Make your premises and services accessible to disabled customers

The Equality Act 2010 requires anyone who provides goods, services or facilities to the public to make reasonable adjustments for disabled people. The duty is owed to disabled people generally, not only to customers who ask, so you need to think ahead about the barriers your business creates and remove them.

A person is disabled if they have a physical or mental impairment with a substantial and long-term effect on their ability to carry out normal day-to-day activities. Long-term means it has lasted, or is likely to last, at least 12 months, or for the rest of their life.

What you must adjust

The duty has three parts. Where something puts disabled people at a substantial disadvantage compared with people who are not disabled, you must take reasonable steps to:

• change a policy, rule or practice, such as a no-dogs rule that would turn away assistance dogs
• remove or alter a physical feature, give a reasonable way of avoiding it, or provide the service another reasonable way, such as serving a customer at the door
• provide an auxiliary aid or service, such as a portable hearing loop or a reader

Where the barrier is information, a reasonable step includes giving it in an accessible format. You cannot ask a disabled person to pay any of the cost of an adjustment. You do not have to take a step that would fundamentally change the nature of your service or your trade.

Make your premises easier to use

The duty applies to existing premises, whatever their age. Typical adjustments include a ramp or level access, wider doors, handrails, clear routes between aisles or tables, a lowered section of the counter, seating for people who cannot stand for long, good lighting and signs with strong colour contrast. If a costly change is needed, consider whether phasing the work, or another way of providing the service, would be reasonable in the meantime.

New buildings, extensions and material alterations must also meet building regulations on access to and use of buildings, which your building control body checks.

Communicate in ways people can use

Offer information in other formats when people need them, such as large print, braille, audio, Easy Read or a screen-reader friendly document. For people with hearing loss, offer written summaries, a hearing loop or a British Sign Language interpreter for important appointments. Make sure booking and payment work for people who cannot use a phone or a keypad.

Train customer-facing staff to know what adjustments you offer, how to respond to a request, and to speak directly to the disabled person rather than to their companion.

Check your premises and service

An access audit looks at routes, entrances, doors, stairs and lifts, toilets, parking, seating and counters, lighting, acoustics and signs, and how you give information, take bookings, handle complaints and evacuate people in an emergency. You can train a member of staff to carry one out, ask disabled people to test your premises and service, or hire an access consultant.

If a customer complains

A disabled customer who thinks you failed to make a reasonable adjustment can bring a discrimination claim in the civil courts, normally within 6 months of what happened. There is no upper limit on compensation, and the court can also make orders. The Equality and Human Rights Commission can investigate and take enforcement action.