Legal context
Under the Disability Act 2005, public sector bodies are obliged to:
- promote and support the employment of people with disabilities
- ensure, where practicable, that 3% of all staff employed are people with disabilities
- report each year on the number and percentage of staff with disabilities
The Disability Act 2005 defines disability as:
"Disability, in relation to a person, means a substantial restriction in the capacity of the person to carry on a profession, business or occupation in the State or to participate in social or cultural life in the State by reason of an enduring physical, sensory, mental health or intellectual impairment."
Collecting the data
To enable UCD to meet its requirement to report each year on the number and percentage of staff with a disability, and to ensure the returns are accurate and complete, every new staff member, whether or not they have a disability (within the meaning of the Disability Act 2005), is asked to complete the census form.
The information provided on the form will be treated as confidential and stored securely by the Equality, Diversity & Inclusion Unit.
Use of the data
It will be used for statistical purposes to report on the number of people with disabilities employed by UCD. Your personal details will be kept confidential at all times by the Equality & Diversity Unit and reported on anonymously.
The information collected in this way will be kept until you leave the employment of UCD, or you inform the Equality & Diversity Unit that there is a change in your disability status. You can ask to change the information on your disability status at any time if you believe it is no longer accurate by contacting Equality, Diversity & Inclusion at (opens in a new window)edi@ucd.ie
Each year, a statistical return of the number and percentage of staff with disabilities in UCD will be reported to the Higher Education Authority (HEA) and to the relevant Minister (Department of Education and Skills).
The HEA is the statutory monitoring committee for the achievement of the 3% employment target. The Monitoring Committee of each Government Department reports annually to the National Disability Authority (NDA) on the statistics of achievement of the 3% employment target in the individual public bodies.
The NDA's report goes to the Minister for Justice, Equality and Defence and will be published on the NDA website.
The information that you provide will be kept confidential at all times by the Equality, Diversity & Inclusion unit.
The data collected will be stored securely and separately to the main HR/Personnel records, with access restricted to the Equality, Diversity & Inclusion unit and therefore will never be used for any other purpose e.g. recruitment, access to training, etc.
You have a legal right to see the information on record about your disability status, and to seek to change it if you believe it is no longer accurate. Please contact Equality, Diversity & Inclusion at (opens in a new window)edi@ucd.ie for further information.
An e-mail will be issued to all new staff which will include a link to the online form.
The census form will also be distributed in hardcopy format to those who may not have access to the online form. If you have any queries on completing this form or wish to request it in hard copy format, please contact Equality, Diversity & Inclusion at (opens in a new window)edi@ucd.ie.
If you require further information on this census or on disability related matters, or wish to update the information you have previously given at any stage throughout your employment, please contact the Equality, Diversity & Inclusion Unit.