Barriers to Justice and the Way Forward

Our concluding chapter revisits key debates discussed earlier (i.e. the role of stigma; models of disability; concepts of equality), while answering our overarching research questions concerning indications of barriers to justice. The approach taken in this book was to determine whether there were indications of barriers to justice for disabled claimants when lodging claims for disability discrimination at the Employment Tribunal in England and Wales. We found that a lack of legal representation was a significant barrier to justice for disabled claimants, as was the complex definition of disability and strict time limits, particularly because judges frequently did not exercise their discretion to extend the time limit. We also found that claimants with mental health impairments encountered more challenges compared to those with other types of impairments. In response to these indications of barriers to justice, we provide suggestions for future reform: regarding the form of the law, methods of enforcement, labour market policies and, above all, with regard to societal change. We conclude with suggestions for future research in these key areas of disability discrimination and access to justice.