Skip to main content

Staff 2021/22 - Disability

Back to C21025

Staff 2021/22

Fields required from institutions in All fields

Disability


return to field list

valid entries
Typefield
Short nameDISABLE
Description

This field records the disability of a member of staff, on the basis of their own self-assessment

Applicable toEngland Northern Ireland Scotland Wales
Coverage

All staff

Valid entries and labels
CodeLabel
00No known disability
08Two or more impairments and/or disabling medical conditions
51A specific learning difficulty such as dyslexia, dyspraxia or AD(H)D
52General learning disability (such as Down's syndrome)
53A social/communication impairment such as Asperger's syndrome/other autistic spectrum disorder
54A long standing illness or health condition such as cancer, HIV, diabetes, chronic heart disease, or epilepsy
55A mental health condition, such as depression, schizophrenia or anxiety disorder
56A physical impairment or mobility issues, such as difficulty using arms or using a wheelchair or crutches
57Deaf or serious hearing impairment
58Blind or a serious visual impairment uncorrected by glasses
96A disability, impairment or medical condition that is not listed above
97Information refused
99Not Available
Notes

Disability is recorded on the basis of the member of staff's own self-assessment.

Code 00 'No known disability' should be returned when the member of staff indicates that they do not have a disability. Where data is requested but not obtained for staff members code 99 should be used rather than 00.

Valid entry 99 'Not Available' should be used when the provider does not know the information e.g. the staff member did not respond to the request for information.

Under the Equality Act 2010, a person has a disability 'if they have a physical or mental impairment, and the impairment has a substantial and long-term adverse effect on his or her ability to carry out normal day-to-day activities'. 'Substantial' is defined by the Act as 'more than minor or trivial'. An impairment is considered to have a long-term effect if:

  • It has lasted for at least 12 months
  • it is likely to last for at least 12 months, or
  • it is likely to last for the rest of the life of the person.

Normal day-to-day activities are not defined in the Act, but in general they are things people do on a regular or daily basis, for example eating, washing, walking, reading, writing or having a conversation.

Only serious visual impairments are covered by the Equality Act 2010. For example, a person whose eyesight can be corrected through the use of prescription lenses is not covered by the Act; neither is an inability to distinguish between red and green.

The same logic does not apply to hearing aids. If someone needs to wear a hearing aid, then they are likely to be covered by the Act. However, both hearing and visual impairments have to have a substantial adverse effect on the ability to carry out normal day-to-day activities in order for a person to be covered by the Act.

The new coding frame has been designed to ensure that higher education providers (HEPs) do not have to re-survey or re-code continuing staff members. Where for 2011/12 a staff member recorded two disabilities in DISABLE1 and DISABLE2 this should be mapped to code 08 'Two or more impairments and/or disabling medical conditions' in DISABLE.

HEPs should be aware that when they choose to resurvey their staff then these fields should be updated even if the member of staff declares a disability in the first instance and then not when resurveyed.

Advance HE has a number of resources relating to gathering information across the protected characteristics covered by the Equality Act 2010. If you have any further queries regarding equality monitoring, please view https://www.advance-he.ac.uk/.

Providers are expected to collect this information from staff annually.

Quality rules
Quality rules relating to this entity are displayed here.
Part of
Field length2
Minimum occurrences1
Maximum occurrences1
Schema components
Element: DISABLE
OwnerAdvance HE
Version1.0

Contact Liaison by email or on +44 (0)1242 388 531.