Disability Conciliation Service Logo and Heading

More about Disability Conciliation

How conciliation works

Conciliation meetings

What do people want?

What are the benefits of conciliation?

How successful is conciliation?

Conciliation and the Law

Education

Frequently asked Questions

Back to DCS home

What do people want from conciliation

 

The most commonly sought agreement is that the company or organisation will commit to changing its policies and practices in order to prevent the same situation happening again. For many complainants, the main purpose of conciliation is to explain directly to the respondent how it felt to be discriminated against and to receive a full, unconditional apology.
In many cases, the disabled person does not know, prior to conciliation, why the original incident happened. They want the Respondent to explain directly to them why and how it happened.

Graph of what people want

Not all complainants seek financial compensation. Many respondents express surprise at this because they often assume that compensation is all that people want from the process.

Many disabled people consider themselves to be part of the disability “movement” or “community”. Complainants often express the hope that by using this process, they will help prevent the same thing happening to other disabled people.

For respondents, conciliation can be a forum for justification. Exchange of information is key to the success of many settlements. Sometimes people have expectations on a Respondent that may not be realistic for the size and nature of the company. Conciliation offers the opportunity for the company to exchange information and find agreements that they consider reasonable. 

Whilst many respondents take up the offer of conciliation to try to settle a case outside of the legal forum, an increasing number value the opportunity to meet with complainants to have an open and honest discussion about the provision of their service to disabled people.