Introduction
Disability can be described as the lack of ability to a set standard of a person or a group. It is characterized by the impairment of cognitive, sensory, intellectual and physical impairment. In reality, impairment may occur during birth time or during ones lifetime. The disabled people are often discriminated against especially in the field of employment where employers feel that the physically impaired people cannot perform certain tasks especially tasks that need physical input. The disabled people also face discrimination in that they cannot access some services, whereas some companies have denied offering them the services that they offer other people (Baldwin, 1990).
Poverty is the inability for someone to meet some standards of life and welfare. Broadly defined, poverty is the inability to fulfill one’s basic needs or having difficulties in fulfilling one’s basic needs. In this case, we will define basic needs or amenities as the things that are necessary for survival. These things include food, clothing, shelter and education. Poor people are neither spared from discrimination and being subjected to inhuman treatment from other people. This is because they are seen as if they do not matter and their opinion is not very important as far as other people are concerned (European Commission, 2002).
In the past, employment opportunities in the societies were highly discriminative towards people with disabilities. This subjected disabled people to poverty and dependency on others. However, in modern times this has changed and disabled people have had the chance to enjoy equal employment opportunities as other people. This can be rooted to various laws that have been passed by various governments on how to afford equality between disabled people and other people especially through employment and other social amenities (Lewis, 2002).
Discrimination
This is the act of distinguishing between to entities and choosing to prefer one or to favor one. One example is the discrimination against people. In modern times, discrimination is rampant and can be based on various issues including race, sexual orientation, gender, religion, age and disability. It can also be on the basis of many issues like service provision and employment. This study will focus on the discrimination against poor and disabled people in employment (Baldwin, 1990).
The study will not be limited to highlighting discrimination on basis of disability and poverty in employment but will also focus on how the scenario is changing from worse to the better in the modern world. It will also involve the laws and legislations that various governments have made in relation to discrimination in employment opportunities to people who are poor and disabled.
Discrimination legislations in the United Kingdom
The United Kingdom has passed several laws in parliament against all forms of discrimination. The United Kingdom laws stipulate that disabled workers have equal and general employment rights just like the other people. However, some provisions that have been kept in place by the Disability Discrimination Act (DDA). This act cautions that it is illegal for a potential employer to discriminate against a person who is disabled or in that case for a related reason of their disability. However, there is a clause that when somebody is discriminated against, the employer can have a justified reason for doing so (European Commission, 2002).
The act also has a provision for enabling employers to make some adjustments which are reasonable so as to allow a disabled person to work competently just like the other people. This is to ensure that disabled people are not subjected to employment arrangements disadvantages which may arise if someone is disabled. These arrangements include the allocation of some of the disabled person’s duties to other people. The employer is also obligated to transfer a disabled person to another work or post within the same organization. The employer should also make substantial adjustments to the place of work buildings so that you can access it comfortably (Pederson, 1993).
The employer should also make the hours of a disabled person flexible so that he or she can access other services which may include rehabilitation, treatment or assessment. The employer should also ensure that a disabled person has an interpreter or a reader so that one can work with minimal difficulties. The provision of equipments which are modifies is also another duty for the employers as well as ensuring that manuals and instructions accessibility to the disabled individual is made easier (Lewis, 2002).
The United Kingdom also got employment discrimination against poor people. The act stipulates that everybody should have equal opportunity of employment regardless of whether he is rich or poor. However, in the country, poor people are not overly discriminated against in employment but are usually discriminated against in the social life. It is in this respect that the government introduced a law in 2005 which was meant to discourage prejudice and discrimination and enhance equality in the modern Britain.
This meant that no social discrimination or prejudice would be tolerated in the country and anybody found guilty of such an act would be subject to criminal prosecution. In the earlier years, there existed a lot of social discrimination which ranged from racial, religion, and color to disability. The government has achieved a lot by curbing any form of discrimination and hence there is witnessed a lot of equality in the country (Baldwin, 1990).
Social welfare Provision
Social welfare provision is a program of the government which is meant to ensure that all citizens, especially the students, elderly, unpaid workers, minority groups, the poor and the disabled have a minimum income level. It is meant for the disadvantaged in the society and the government is solely responsible for welfare provision. The services of social welfare payments are provided to the citizens free but at times a nominal charge is administered. The payments are funded by the government or at times there is enforced enrollment by the poor which is compulsory (Pederson, 1993).
In modern times there exist various forms of social welfare provisions. One of the examples is the compulsory superannuation program of saving. This usually involves a compulsory program of social insurance which is meant to cater for the services proved. There is also the provision of pension and tax relief to those people who have low income and are disabled, sick and cannot be able to pay the tax and cater for themselves. Another example is the free medical care given to individuals who cannot meet the medical bills and these services are either provided within the community or in a medical facility like a hospital. It also includes free ante natal and post natal nursing to those mothers who cannot afford to cater for these services (European Commission, 2002).
The education being a very important element of any livelihood is also provided to children whose parents cannot handle to pay for their children education. This welfare provision is provided in public schools. In the higher education, students are given government scholarships or a higher education loan to enable them to access higher education as well as undertake vocational training (Baldwin, 1990).
The state also can fund and help in operating community based organizations (CBO) and social work organizations in the provision of welfare. These organizations are supposed to give beneficial services to the disadvantaged people in any community and hence the government is compelled to help them. Another form of welfare provision is when the government pays welfare money to people who need the money but due to some circumstances these people cannot work for the money. This may include sick and injured people and the disabled people. These people are in need of financial assistance and the government helps them in getting their finances (Lewis, 2002).
Social welfare in the United Kingdom
In the United Kingdom, the poor and the disabled have access to all the basic amenities that are needed in order to survive. Apart form that the government has put in place legislations and policies to oversee that everybody has access to education, health facilities and equal employment opportunities. The government has put in place public schools for the poor who cannot afford to pay school fees for their children in private establishments. It has also set up special education facilities to cater for the disabled who may need specialized treatment while attending school (Baldwin, 1990).
The government also has put in place legislations and policies that oversee the equality standard in the country being upheld and everybody assured that equal opportunity is afforded to everybody. This includes opportunities to employment, service access, health care and access to education (Pederson, 1993).
The state of welfare in Britain
The government has guaranteed its citizens that there will be minimum standards with the inclusion of a minimum income. The government has also guaranteed that there will be social protection in case insecurity happens. That means that the government is committed to ensuring the safety of all its citizens. The government has also guaranteed that the state will provide all the services that are necessary to the citizens and this will be delivered in the best and possible level of service provision (European Commission, 2002).
Conclusion
An improvement from the past, the government has made its principle goals to be of service to the people especially the poor and the disabled. In other words the government is dedicated to the people in terms of social protection and the provision of services to the people of United Kingdom (Lewis, 2002).
There is need to improve because cases have proved that the service provision is tightly rationed which negatively affects the livelihood of the poor and the disabled people in the country. Some people argue that the social welfare of the country is by far very opposite of what they the government set as the ideal social welfare provision. The coverage may be extensive, but the services and benefits are lowly delivered. The social protection afforded especially to the poor and the disabled is at times very patchy and the services provided to the citizens have been considered very tightly rationed. This has the negative effect of the poor and the disabled feeling like they don’t belong to any society and they have not societal attachment whatsoever. This has created social problems ranging from prostitution to crime (Baldwin, 1990).
Bibliography
- Baldwin, Peter. 1990. The Politics of Social Solidarity: Class Bases of the European Welfare State, 1875–1975. Cambridge, UK: Cambridge University Press.
- European Commission /Eurostat. 2002. European Social Statistics: Demography. Luxembourg: Office for Official Publications of the European Communities.
- Lewis, J. 2002. “Gender and Welfare State Change.” European Societies 4, no. 4: 331–357.
- Pedersen, Susan. 1993. Family, Dependence, and the Origins of the Welfare State: Britain and France 1914–1945. Cambridge, UK: Cambridge University Press.