Help! What should I do?

We want to hear your views on access. Take our five-minute survey on businesses and access to help us ensure we are providing the right information for you. If you have any questions you can email us at or call us on 020 3242 0410. Thank you for your help!

What sort of changes should I be considering in order to comply with the law and offer a more accessible service?

It's important to remember that the Government estimate disabled people's annual spending power at £80 billion. Offering an accessible service opens up a potentially valuable market. A more accessible service almost always benefits other customers as well - older people and parents with young children often find physical adjustments improve the quality of their service, whilst all customers can benefit from clear signs and information presentation, designed for people with visual or hearing impairments.

You may not currently have any disabled customers however the terms of the Equality Act 2010 which is the law that protects disabled people's right to goods and services, is all about anticipating the needs of disabled customers.

The type and size of your business or service will relate to your legal requirements under the Equality Act. This means that no business would be forced into financial ruin in order to pay for expensive adjustments, as this would not be considered "reasonable" - but all shops and businesses should consider how to become more accessible and make the appropriate changes both to the way they work, and to their physical accessibility. 

Adjustments are not always expensive, but can make a big difference. You should try to consider all the aspects of access, and talk to your disabled customers to find out what their needs are, but here are just a few of the steps you should consider:

1. Most importantly, make sure you talk to disabled customers to find out how you can improve access. Think about different types of disability (including, for example, physical or mobility impairments, hearing or visual impairments, learning difficulties or long-term illnesses) and how best you can make your premises accesible to all.
2. Ensure that staff are trained in working with disabled customers - many problems can be overcome simply by making staff aware of what they should and shouldn't do when serving a disabled customer. To get staff starting to learn about different disabilities, read the information on assistance dogs to your left.
3. Is there level access to your premises? If there are steps, consider investing in a permanent or portable ramp.
4. Think about the layout of the shop floor/venue to make sure there is enough  space for wheelchair users and assistance dog users to move around inside the shop, without being blocked by narrow aisles or obstructions.
5. Think about where you put your products, can people reach it if they are using a wheelchair?
6. Make sure that your check-out is accessible and that Chip and PIN terminals are moveable to be accessible for disabled customers.
7. Train your staff in Chip and PIN procedures, so they are competent in processing alternative types of card payment, such as chip and signature.
8. Make doors easy to open. Heavy doors and doors that only open one way, can be difficult for some disabled people to use. Easy access to the premises will encourage more disabled customers in.
9. If you have regular queues of customers can you add some seats for people with mobility impairments? Remeber that there should still be space for wheelchair users and assistance dog owner to get passed?
10. Plan accessibility into any future refurbishments. If you are redecorating or rebuilding any part of the premises make sure that access requirements are factored in. It will be cheaper to build them in than to have to add them later.
11. If you have a website let people know how accessible you are. Lots of buildings have good access features but they don't promote it. Many disabled people use websites to plan where to go. If people don't know somewhere is accessible they will often go somewhere else rather than risk not being able to get in.
12. Do you have information in different formats, such as large print for people with visual impairments?
13. Do you have a loop system, to help people with hearing impairments?
14. Try to ensure that changing rooms, if applicable, are accessible and well signposted. Use contrasting colours and symbols to point the way to facilities, as well as looking to fit grab rails or other features to aid access.
15. Contact the local council to ask for adaptations like a dropped kerb on the pavement outside the shop if this would help people gain access. Where possible provide disabled parking spaces.
16. Think about how customers arrive at your business. Read our outside access advice.

Theses are just a few ways that you can improve your access. Look through the access survey questions as see how your veune scores.

To ensure that you are fully accessible see the National Register of Access Consultants to find an access auditor in your area.