This petition was submitted during the 2019-2024 parliament

Rejected petition List long covid as a disability under the equality act 2010.

Addition of long covid on the disability act.

More details

There are hundreds of thousands of people disabled from Covid infections, that are being discriminated and stigma against when they have the right and meet the definition of a disability. Current mechanism are not good enough.

This petition was rejected

Why was this petition rejected?

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The Government's guidance on disability under the Equality Act 2010 states that you’re disabled if you have a physical or mental impairment that has a ‘substantial’ and ‘long-term’ negative effect on your ability to do normal daily activities:
https://www.gov.uk/definition-of-disability-under-equality-act-2010

It is therefore already the case that under the Equality Act, anyone with a physical or a mental condition which has a substantial and long-term impact on your ability to do normal day to day activities is protected under the disability protected characteristic. This could cover people who have long Covid, where this has a a ‘substantial’ and ‘long-term’ negative effect on their ability to do normal daily activities.

You can read more about disability rights at work here: https://www.gov.uk/rights-disabled-person/employment

We only reject petitions that don’t meet the petition standards.