Access to work for disabled persons in South Africa : the intersections of social understandings of disability, substantive equality and access to social security

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dc.contributor.advisorRycroft, Alanen_ZA
dc.contributor.authorDu Plessis, Meryl Candiceen_ZA
dc.date.accessioned2015-12-01T09:24:30Z
dc.date.available2015-12-01T09:24:30Z
dc.date.issued2015en_ZA
dc.description.abstractThis thesis examines possible synergies and points of friction between understandings of disability that emphasise its social contingency and jurisprudential debates on substantive equality and access to social security in the context of the promotion of access to work for disabled persons in South Africa. In consequence of an analysis of theoretical debates in the field of disability studies and how these find application in the sphere of employment equity law, it is concluded that, while social understandings of disability mostly focus on structural changes that would see people with disabilities who can and want to work gain access to such work, the positive obligations imposed on employers and the state in terms of equality rights and employment equity legislation are of limited depth and breadth. It is proposed that one potential course of action to address the limited scope of equality law would be to emphasise the state's obligations in terms of socio-economic rights where these rights are relevant to work inequality. Particular emphasis is placed on how the interpretation and application of the right to access to social security could be used to activate government's duties in respect of unemployment protection and work creation. The conclusion reached is that while this strategy poses risks and has its limitations, it can be used to improve information gathering in respect of disabled work seekers that will aid planning and enforcement; to facilitate support for disabled work seekers who experience discrimination; to compel government to improve the implementation and enforcement of employment equity laws in respect of disabled work applicants; to catalyse a holistic approach to social security that considers the interrelationship between social assistance and promoting unemployment protection for disabled persons who are willing and able to work; and to provide different forms of support to disabled people who do not operate in the formal labour market, but who can and do perform work that falls outside the scope of traditional labour market regulation.en_ZA
dc.identifier.apacitationDu Plessis, M. C. (2015). <i>Access to work for disabled persons in South Africa : the intersections of social understandings of disability, substantive equality and access to social security</i>. (Thesis). University of Cape Town ,Faculty of Law ,Department of Commercial Law. Retrieved from http://hdl.handle.net/11427/15492en_ZA
dc.identifier.chicagocitationDu Plessis, Meryl Candice. <i>"Access to work for disabled persons in South Africa : the intersections of social understandings of disability, substantive equality and access to social security."</i> Thesis., University of Cape Town ,Faculty of Law ,Department of Commercial Law, 2015. http://hdl.handle.net/11427/15492en_ZA
dc.identifier.citationDu Plessis, M. 2015. Access to work for disabled persons in South Africa : the intersections of social understandings of disability, substantive equality and access to social security. University of Cape Town.en_ZA
dc.identifier.ris TY - Thesis / Dissertation AU - Du Plessis, Meryl Candice AB - This thesis examines possible synergies and points of friction between understandings of disability that emphasise its social contingency and jurisprudential debates on substantive equality and access to social security in the context of the promotion of access to work for disabled persons in South Africa. In consequence of an analysis of theoretical debates in the field of disability studies and how these find application in the sphere of employment equity law, it is concluded that, while social understandings of disability mostly focus on structural changes that would see people with disabilities who can and want to work gain access to such work, the positive obligations imposed on employers and the state in terms of equality rights and employment equity legislation are of limited depth and breadth. It is proposed that one potential course of action to address the limited scope of equality law would be to emphasise the state's obligations in terms of socio-economic rights where these rights are relevant to work inequality. Particular emphasis is placed on how the interpretation and application of the right to access to social security could be used to activate government's duties in respect of unemployment protection and work creation. The conclusion reached is that while this strategy poses risks and has its limitations, it can be used to improve information gathering in respect of disabled work seekers that will aid planning and enforcement; to facilitate support for disabled work seekers who experience discrimination; to compel government to improve the implementation and enforcement of employment equity laws in respect of disabled work applicants; to catalyse a holistic approach to social security that considers the interrelationship between social assistance and promoting unemployment protection for disabled persons who are willing and able to work; and to provide different forms of support to disabled people who do not operate in the formal labour market, but who can and do perform work that falls outside the scope of traditional labour market regulation. DA - 2015 DB - OpenUCT DP - University of Cape Town LK - https://open.uct.ac.za PB - University of Cape Town PY - 2015 T1 - Access to work for disabled persons in South Africa : the intersections of social understandings of disability, substantive equality and access to social security TI - Access to work for disabled persons in South Africa : the intersections of social understandings of disability, substantive equality and access to social security UR - http://hdl.handle.net/11427/15492 ER - en_ZA
dc.identifier.urihttp://hdl.handle.net/11427/15492
dc.identifier.vancouvercitationDu Plessis MC. Access to work for disabled persons in South Africa : the intersections of social understandings of disability, substantive equality and access to social security. [Thesis]. University of Cape Town ,Faculty of Law ,Department of Commercial Law, 2015 [cited yyyy month dd]. Available from: http://hdl.handle.net/11427/15492en_ZA
dc.language.isoengen_ZA
dc.publisher.departmentDepartment of Commercial Lawen_ZA
dc.publisher.facultyFaculty of Lawen_ZA
dc.publisher.institutionUniversity of Cape Town
dc.subject.otherCommercial Lawen_ZA
dc.titleAccess to work for disabled persons in South Africa : the intersections of social understandings of disability, substantive equality and access to social securityen_ZA
dc.typeDoctoral Thesis
dc.type.qualificationlevelDoctoral
dc.type.qualificationnamePhden_ZA
uct.type.filetypeText
uct.type.filetypeImage
uct.type.publicationResearchen_ZA
uct.type.resourceThesisen_ZA
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