What is Equality Act 2010?

The Equality Act 2010 consolidates and expands existing equality legislation to create a more cohesive and user-friendly framework for promoting fairness in society. While your obligations as a provider of goods, facilities, or services in voluntary and community sector mostly stay the same, there are a changes that you should be mindful of.

Response to the Equality Act

Businesses must take steps to modify their services, policies, and facilities to better accommodate individuals with disabilities. This includes making necessary adjustments to procedures, physical spaces, and providing additional tools and support to ensure equal access. Examples of such modifications include revising policies, renovating buildings to improve accessibility, and offering alternative formats for information, assistive technology, and extra staff assistance to facilitate the use of their services.

If a service is provided from a location that cannot be adapted to be accessible, it may be necessary to offer the service at an alternative location, such as the customer’s own home, in order to ensure equal access.

Reasonable modifications are necessary to ensure that disabled customers or potential customers/clients are not put at a significant disadvantage in comparison to non-disabled individuals. A significant disadvantage refers to more than a minor inconvenience. Service providers are not allowed to impose charges on disabled customers for these reasonable modifications.