Skip to document content Go to main menu Go to search

The Persons with Disabilities (Access to Employment, Services and Facilities) Regulations

Legal Notice 62 of 2009

This is the latest version of this Legal Notice.
The Persons with Disabilities (Access to Employment, Services and Facilities) Regulations
Citation
Legal Notice 62 of 2009
Primary work
Persons with Disabilities Act
Date
Language
English
Type
Legal Notice
Original enactment
Download original enactment (PDF) (20.2 MB)
Related documents
Skip to document content
LAWS OF KENYA

PERSONS WITH DISABILITIES ACT

THE PERSONS WITH DISABILITIES (ACCESS TO EMPLOYMENT, SERVICES AND FACILITIES) REGULATIONS

LEGAL NOTICE 62 OF 2009

  • Published in Kenya Gazette Vol. CXI—No. 47 on 29 May 2009
  • Commenced on 29 May 2009
  1. [Revised by 24th Annual Supplement (Legal Notice 221 of 2023) on 31 December 2022]

Part I – PRELIMINARY

1. Citation

These Regulations may be cited as the Persons with Disabilities (Access to Employment, Services and Facilities) Regulations.

2. Interpretation

In these Regulations, unless the context otherwise requires—"Act" means the Persons with Disabilities Act (Cap. 133);"Fund" means the National Development Fund for Persons with Disabilities;"parent" includes adoptive and step-parent;"public service vehicle" has the meaning assigned to it in the Traffic Act (Cap. 403);"rights of persons with disabilities" means the rights of persons with disabilities set out under Part III of the Act.

Part II – INFORMATION, EDUCATION AND COMMUNICATION

3. Government to undertake information, education and communication

(1)The Government shall disseminate the provisions of the Act and shall promote public awareness about the rights of persons with disabilities, through a comprehensive nation-wide education and information campaign conducted by the Government through the relevant Ministries, departments, authorities and other agencies.
(2)The education and information campaign referred to in subregulation (1) shall focus on the family and shall be carried out in all schools and other institutions of learning, all prisons, remand homes and other places of confinement, amongst the disciplined forces, at all places of work and in all communities throughout Kenya.
(3)The Government shall provide training, sensitization and awareness programmes on the rights of persons with disabilities for community workers, social workers, media professionals, educators, decision makers, administrators and other concerned persons to enable them acquire skills for proper information, dissemination and education on the rights of persons with disabilities.
(4)In conducting the education and information campaigns referred to in this regulation, the Government shall ensure the involvement and participation of persons with disabilities and organizations of and for persons with disability.
(5)Every local authority in collaboration with civil society organizations and the Ministry, shall conduct education and information campaigns on the rights of persons with disabilities within its area of jurisdiction.
(6)The Council shall coordinate the activities provided for under these Regulations.

4. Ministry responsible for education to integrate the rights of persons with disabilities into syllabuses

The Ministry responsible for education shall integrate instruction on the rights of persons with disabilities in subjects taught in public and private schools at all levels of education, including informal and non-formal and indigenous learning systems.

5. Education and dissemination to form part of health care

(1)Education and information dissemination on the rights of persons with disabilities shall form part of health care services by healthcare providers.
(2)For the purposes of subregulation (1), the Government shall provide training for healthcare providers to acquire skills for proper information dissemination and education on the rights of persons with disabilities.

6. Research

(1)The Council in collaboration with the relevant Government departments, research institutions, development partners and local authorities shall undertake, promote and sponsor research, in the following areas as they relate to persons with disabilities—
(a)prevention of disability;
(b)rehabilitation including community based rehabilitation;
(c)development of assistive devices including their psycho-social aspects;
(d)job identification for persons with disability;
(e)on site modifications in offices and factories.
(2)The Council shall undertake research and baseline surveys to ensure availability of disaggregated data on persons with disability.

Part III – ACCESS TO EMPLOYMENT, SERVICES AND FACILITIES

7. Support and relief

(1)Subject to applicable Regulations relating to tax exemptions a person with disability may apply for and obtain support and relief for—
(a)purchase and repair of personal technical auxiliary devices;
(b)purchase and adaptation of personal vehicle and adaptation of a parking place;
(c)tax relief for import or local purchase of a personal vehicle;
(d)restructuring of the home;
(e)escorts and interpreters for people with impaired sight and hearing.
(2)Subject to applicable Regulations the support referred to in subregulation (1) shall include—
(a)support to the persons with disabilities for purchasing and repair of technical devices and equipment;
(b)subsidies for specialized enterprises, cooperatives and workshops for persons with disabilities;
(c)ensuring of accessible living and natural environment;
(d)financing projects and programmes for vocational education and re-qualification of the persons with disabilities;
(e)culture, sports and tourism;
(f)financing of projects and programmes for rehabilitation and social integration;
(g)support of the activities of the Fund.
(3)Persons with severe disabilities who cannot, alone or by the help of their relatives or other persons, meet their basic vital needs have the right to support.
(4)The extent of the support granted under this regulation the conditions and the order of granting them shall be determined by the Council in consultation with the Ministry for the time being responsible for matters relating to finance.

8. Materials, articles and equipment

A person who sells materials, articles and equipment designed for use by persons with disabilities shall be eligible to apply for such tax reliefs as may be determined by the Council and approved by the Cabinet Secretary.

9. Access to education

(1)The Fund shall provide financial assistance to universities, incentives to other institutions of higher learning, professional bodies and non-governmental research units or institutions, for undertaking research for special education, rehabilitation and manpower development.
(2)Every institution of education shall ensure that students with disabilities are reasonably accommodated within that institution.
(3)Every institution of education shall provide students with disabilities with the appropriate core service or services necessary to ensure equal access.
(4)The core services referred to in paragraph (3) shall include—
(a)sign language;
(b)oral and tactile interpreter services or other technological alternatives;
(c)textbooks and other educational materials in alternative media, including, but not limited to, large print, braille, electronic format, and audio tape;
(d)access to adaptive equipment including FM communicators, closed caption devices, amplified telephone receivers, closed circuit televisions, low-vision reading aids, player and recorders for 15/16 4-track tapes, photocopy machines able to use eleven-by-seventeen inch paper, brailling devices, and computer enhancements;
(e)release of syllabi, study guides, and other appropriate instructor-produced materials in advance of general distribution, and access beyond the regular classroom session to slides, films, overheads and other media and taping of lectures.
(5)An individual, firm, partnership or corporation that publishes or manufactures instructional materials for students attending any public or private institution of education, shall provide to the public or private institution of education, for use by students attending the institution, any instructional material in an electronic format mutually agreed upon by the publisher or manufacturer and the public or private institution of education.
(6)There shall be provided to learners with disabilities by every institution of higher learning, computer files or electronic versions of printed instructional materials; video materials that are captioned or accompanied by transcriptions of spoken text and audio materials accompanied by transcriptions.
(7)The supplemental materials referred to in subregulation (5) shall be provided to the public or private institution of education at no additional cost and in a timely manner, upon receipt of a written request.
(8)If an institution of education provides a student with a specialized format version of an instructional material, the medium must be copy-protected or the public or private institution of education shall take other reasonable precautions to ensure that students, if they so wish, only copy or distribute specialized format versions of instructional materials in accordance with copyright laws.
(9)Nothing in this regulation is to be construed to prohibit an institution of education from assisting a student with a print access disability through the use of an electronic version of instructional material gained through this regulation or by transcribing or translating or arranging for the transcription or translation of the instructional material into specialized formats that provide persons with print access disabilities the ability to have increased independent access to instructional materials.
(10)If such specialized format referred to in subregulation (8) is made, an institution of education may share the specialized format version of the instructional material with other students with print access disabilities for whom the institution of education is authorized to request electronic versions of instructional material.
(11)A specialized format version of instructional materials developed at one institution of education may be shared for use by a student at another institution of education in Kenya.
(12)Nothing in this regulation shall be deemed to authorize any use of instructional materials that would constitute an infringement of copyright laws.

10. Sports, recreation and social integration

(1)The Government shall create conditions for equality of persons with disabilities with the other persons.
(2)The relevant Ministries shall ensure the optimum access and use of recreation, culture, sport and tourist events and services for persons with disabilities through—
(a)determining and adapting such places for persons with disabilities;
(b)providing free of charge specialized information for use of services, routes, architectural-transport and other alleviation at the places for public use, destined for recreation, culture and sport; and
(c)ensuring adapted visual and sound translation of cultural, recreation, sport and other programmes and materials for persons with impaired sight and hearing.
(3)Relevant public bodies and local authorities, the sports federations, associations and clubs shall ensure the social integration of persons with disabilities through—
(a)adapting sports facilities and bases for use in sports activities by persons with disabilities together with other persons;
(b)providing specialized sport facilities and bases to persons with disabilities;
(c)providing information about sports events for persons with disabilities promoting such events in media.
(4)Local authorities shall provide the necessary material base and the resources for the social contacts of persons with disabilities.

11. Promotion of employment of persons with disabilities

(1)Pursuant to section 13 of the Act, the Council request any employer to consider reserving at least five per cent, or such higher percentage as the employer may accept, of the employment positions of the employer, for persons with disabilities.
(2)The Council may recommend to the Cabinet Secretary responsible for matters relating to finance and subject to such conditions as the Cabinet Secretary may specify, for the Cabinet Secretary responsible for finance to prescribe tax waivers, tax credits and other privileges to be enjoyed by an employer who or which voluntarily accepts to reserve not less than five per cent of employment positions of such employer for persons with disability.
(3)The Council shall liaise with relevant public and private bodies and advise on suitable means of realizing the reservation of at least five per cent of all employment positions in the public and private sector for persons with disabilities.

12. Public service employment

(1)No public service establishment may dispense with, or reduce in rank, an employee merely on account of disability.
(2)Where an employee, after acquiring disability is not suitable for the post he or she was holding, such employee may be shifted to some other suitable post on the same pay scale and service benefits.
(3)Where it is not possible to adjust an employee against a post, such employee may be kept on a supernumerary post until a suitable post is available or he or she attains the age of superannuation, whichever is earlier.
(4)No promotion shall be denied to a person merely on the ground of his or her disability.
(5)The Council may, having regard to the type of work carried on in any establishment, by notification and subject to such conditions, if any, as may be specified in such notification, exempt any establishment from the provisions of this regulation.

13. Public service vehicles

The owners of public service vehicles shall from such date as the Cabinet Secretary may by notice in the Gazette appoint—
(a)adapt rail compartments, buses, vessels and aircrafts in such a way as to permit easy access to persons with disabilities;
(b)adapt toilets in rail compartments, vessels, aircrafts and waiting rooms in such a way as to permit wheel chair users and other persons with disabilities to use them conveniently.

14. Other road traffic facilities

The relevant Ministries, Departments of Government and local authorities shall, from such date as the Cabinet Secretary may by notice in the Gazette appoint, provide for the—
(a)installation of auditory signals at red lights in the public roads for the benefit of persons who are visually impaired;
(b)provision of kerb cuts and slopes to be made in pavements for the easy access of wheel chair users;
(c)engraving on the surface of pedestrians crossings and the edges of railway platforms for persons who are visually impaired;
(d)posting of appropriate symbols of disability;
(e)posting of warning signals and symbols at appropriate places.

15. Facilities in public buildings

The relevant Ministries, Departments of Government and the local authorities shall, from such date as the Cabinet Secretary may by notice in the Gazette, appoint, ensure—
(a)provision of suitable ramps in public buildings;
(b)adaptation of all public toilets for wheel chair users and other persons with disability;
(c)provision of Braille symbols and auditory signals in elevators or lifts;
(d)provision of ramps in hospitals, health centres and other medical care and rehabilitation institutions.

16. Television programmes

(1)Public broadcasting stations shall, from such date as the Cabinet Secretary may by notice in the Gazette appoint, incorporate sign language in their television programmes.
(2)Private broadcasting stations shall endeavour to incorporate sign language in their television programs targeting the general public including news, talk shows, documentaries, and educational programmes.

17. Newspapers and other print media

Newspapers and such other print media as the Cabinet Secretary may specify shall, from such date as the Cabinet Secretary may by notice in the Gazette, appoint, make their publications available in electronic form.

18. Telephone services

Telephone service providers shall, from such date as the Cabinet Secretary may by notice in the Gazette appoint, ensure that telephone facilities and services, where necessary, incorporate assistive aids for persons with hearing, speech and visual disabilities.
▲ To the top

History of this document

31 December 2022 this version
29 May 2009
Commenced
Read this version

Cited documents 2

Act 2
1. Traffic Act 666 citations
2. Persons with Disabilities Act 113 citations

Documents citing this one 0