Library
Disability and incapacity
The same words mean different tests. Everyday talk, medical models, employment law, compensation schemes, and income-protection policies do not share a definition. Income protection usually assesses treated performance of material duties. Discrimination statutes often look at the unmitigated baseline. Mixing those axes is a trap.
33 contexts · Disability · Incapacity · Mitigated-state trap · Capacity ≠ performance
How the word is used
Disability
General / Dictionary
A physical/mental condition limiting activities; lack of ability; a handicap preventing normal life or work.
disabilityDisablement
General / Dictionary
The state or process of being disabled; the act of making a person or device inoperative.
disabilityDisability
Medical Model
A biological defect, pathology, or bodily system failure requiring treatment/cure.
disabilityDisablement
Medical Model
The pathological outcome of injury/disease.
disabilityDisability
Social Model
Disadvantage imposed by societal barriers excluding people with impairments.
disabilityDisablement
Social Model
The active process of being marginalized by societal structures.
disability · comparativeDisability
Biopsychosocial (WHO-ICF)
Umbrella term for impairments, activity limitations, and participation restrictions.
disabilityDisability
Conceptual / Academic
(See Biopsychosocial and Social model entries above)
disabilityDisablement
Conceptual / Academic
A metric of functional capacity loss; the process of exclusion.
incapacityIncapacity
General / Dictionary
The state of lacking the physical, mental, or legal ability to do something.
incapacityIncapacity
Medical Model
Functional inability to perform physical or cognitive tasks due to illness, injury, or impairment.
incapacityIncapacity
Conceptual / Academic
A broad umbrella concept spanning medical, legal, and functional inability, contrasted with "disability" (often more status/rights-based) and "incapacitation" (…
Income protection and insured disability
Disability
Insurance - South Africa (Income Protection / ASISA)
Inability to perform the material and substantial duties of one's own occupation (or, later, any occupation for which reasonably suited), triggering income-repl…
disability · ZADisability
Insurance - South Africa (Retirement Funds)
Physical or mental incapacity of a member which is likely to prevent them from following their normal occupation (or a comparable one) for a period exceeding a …
disabilityDisability
Insurance (general/international)
Inability to work, triggering income-replacement benefits.
disabilityDisablement
Insurance (general/international)
The specific event/claim triggering a payout.
incapacityIncapacity for Work
Insurance (general/international - Income Protection)
The insured's inability, due to illness or injury, to perform the material and substantial duties of their occupation (or, later in a claim, any occupation), tr…
Workplace incapacity and equity
Disability
Legal - South Africa (Employment Equity Act 55 of 1998)
Long-term or recurring physical or mental impairment that substantially limits prospects of entry into, or advancement in, employment.
disability · ZADisablement
Legal - South Africa (Employment Equity Act 55 of 1998)
(Not a separately defined statutory term; "disability" is the operative term)
incapacity · ZAIncapacity
Employment - South Africa (LRA Schedule 8: Incapacity - Ill Health or Injury)
Inability of an employee to perform their duties due to ill health or injury, which may (if the incapacity is permanent and no reasonable accommodation is possi…
incapacity · ZAIncapacity
Employment - South Africa (LRA Schedule 8: Incapacity - Poor Work Performance)
Inability of an employee to meet the required performance standard, distinct from ill health, which may justify dismissal if fair procedure (setting standards, …
Occupational injury schemes
Disability / Disablement
Compensation - South Africa (COIDA)
Permanent or temporary reduction in earning capacity resulting from an occupational injury or disease.
incapacity · ZATemporary/Permanent Incapacity
Workers' Compensation - South Africa (COIDA)
Inability to work resulting from an occupational injury or disease, compensated under COIDA as temporary total, temporary partial, or permanent disablement.
Statute and rights instruments
Disability
Legal - USA (ADA)
Impairment substantially limiting one or more major life activities; or a record of, or being regarded as having, such an impairment.
disability · comparativeDisability
Legal - UK (Equality Act 2010)
Physical/mental impairment with a substantial, long-term negative effect on normal daily activities.
disability · comparativeDisablement
Legal - UK (Equality Act 2010)
(Police/employment law) Being blind, deaf, or permanently handicapped.
disability · comparativeDisability
Legal - UN (CRPD)
Long-term impairments interacting with barriers that hinder full/equal participation.
disability · comparativeDisablement
Legal - UN (CRPD)
(Not used)
disability · comparativeDisability
Social Security (US - SSA)
Inability to engage in "Substantial Gainful Activity" (SGA) due to a medically determinable impairment.
disability · comparativeDisablement
Social Security (US - SSA)
(Not a separate term)