The Disability Discrimination Act and you

The Disability Discrimination Act applies to all employers and everyone who provides a service to the public, except the Armed Forces.

It is a law designed to end discrimination against disabled people. It also meets the needs of small to medium sized businesses because it is flexible enough to take account of your business's individual circumstances.

The Disability Discrimination Act 2005 builds on and extends earlier disability discrimination legislation, principally the Disability Discrimination Act 1995. The changes are important and you should check how the Disability Discrimination Act 1995 affects you.

Under the Disability Discrimination Act, small to medium sized businesses have to make reasonable adjustments so they do not discriminate against disabled customers or employees.

The law has been designed so that you only have to make reasonable changes, but if you fail to do what is reasonable, a disabled person could take legal action against you for treating them unfairly.

Is your website accessible?

It is a legal requirement to ensure your website is accessible if you provide products or services online. An accessible website can also improve your overall business, making it more usable for your existing and new customers, as well as those with specific access needs.

For example: resizable text, descriptions for images, clear and logical layout.
This will help people who have a variety of impairments and also those using older technologies.

Find out more about web accessibility from the Web Accessibility Initiative (WAI) site.

This article has been reproducted in part from Department for Work and Pensions (Crown copyright)