Raising Quality

Accessibility: Your Business and the DDA

In this topic:

• Your Business and the DDA
• Becoming Compliant

The law

The Disability Discrimination Act 1995 (amended 2005) makes it unlawful for you to discriminate against customers with disabilities. You cannot refuse to provide goods or services or offer them on different terms on the basis of their disability (except, as with any customer, where this might be dangerous or prevent you from offering products and services to the widest audience). You must also make reasonable adjustments to your website, premises, working practices, products and services to make them as accessible as possible for people with disabilities of all kinds. There is no legal definition of 'reasonable adjustments' but it is taken to be what is useful, practical and within your financial grasp.

It also requires that you do not discriminate against members, or potential members, of staff either directly or indirectly (see Discrimination: Employment).

What is a 'disabled person'?

The law defines a person with a disability as 'anyone with a physical or mental impairment which has a substantial and long-term adverse effect upon their ability to carry out normal day-to-day activities'.

This includes physical and sensory impairments and 'hidden' impairments such as mental health issues, learning difficulties and conditions such as diabetes and epilepsy. The Act also specifically covers anyone with Aids, cancer or multiple sclerosis. Click here for examples of different disabilities and the potential difficulties customers may have.

Increased access to customers

As well as your legal obligation, there are genuine commercial reasons for becoming more accessible. These facts come from the Tourism for All website:

• It is estimated that there are 8.5 million people in the UK with a disability and each year they spend £40 billion pounds on goods and services.
• 2.5 million disabled people take regular trips, but many other people with disabilities don't take trips at all because the facilities aren't there. It is estimated that only 2% of accommodation has been assessed as being accessible.
• 6 million people in the UK are carers, 3 in 5 express a wish to take more holidays either alone, as respite, or with the person they care for.
• By 2009, it is estimated that there will be 2 million more people over 60 in the UK than there are today. As people become older they benefit from many of the adjustments made to suit customers with disabilities.
• Many people in these groups are not tied to school holidays - they can help bridge the seasonal gap for many businesses.

The moral perspective

Aside from the legal and commercial incentives, there is also the moral perspective. If you lived with a disability or a debilitating illness that affected your every day life and your ability to undertake normal, day to day activities, would you also want to be discriminated against, denied access to goods and services, be patronised, ignored or humiliated, or find it difficult to get a job or a promotion? People with disabilities are often quoted as saying that it isn't the disability that holds them back, it's the attitudes of society.

Your obligations

Under the DDA you are required to make your business as accessible as possible to customers (and also staff and suppliers) by making reasonable adjustments and training staff. Don't forget this must also include your website and also any services you offer via phone and mail. As with all customers, how you treat them has a huge impact on their experience. Understanding good customer service for disabled customers and training staff for different needs and circumstances goes a long way to making your business more accessible. There are lots of training courses and training materials that you can use in-house.
Achieving high levels of accessibility requires a methodical, thoughtful approach:

• Gather information
• Think about the needs of people with disabilities
• Plan reasonable adjustments and train staff
• Write an accessibility statement (so people with disabilities get an honest idea of how suitable your business is for their needs)

Next step:

• Becoming Compliant