizophrenia

• Bipolar Disorder

• Many other types of mental health problems

Is my mental health problem a disability?

You can ask yourself these questions:

1. Do I have a mental health problem?

2. Is it long-term? This means it has lasted more than 12 months, or is likely to do so.

3. Does it have more than a minor adverse effect on my day-to-day living? Or would it do this if I didn't have my treatment or medication?

If you answered 'yes' to all three questions, they your mental health problem could be protected by the Equality Act. If you also have a physical health problem which meets these conditions, the Equality Act may protect you from discrimination relating to it. It is up to the courts to decide. They will look at each case indicidually, using the evidence avaliable.

If you want to get the protection of the Equality Act, it can help to get some evidence from your GP or another medical professional. You can ask them to write a letter syaing whether they think you have a disability under the Equality Act. It will help if they can give their opinion on the answer to each of the three questions above. 

What are reasonable adjustments?

Reasonable adjustments are changes that organisation, people providing services, or people providing public functions have to make for you. They must make these changes to prevent your disability putting you at a disadvantage compared with others who are not disabled. 

For example, when organisations are making plans about how to provide their services or public functions, they need to think about people with mental health problems. They should think about how someone with a mental health problem might be affected when using their service or public function.

If you have difficulty accessing the service or public function, the organisation has an anticipatory duty to make reasonable adjustments. This means they should make them in advance, if they know that you're at a substantial disadvantage compared to other people who do not have a mental health problem.