Disability Conciliation Service

2.Main Content

Disability Conciliation Service

This page contains information about the Disability Conciliation Service, including:
What it does
Advantages and disadvantages
Which complaints are eligible and which are not?
Cost
Timescale
Procedure
Outcomes

To read an email exchange on rights-based mediation, which looks at the pros and cons of using the Disability Conciliation Service, go to Doing the rights thing on the ASA main website. This article was written by Val Reid and Margaret Doyle for the May 2006 edition of Mediation in Practice.

What it does
The Disability Conciliation Service (DCS) is an independent scheme for resolving disputes about disability discrimination in the provision of goods and services and in education. It is funded by the Equalities and Human Rights Commission (EHRC), and from January 2007 it has been managed by Mediation Works.

The scheme was set up to provide an alternative to court for complaints of discrimination under the Disability Discrimination Act 1995 Part III (consumer disputes) and Part IV (education).

This information applies in England, Wales, Scotland and Northern Ireland.
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Advantages

It is free
It is independent
It is relatively quick
It gives people an opportunity to tell their story directly
It offers a wide and flexible range of remedies

Disadvantages

It does not always end in a resolution
You cannot have your solicitor or legal adviser with you at the conciliation meeting
You need to decide on the day of the meeting whether or not you will agree to the proposed settlement
Agreements usually remain private, so there will be no legal precedent which others can rely on in the future

Important note: You really need to get some independent advice about using the DCS. There are two reasons for this:

- There are time limits for making a claim in the court or at a tribunal. Although you can usually get a two month extension for using the DCS, you don’t want to make a mistake about this. If you miss the deadline, you may miss your chance to get a legal remedy.

- If you go to the DCS, you can still take your claim to court if you cannot reach an agreement at the conciliation meeting. However, on the day of the conciliation you will be asked to decide whether or not any agreement proposed is a full and final settlement of the legal claim. You cannot go away and think about it. If you decide that you will accept the agreement, you cannot take the same claim to a court or tribunal later. Therefore it is important to get some independent advice before the conciliation takes place.
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Which complaints are eligible and which are not?
The complaint must be made by or on behalf of a person who is considered to be disabled under the Disability Discrimination Act 1995.

The Equalities and Human Rights Commission offers advice and guidance to parties on eligibility and time limits.

When you are making a complaint about goods and services, the complaint must be about a service provider of some kind, such as a:

restaurant or bar
health club or leisure centre
supermarket
bank
landlord
government department

If the complaint is about education, service providers are:

schools and nurseries in Scotland and Northern Ireland (but not in England and Wales)
colleges
universities
further education institutions

Claims of disability discrimination in schools in England and Wales are currently dealt with through the Special Educational Needs and Disability Tribunal system (SENDIST) which has its own mediation provisions.
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Cost
The scheme is free to both parties.
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Timescale
From the time the EHRC refers the case to the conciliation service, it will take about eight weeks to arrange the conciliation appointment.
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Procedure
Anyone wishing to use the DCS must be referred by the disability advice line at the Equality and Human Rights Commission in England, Wales and Scotland, or by the Equality Commission for Northern Ireland. Advisers will make sure that there is a valid legal claim to be resolved, and that the case is a suitable one for conciliation. For more information, have a look at 'How to be referred to the DCS' on the Disability Conciliation Service website.

If either Commission refers the case to conciliation, the DCS will contact both parties and get agreement from both that they are willing to proceed. The DCS will work with both parties by phone to prepare them for conciliation.

The DCS cannot advise parties of their legal positions, but they can direct parties to sources of information on outcomes achieved in conciliation and in court, for comparison.

A conciliator will be appointed from the DCS panel of independent conciliators, and a meeting will be arranged. This is usually a face-to-face meeting held at a venue that is convenient, accessible and acceptable to both parties. The meeting takes about three hours.

Supporters are welcome but legal representatives are not allowed to attend. Parties can, if they wish, have contact with legal representatives by telephone during the meeting.

The conciliator helps the parties discuss the issues in dispute and reach agreements that resolve the problem.

Any agreement reached is one that is acceptable to both parties. However, if both parties agree on the day that it represents a full and final settlement of the legal claim, this means that neither party will be able to take the claim to court or tribunal later. You should therefore make sure that you have some legal advice before the conciliation meeting, or by phone during the meeting.

To see how a typical case might work, have a look at Jean's story.
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Outcomes
If the parties reach a settlement, the conciliator will write this up on the day and both parties will sign it. A typed copy will be sent to the parties later. Around 80% of cases agree to a full and final settlement on the day of the conciliation.

The remedies that can be obtained are as wide ranging as the parties want them to be. For example, agreements can include:

apologies
explanations
compensation
changes in policy or procedures
staff training in disability awareness
information being made available in accessible formats
improvements and arrangements for future communication

The conciliator must ensure that any agreement is in line with rights and responsibilities set out in the Disability Discrimination Act.

Cases and agreements usually remain private, unless both parties agree. However, the DCS publishes anonymised case digests giving examples of the outcomes achieved.
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September 2008