Deaf, I am a non-practising solicitor and since qualification, have advised over 2,000 members of the deaf community on a range of legal issues, mostly employment and discrimination.
I am currently a Senior Lecturer in Law at UWE Bristol teaching employment law and professional legal skills at undergraduate and postgraduate level.
I was awarded his doctorate in 2020 by the University of Leicester examining the title: ‘Making equality law work for Deaf people.’
I have recently turned his attention to deaf education, and recently published a report with Rachel O’Neill at the University of Edinburgh comparing Welsh- and Gaelic-medium education with that of BSL, putting forward recommendations on how to ensure BSL is taught as part of the new Curriculum for Wales. I have interest in language law and sign language recognition and am developing Deaf Legal Theory as a new perspective in legal jurisprudence. Phone: 447941666771 Address: Bristol Law School University of the West of England Frenchay Campus Coldharbour Lane Bristol BS16 1QY
Having conducted a review of the impact of the Scottish national BSL plan on deaf education, in p... more Having conducted a review of the impact of the Scottish national BSL plan on deaf education, in particular its issues, failures and successes, during Phase 1 of this project, the purpose of this report was to ascertain whether there is an appetite at government or local authority level for deaf children to be educated in either BSLmedium or bilingual schools-or whether parents of deaf children expect to see such provision-within the countries of Scotland and Wales, which have Welsh-and Gaelic
This report has been produced to contribute to the review of the first national BSL plan (Nationa... more This report has been produced to contribute to the review of the first national BSL plan (National Plan), due October 2021, and to act as a discussion point for parents, teachers, organisations and deaf young people themselves about what changes the Act has so far made in relation to their education.
Employment analysis: How can employers improve their approach regarding D/deaf employees and jobs... more Employment analysis: How can employers improve their approach regarding D/deaf employees and jobseekers? Rob Wilks, academic manager for law at the University of South Wales, considers the key findings and proposals that stem from a survey into the experiences of deaf jobseekers and employees recently carried out by Totaljobs.com. What is meant by the term D/deaf? Readers will note that in this article, the term 'D/deaf' is used. This acknowledges that there are two distinct groups of deaf people that may become workers—deaf people who consider themselves to be culturally 'Deaf' with a capital 'D' and deaf people with a small 'd' who consider themselves to be audiologically deaf who have little or no affiliation with the Deaf community. Those who are culturally Deaf are more likely to be British Sign Language (BSL) users and thus rely on BSL/English Interpreters. Those who are deaf are likely to use non-BSL forms of communication support. What are the key findings of the 'Deaf jobseeker and employee experiences survey 2016' carried out by Totaljobs.com? The key findings of totaljobs' survey include: discrimination plays a large part in the working lives of D/deaf people and many are forced to exit employment because of it the attitudes of employers and colleagues can prevent D/deaf people from fulfilling their potential there are many perceived barriers to employment and there is a lack of appropriate support to help D/deaf people secure employment What can employers do to improve D/deaf awareness in the workplace? The important thing is to remember that it is not always the grand gestures that require a huge amount of effort that matter, but the small ones that allow employers to always bear in mind that an employee is D/deaf—not to treat them any differently to other members of staff, other than to bear in mind that clear communication and, in some cases, patience will always be needed. Employers can ensure that staff know how to communicate with D/deaf people, such as to: speak at a normal pace rather than too slowly or too quickly ensure that the room is well-lit face the D/deaf worker and speak clearly use gestures to assist, and be mindful of the role of communication support personnel and to accommodate such use If basic sign language tuition could be arranged, this can often be immensely helpful for D/deaf workers. Often, hearing staff members are too afraid to talk to D/deaf workers directly, fearing that there may be a communication breakdown. It is important that persistent efforts are made to minimise the risk that the D/deaf worker becomes unintentionally isolated. Often communication support is not available for the social aspects in a workplace such as lunch, cigarette breaks and social events after work, and it is such aspects that are often crucial in developing working relationships.
RAD Deaf Law centre was commissioned to develop a report entitled “Making the law work for young ... more RAD Deaf Law centre was commissioned to develop a report entitled “Making the law work for young Deaf people” by the Law Centres Network in order to improve young Deaf people’s access to advice from Law Centres.
This report reveals that, despite the existence of the Disability Discrimination Act 1995 during ... more This report reveals that, despite the existence of the Disability Discrimination Act 1995 during the past 10 years, barriers within mainstream society still exist, and that d/Deaf people are ‘dis-abled’ from having full access, limiting their choices in every day life.
Equality law is not working for Deaf people. The majority of deaf children attend mainstream sch... more Equality law is not working for Deaf people. The majority of deaf children attend mainstream schools without resource provision and are often denied the opportunity to engage with their deaf peers. Deaf people are likely to be in underemployment or unemployed and discrimination in the workplace is commonplace. There is evidence of injustice within the criminal justice system for deaf people, Deaf people are not able to serve their civic duty as jurors, and their access to legal advice services is dire. Deaf prisoners suffer a ‘double sentence’ when in prison, and deaf people generally do not have access to healthcare services.
Thus, this thesis seeks to explore why equality law is not working for Deaf people, and what can be done to ensure that it does. In order to answer this research question, after a consideration of what evidence exists to suggest that Deaf people continue to experience inequalities, an attempt is made to ascertain why the framing of Deaf people as disabled is problematic, giving rise to what is termed the ‘Deaf Legal Dilemma,’ whereby Deaf people are faced with a stark choice: accept the disability label, or have no access to any rights at all. There is then an attempt to determine which concepts of equality are relevant to Deaf people, utilising a specific methodology that allows the author to categorise these concepts into either formal, substantive or transformative equality thus establishing a standard of measurement by which it is possible to determine how effective particular concepts of equality are in eradicating inequality.
A doctrinal analysis of equality law in the UK is then undertaken, incorporating the Universal Declaration of Human Rights, the European Convention on Human Rights, the Equality Act 2010 and the United Nations Convention on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities. These are critiqued in order to establish how they apply or may apply to Deaf people, and how effective they are in addressing their inequalities. The findings of this analysis are that the instruments examined are not effective, and sign language recognition is proposed as a solution. The conclusion reached is that sign language recognition proffers a transformative approach to the Deaf Legal Dilemma and should – at least in the long term – give Deaf people ‘equal and inalienable rights’ on par with hearing people, in full cognisance of their status as Sign Language Peoples.
Produced in partial fulfilment of LLM in Law of Employment Relations at the University of Leicest... more Produced in partial fulfilment of LLM in Law of Employment Relations at the University of Leicester.
Explored whether disabled employees were protected by the DDA 1995 by examining the hurdles faced by disabled employees in the pursuance of disability discrimination claims against their employers. I argued that DDA 1995 failed to address in sufficient depth the various barriers that confront disabled employees and that many disabled employees find themselves excluded from the scope of the DDA 1995 for three reasons: (1) they are unable to prove that they are ‘disabled’; (2) they are unable to meet the requirements for each discrimination provision; and (3) they are unable to enforce their rights through the limited enforcement mechanisms available.
In this paper, an attempt will be made to determine whether or not a Deaf individual could make a... more In this paper, an attempt will be made to determine whether or not a Deaf individual could make a discrimination claim under the Equality Act 2010 not as a disabled person, but as a different protected characteristic. The rationale behind such an exercise is simply because to be Deaf is not a disability in Deaf culture. Instead, there are connotations that being Deaf could be considered an ethnic group. The reasons will be explored during the course of this paper, as well as an in-depth analysis of race as a protected characteristic and how to qualify for this status, following which there will be consideration of a number of case studies to determine the likelihood of a successful discrimination claim.
Recognizing sign languages: An international overview of national campaigns for sign language legislation and their outcomes, 2019
This book chapter will undertake a review of the BSL campaign that led to the enactment of the BS... more This book chapter will undertake a review of the BSL campaign that led to the enactment of the BSL (Scotland) Act 2015, ascertain the main stumbling blocks and obstacles to progress, and explore what headway has been made since it entered the statute books.
Having conducted a review of the impact of the Scottish national BSL plan on deaf education, in p... more Having conducted a review of the impact of the Scottish national BSL plan on deaf education, in particular its issues, failures and successes, during Phase 1 of this project, the purpose of this report was to ascertain whether there is an appetite at government or local authority level for deaf children to be educated in either BSLmedium or bilingual schools-or whether parents of deaf children expect to see such provision-within the countries of Scotland and Wales, which have Welsh-and Gaelic
This report has been produced to contribute to the review of the first national BSL plan (Nationa... more This report has been produced to contribute to the review of the first national BSL plan (National Plan), due October 2021, and to act as a discussion point for parents, teachers, organisations and deaf young people themselves about what changes the Act has so far made in relation to their education.
Employment analysis: How can employers improve their approach regarding D/deaf employees and jobs... more Employment analysis: How can employers improve their approach regarding D/deaf employees and jobseekers? Rob Wilks, academic manager for law at the University of South Wales, considers the key findings and proposals that stem from a survey into the experiences of deaf jobseekers and employees recently carried out by Totaljobs.com. What is meant by the term D/deaf? Readers will note that in this article, the term 'D/deaf' is used. This acknowledges that there are two distinct groups of deaf people that may become workers—deaf people who consider themselves to be culturally 'Deaf' with a capital 'D' and deaf people with a small 'd' who consider themselves to be audiologically deaf who have little or no affiliation with the Deaf community. Those who are culturally Deaf are more likely to be British Sign Language (BSL) users and thus rely on BSL/English Interpreters. Those who are deaf are likely to use non-BSL forms of communication support. What are the key findings of the 'Deaf jobseeker and employee experiences survey 2016' carried out by Totaljobs.com? The key findings of totaljobs' survey include: discrimination plays a large part in the working lives of D/deaf people and many are forced to exit employment because of it the attitudes of employers and colleagues can prevent D/deaf people from fulfilling their potential there are many perceived barriers to employment and there is a lack of appropriate support to help D/deaf people secure employment What can employers do to improve D/deaf awareness in the workplace? The important thing is to remember that it is not always the grand gestures that require a huge amount of effort that matter, but the small ones that allow employers to always bear in mind that an employee is D/deaf—not to treat them any differently to other members of staff, other than to bear in mind that clear communication and, in some cases, patience will always be needed. Employers can ensure that staff know how to communicate with D/deaf people, such as to: speak at a normal pace rather than too slowly or too quickly ensure that the room is well-lit face the D/deaf worker and speak clearly use gestures to assist, and be mindful of the role of communication support personnel and to accommodate such use If basic sign language tuition could be arranged, this can often be immensely helpful for D/deaf workers. Often, hearing staff members are too afraid to talk to D/deaf workers directly, fearing that there may be a communication breakdown. It is important that persistent efforts are made to minimise the risk that the D/deaf worker becomes unintentionally isolated. Often communication support is not available for the social aspects in a workplace such as lunch, cigarette breaks and social events after work, and it is such aspects that are often crucial in developing working relationships.
RAD Deaf Law centre was commissioned to develop a report entitled “Making the law work for young ... more RAD Deaf Law centre was commissioned to develop a report entitled “Making the law work for young Deaf people” by the Law Centres Network in order to improve young Deaf people’s access to advice from Law Centres.
This report reveals that, despite the existence of the Disability Discrimination Act 1995 during ... more This report reveals that, despite the existence of the Disability Discrimination Act 1995 during the past 10 years, barriers within mainstream society still exist, and that d/Deaf people are ‘dis-abled’ from having full access, limiting their choices in every day life.
Equality law is not working for Deaf people. The majority of deaf children attend mainstream sch... more Equality law is not working for Deaf people. The majority of deaf children attend mainstream schools without resource provision and are often denied the opportunity to engage with their deaf peers. Deaf people are likely to be in underemployment or unemployed and discrimination in the workplace is commonplace. There is evidence of injustice within the criminal justice system for deaf people, Deaf people are not able to serve their civic duty as jurors, and their access to legal advice services is dire. Deaf prisoners suffer a ‘double sentence’ when in prison, and deaf people generally do not have access to healthcare services.
Thus, this thesis seeks to explore why equality law is not working for Deaf people, and what can be done to ensure that it does. In order to answer this research question, after a consideration of what evidence exists to suggest that Deaf people continue to experience inequalities, an attempt is made to ascertain why the framing of Deaf people as disabled is problematic, giving rise to what is termed the ‘Deaf Legal Dilemma,’ whereby Deaf people are faced with a stark choice: accept the disability label, or have no access to any rights at all. There is then an attempt to determine which concepts of equality are relevant to Deaf people, utilising a specific methodology that allows the author to categorise these concepts into either formal, substantive or transformative equality thus establishing a standard of measurement by which it is possible to determine how effective particular concepts of equality are in eradicating inequality.
A doctrinal analysis of equality law in the UK is then undertaken, incorporating the Universal Declaration of Human Rights, the European Convention on Human Rights, the Equality Act 2010 and the United Nations Convention on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities. These are critiqued in order to establish how they apply or may apply to Deaf people, and how effective they are in addressing their inequalities. The findings of this analysis are that the instruments examined are not effective, and sign language recognition is proposed as a solution. The conclusion reached is that sign language recognition proffers a transformative approach to the Deaf Legal Dilemma and should – at least in the long term – give Deaf people ‘equal and inalienable rights’ on par with hearing people, in full cognisance of their status as Sign Language Peoples.
Produced in partial fulfilment of LLM in Law of Employment Relations at the University of Leicest... more Produced in partial fulfilment of LLM in Law of Employment Relations at the University of Leicester.
Explored whether disabled employees were protected by the DDA 1995 by examining the hurdles faced by disabled employees in the pursuance of disability discrimination claims against their employers. I argued that DDA 1995 failed to address in sufficient depth the various barriers that confront disabled employees and that many disabled employees find themselves excluded from the scope of the DDA 1995 for three reasons: (1) they are unable to prove that they are ‘disabled’; (2) they are unable to meet the requirements for each discrimination provision; and (3) they are unable to enforce their rights through the limited enforcement mechanisms available.
In this paper, an attempt will be made to determine whether or not a Deaf individual could make a... more In this paper, an attempt will be made to determine whether or not a Deaf individual could make a discrimination claim under the Equality Act 2010 not as a disabled person, but as a different protected characteristic. The rationale behind such an exercise is simply because to be Deaf is not a disability in Deaf culture. Instead, there are connotations that being Deaf could be considered an ethnic group. The reasons will be explored during the course of this paper, as well as an in-depth analysis of race as a protected characteristic and how to qualify for this status, following which there will be consideration of a number of case studies to determine the likelihood of a successful discrimination claim.
Recognizing sign languages: An international overview of national campaigns for sign language legislation and their outcomes, 2019
This book chapter will undertake a review of the BSL campaign that led to the enactment of the BS... more This book chapter will undertake a review of the BSL campaign that led to the enactment of the BSL (Scotland) Act 2015, ascertain the main stumbling blocks and obstacles to progress, and explore what headway has been made since it entered the statute books.
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Thus, this thesis seeks to explore why equality law is not working for Deaf people, and what can be done to ensure that it does. In order to answer this research question, after a consideration of what evidence exists to suggest that Deaf people continue to experience inequalities, an attempt is made to ascertain why the framing of Deaf people as disabled is problematic, giving rise to what is termed the ‘Deaf Legal Dilemma,’ whereby Deaf people are faced with a stark choice: accept the disability label, or have no access to any rights at all. There is then an attempt to determine which concepts of equality are relevant to Deaf people, utilising a specific methodology that allows the author to categorise these concepts into either formal, substantive or transformative equality thus establishing a standard of measurement by which it is possible to determine how effective particular concepts of equality are in eradicating inequality.
A doctrinal analysis of equality law in the UK is then undertaken, incorporating the Universal Declaration of Human Rights, the European Convention on Human Rights, the Equality Act 2010 and the United Nations Convention on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities. These are critiqued in order to establish how they apply or may apply to Deaf people, and how effective they are in addressing their inequalities. The findings of this analysis are that the instruments examined are not effective, and sign language recognition is proposed as a solution. The conclusion reached is that sign language recognition proffers a transformative approach to the Deaf Legal Dilemma and should – at least in the long term – give Deaf people ‘equal and inalienable rights’ on par with hearing people, in full cognisance of their status as Sign Language Peoples.
Explored whether disabled employees were protected by the DDA 1995 by examining the hurdles faced by disabled employees in the pursuance of disability discrimination claims against their employers. I argued that DDA 1995 failed to address in sufficient depth the various barriers that confront disabled employees and that many disabled employees find themselves excluded from the scope of the DDA 1995 for three reasons: (1) they are unable to prove that they are ‘disabled’; (2) they are unable to meet the requirements for each discrimination provision; and (3) they are unable to enforce their rights through the limited enforcement mechanisms available.
Thus, this thesis seeks to explore why equality law is not working for Deaf people, and what can be done to ensure that it does. In order to answer this research question, after a consideration of what evidence exists to suggest that Deaf people continue to experience inequalities, an attempt is made to ascertain why the framing of Deaf people as disabled is problematic, giving rise to what is termed the ‘Deaf Legal Dilemma,’ whereby Deaf people are faced with a stark choice: accept the disability label, or have no access to any rights at all. There is then an attempt to determine which concepts of equality are relevant to Deaf people, utilising a specific methodology that allows the author to categorise these concepts into either formal, substantive or transformative equality thus establishing a standard of measurement by which it is possible to determine how effective particular concepts of equality are in eradicating inequality.
A doctrinal analysis of equality law in the UK is then undertaken, incorporating the Universal Declaration of Human Rights, the European Convention on Human Rights, the Equality Act 2010 and the United Nations Convention on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities. These are critiqued in order to establish how they apply or may apply to Deaf people, and how effective they are in addressing their inequalities. The findings of this analysis are that the instruments examined are not effective, and sign language recognition is proposed as a solution. The conclusion reached is that sign language recognition proffers a transformative approach to the Deaf Legal Dilemma and should – at least in the long term – give Deaf people ‘equal and inalienable rights’ on par with hearing people, in full cognisance of their status as Sign Language Peoples.
Explored whether disabled employees were protected by the DDA 1995 by examining the hurdles faced by disabled employees in the pursuance of disability discrimination claims against their employers. I argued that DDA 1995 failed to address in sufficient depth the various barriers that confront disabled employees and that many disabled employees find themselves excluded from the scope of the DDA 1995 for three reasons: (1) they are unable to prove that they are ‘disabled’; (2) they are unable to meet the requirements for each discrimination provision; and (3) they are unable to enforce their rights through the limited enforcement mechanisms available.