Understanding the law

We believe that all service providers should adopt best practice towards their customers, as set our in our Agenda on customers.

However, the Equality Act offers legal protection to disabled people by prohibiting discrimination by anyone who provides goods, facilities or services to members of the public whether paid for or free.

Equality Act and customers

It is against the law to discriminate against a disabled person, without legal justification by:

• refusing to serve them.
• providing a worse standard or service.
• providing a service to a disabled person on worse terms.

It is not against the law to treat a disabled person less favourably or differently because of their disability if:

• the health and safety of the disabled person or other people would be endangered.
• the disabled person cannot give informed consent or agree to the terms of the service because of their disability.
• providing the service to the disabled customer would mean that the service provider could not serve other members of the public at all.
• any extra charge for a service reflects the greater cost of providing that service because of the person's disability. However, the service provider cannot charge a disabled customer more to cover the cost of complying with their legal duty to make their service accessible.

Service providers must also make reasonable adjustments to the way in which their services are provided if disabled customers find it unreasonably difficult or impossible to use their services. They must consider:

• providing equipment or other aids which make it easier for disabled people to use their service, if it is reasonable to do so.
• changing any policies or practices which make it impossible or unreasonably difficult to use the service, providing other ways of letting disabled people use their services, if it is reasonable to do so.
• altering, removing, or finding means of avoiding physical features of their premises where this is needed to provide reasonable access to disabled people.