Abstract
Informal caring for adults with disabilities is a source of unacceptable disadvantage in employment, finances, social inclusion, and health; here termed the ‘care penalty’. This penalty can be appropriately tackled through equality law, making care a ground for unlawful discrimination. Carers are not adequately protected from indirectly discriminatory disadvantages by other grounds such as sex and disability. Nor are carers adequately protected by carer-specific provisions such as the UK right to request flexible working. This paper argues that a reasonable adjustment right should be available to carers. It challenges the model of reasonable adjustment as a special right, over and above other non-discrimination measures, so restricted to persons with disabilities. Instead, it is here argued that reasonable adjustment is a compromise – a lesser measure adopted to reduce the duties arising from protection from indirect disability discrimination. Once viewed as a compromise, its extension to carers becomes practicable, revealing that disability and care form a continuum, along which each of us dip in and out during our lives. The looming ‘care crisis’ stemming from demographic change means that states have a significant financial incentive to make work compatible with increasingly common care duties.
Acknowledgements
Many thanks for the insightful and constructive comments of Helen Stalford and Michael Dougan (Liverpool Law School). The usual disclaimer applies.
Notes
1. Stimulating legislative action; the Americans with Disabilities Act Amendments Act of 2008, s. 2 (a)(4) specifically names Sutton as a trigger for amendment.