The Disability Discrimination Act

What You Need to Know

A Guide for Small to Medium Businesses

Section 3 - Provision of Goods, Facilities and Services (DDA Part III)

• What does the Act say about providing Services?
• What is discrimination in the provision of Goods, Facilities and Services?
• Single and Joint Responsibility
• 'Reasonable Adjustments'
• When does the duty to make Reasonable Adjustments arise?
• What does Reasonable Adjustments mean?
• Can the cost of making Reasonable Adjustments be Reclaimed?
• Practical tips on making cost effective 'reasonable adjustments' in your service delivery

What does the Act say about providing services?

Part III of the Act is based on the principle that disabled people who use or seek to use services as customers, buyers, shoppers, consumers, clients, patrons or service users (whether those services are paid for or free) should not be discriminated against by providers of services to the public.

What is discrimination in the provision of goods, facilities and services?

• The DDA makes it unlawful for a service provider to discriminate against a disabled person (by treating him or her less favourably than a person without disability would be treated, without justification)
• by refusing to provide (or deliberately not providing) any service which it provides (or is prepared to provide) to members of the public, or
• in the standard of service which it provides to the disabled person or the manner in which it provides it, or
• in the terms on which it provides a service to the disabled person

Therefore;

A service provider should not unjustifiably:

• refuse to provide a service
• provide a service of a worse standard or in a worse manner
• provide a service on less favourable terms or a reason related to that person's impairment

Single and Joint Responsibility

There is single and joint responsibility for liability for both staff and employers.

Employers are expected to make sure staff are clear about what role they play in delivering goods and services to disabled customers.

Service providers are more likely to be able to comply with their duties if they;

• have a positive attitude/policy on inclusion that is shared throughout the organisation
• inform all staff dealing with the public that it is unlawful to discriminate against disabled people
• ensure staff understand what discrimination means, their duties under the Act, what is expected of them in their workplace and how to serve disabled customers
• have a customer complaints procedure which is easy for disabled customers to use
• ask disabled people for their views on performance and development - the duty to make reasonable adjustments is owed to all disabled people, not just individuals, so it is important to consider accessibility widely
• regularly review and respond to findings related to the accessibility of services and the effectiveness of reasonable adjustments

Reasonable Adjustments

The duty to make reasonable adjustments is the cornerstone of the DDA and requires service providers to take positive steps to make their services accessible to disabled people.

Since October 1999 Service providers have been required to:

• change practices, policies and procedures that may discriminate against disabled service users
• provide auxiliary aids and services (e.g. information in accessible formats, temporary ramps) to facilitate access to services
• provide services by other means where physical barriers make it impossible or unreasonably difficult for a disabled person to get access to services

In October 2004, significant new duties on service providers came into force.

Where a physical feature makes it impossible or unreasonably difficult for disabled persons to access your goods or services, your business is required to take reasonable steps to;

• Remove the feature; or
• Alter it so it no longer has that effect; or
• Provide a reasonable means of avoiding the feature; or
• Provide a reasonable alternative method of making the service available where otherwise it would be unreasonably difficult for a disabled person to use your service

When does the duty to make reasonable adjustments arise?

This duty does not just arise when a disabled person wants to use a service. The duty to make reasonable adjustments is both anticipatory and a continuing duty.

• Service providers must anticipate where problems will occur (for people with all types of impairment) and take proactive steps to remove these, whether or not they already have disabled customers
• In addition, it is appropriate to ask people whether they have any particular access requirements (that necessitate an adjustment to be made) when they present as actual or potential customers
• In circumstances where a service provider has not anticipated or identified a problem, a reasonable adjustment should be made as soon as the problem is highlighted
• Once adjustments are in place, there is a continuing duty to monitor and review these regularly and if necessary make further changes

The duty to make reasonable adjustments is described by the Code of Practice as a duty to "disabled people at large" - an "anticipatory" duty.

Unlike the employment section, it is not necessary to wait to make adjustments for an individual disabled person.

What does "reasonable adjustment" mean?

The Code of Practice lists a number of factors that will determine what is reasonable for a business. These are:

• Whether taking any particular measures would be effective in overcoming the difficulty that disabled people face in accessing the services in question
• The extent to which it is practicable for the service provider to take these measures
• The financial and other costs of making the adjustment
• The extent of any disruption which taking the measures would cause
• The extent of the service provider's financial and other resources.
• The amount of any resources already spent on making adjustments
• The availability of financial or other assistance

Can the Cost of Making Reasonable Adjustments be Reclaimed?

• The Act does not allow a service provider to pass on additional costs of making an adjustment to disabled customers
• If an additional service is provided to an individual customer in addition to the reasonable adjustment for all disabled customers, then an extra charge may be met.

Practical tips on making cost effective reasonable adjustments in service delivery