The DDA (1995) Reasonable Adjustments for Providers of Goods and Services
Introduction
The Disability Discrimination Act 1995 (DDA) provides protection against discrimination in the provision of Goods and Services.
The DDA is here to stay but there are still many providers of Goods and Services who have yet to ensure that what they offer is accessible to all Disabled People. Alison John & Associates (AJA) have prepared the following examples of ‘reasonable adjustments’ as inspiration for providers of Goods and Services in meeting the requirements of the DDA. We hope our ideas help you to keep your practice up to date.
What are reasonable adjustments ?
‘Reasonable adjustments’ describe the individual steps a service provider or employer may need to take to enable Disabled People to use a service or be employed. Part 2 of the Act describes the responsibilities of employers and Part 3 describes the responsibilities of providers of goods and services. The term ‘reasonable adjustment’ applies to both areas of the Act as a way of describing changes an employer or service provider may have to make in order to comply with the act and not behave in a discriminatory way. Below are some examples of adjustments related to providing goods or services. The list is not exhaustive and the main thing to remember is to be flexible and not to panic. Panic can lead to token and ineffective adjustments which might tick a box but won’t necessarily solve the problem.
Making Services Accessible
The Disability Discrimination Act requires that people who provide services must now be able to offer those services to Disabled People. Adjustments may need to be made, both in the way the service is provided and also possibly to any physical obstacles in the way. Most adjustments are just part of good customer service, responding to what people need. Other adjustments may require more effort of a more flexible approach.
The end result should be an equal service for all, not necessarily delivered in the same way, but equally as good. In many cases where discrimination has occurred under Part 3 of the Disability Discrimination Act, the matter has been settled out of court both in order to avoid bad publicity, but also because the service provider has been genuinely unaware of the barriers in there service.
By now, 12 years into the DDA, service providers should be aware of the barriers for Disabled People in trying to access their service. If not, they are putting themselves at risk of a hefty fine. Here are some examples of what ‘reasonable adjustments’ might be made and also what has happened to service providers who fell foul of the DDA.
Refusal to serve
The Disability Discrimination Act makes it unlawful to refuse to serve a customer based on their impairment. Unfortunately this is still happening even after 12 years of the DDA being in place. Recently a guide dog owner was refused service in a café unless he left his dog outside. The case was settled out of court but included a fine of several thousand pounds, which included compensation for his embarrassment. It also led to the company having to train their staff further in the requirements of the DDA because although the company was aware of their obligations this had not been passed on to all the staff.
Offering a lower standard of service
The Disability Discrimination Act is about equal service, therefore you cannot offer five star service to everyone else and only three star service to Disabled Customers. You may have to be flexible and deliver your service in a different way but it cannot be less favourable than you would deliver to people who do not have the protection of the act.
Offer service on worse terms
This means you cannot have different expectations or make extra demands on Disabled People. A Bank were recently approached by a couple with Learning Difficulties, who asked for a loan. They were told by the Bank Manager that, before they could have the loan, they must take the paperwork to a Solicitor to make sure they were aware of their obligations. The Bank Manager did this with the best of intentions as he was worried the couple did not fully understand the commitment. However, his expectation that they use a solicitor had a cost implication which did not apply to other people and therefore was discriminatory. This is an example of offering worse terms - at the end of the day how many of their other customers understand the small print? The bank had to pay compensation, which meant that the couple did not need the loan after all!
‘Reasonable adjustments’ will vary depending upon the following factors:
The Size of the service provider
The DDA recognises the difference between the small service provider and a large one. Therefore, a small corner shop or family run business would not be expected to make such costly adjustments as maybe Tesco or Pizza Hut. This does not mean that there would be no expectations for adjustments but the service provider’s resources would be taken into consideration. Maybe a small restaurant could not provide Braille menus, due to the cost of translations. Restaurant staff could however, offer to read the menu to Blind or visually impaired customers - this may be deemed reasonable.
The Type of service
Providing a pen and paper in a corner shop so that you can serve a Deaf customer may be acceptable. However, a large firm of solicitors or a hospital consultant may be expected to provide an interpreter to translate the information as this would be of a more personal and important nature than buying apples and onions.
If it means changing the service for others
Most of the time, adjustments which are made for Disabled People, will benefit all customers. There are things which would not be deemed reasonable to change, without it making the service different e.g. better lighting for visually impaired people in a night club would alter the ambience of the service, therefore would not be a reasonable adjustment.
However we must be mindful that there will be times when Disabled People seem to be demanding adjustments which service providers do not consider to be reasonable or feel they cannot do. If service providers can justify their reason for not making the adjustment, then it is possible they will not be require to do so. HOWEVER, the difference with the Disability Discrimination Act and other equality legislation is that the onus is on the service provider to justify why they cannot make the adjustments rather than on the Disabled Person to prove the discrimination.
There are many things which can be done to provide good customer care for Disabled People and they don’t all have to cost a lot of money. Disabled People are not asking for better than everyone else, just for equality. AJA cannot reiterate enough that it is not all about ramps, lifts and accessible toilet’s, it is about changing your mind set and thinking outside the box. We will all benefit from a more inclusive society.