Don't be court out

The deadline is looming to comply with the Disability Discrimination Act.

Licensees who do nothing to ensure they meet the requirements of the Disability Discrimination Act (DDA) before October 1 could face court action. That was the stark warning at a conference on disability held by APS Chartered Surveyors in London earlier this month. After APS talked to a range of disabled focus groups the message was very strong - disability campaigners will target properties which fail to provide facilities for disabled customers by taking legal action.

Julia Pendlebury, business development manager at APS, told delegates: "They are probably going to target the big boys first. We know that the action groups feel motivated by October 1. We think there will be a rash of court cases.

"You must anticipate and think ahead."

This view was backed up by Jenny White, commissioner at the Disability Rights Commission (DRC), who warned that "doing nothing is not an option unless you want to go to court".

While this may seem like scaremongering to licensees who already face an increase in red tape it is a serious issue facing those in the trade. With approximately 60,000 pubs in the UK there are a lot of licensees who need to act quickly to ensure they are complying with the new legislation.

The DDA applies to anyone providing goods, facilities and services to the public. Pubs will be required to adapt their premises by removing physical barriers or providing services in an alternative way to disabled customers. This may include anything from improving toilet facilities, lowering the height of the bar, putting in ramps for wheelchair users or introducing larger print menus for the visually impaired.

Licensees will need to anticipate physical barriers and remove them, alter them, provide a reasonable means of avoiding them or provide a reasonable method of making the service in question available to the disabled person. The Act covers far more than just ramps and lifts - it also includes colour contrasting, lighting, signage, access and internal procedures to name a few.

Licensees will need to review their buildings and procedures to work towards an "inclusive environment". According to the DDA, disability is anyone with "a physical or mental impairment which has substantial or long-term adverse effect on a person's ability to carry out day-to-day activities". Pubs need to provide a service to these people. This may seem like a huge task. According to APS property owners or tenants need to make sure they have audited their premises to ensure they are compliant with the new law.

However, a struggling licensee is not expected to spend thousands of pounds immediately making impractical adjustments to premises, beyond their financial capability. It is perfectly acceptable, argues the chartered surveyors, for businesses to put together a plan on how they are going to make the premises more accessible over the next few years.

Jenny White from the DRC said: "It's a balance between the cost of making an adjustment and your resources. You are not expected to do everything at once but you have to prioritise. It is important to leave an audit trail."

• The Disability Rights Commission​
  Go to www.drc-gb.org/open4all
• Centre for Accessible Environments​
  Go to www.cae.org.uk
• English Heritage​
  Go to www.english-heritage.org.uk
• Royal Institute for the Blind​
  Go to www.rnib.org.uk
• APS Chartered Surveyors​
  Go to www.ddadeadline.com

Disability checklist​

• Act now and establish implications for the DDA for your business
• Plan for the October deadline
• Get started and create a paper trail
• Kick-start your policy by identifying your problems with access audits
• Liaise with disabled user/action groups
• Increase staff awareness and provide training
• Consult professional DDA consultants
• Companies need to prepare a corporate policy and procedures
• Ensure your practices are monitored on an on-going basis and act upon the feedback.

Source: APS Chartered Surveyors​

Bogus companies​

Companies that charge for unnecessary advice about the new Disability Discrimination Act have been preying on licensees.

At the end of last year unaccredited access companies were cold-calling publicans to offer their services.

They were then carrying out expensive audits to see if any changes need to be made to the pub to comply with the new regulations.

Licensees must only use companies accredited by the National Register of Access Consultants (NRAC).

Go to www.nrac.org.uk to see a list of accredited companies or contact the DRC on 08457 622 633 to find out about your obligations.

Case Study: How a nightclub prevented access to a disabled toilet​

Summary: ​

A client with spina bifida and arthritis. She visited the defendant's nightclub in autumn 2000, and during the course of the evening tried to access the disabled toilet. The first time she obtained a key she had to prove she was disabled, which she did by waving her sticks at the member of staff with the key. She continued to ask numerous members of staff without success and her friend later found the key. The delay was around half an hour that caused the client significant inconvenience.

Interest:​ The duty to make reasonable adjustments includes the requirement for service providers to ensure that disabled people can access the adjustment they make without difficulty.

Otherwise, the consequences could constitute unlawful disability discrimination, in the case of adversely affecting the client's dignity.

Outcome:​ The case settled a few days before the hearing. The settlement terms included the defendant paying financial compensation to injury for feelings. The defendant has also agreed to look at the provision of facilities for disabled people at their nightclubs throughout the country to endure they meet the requirements of the DDA.

Source: Disability Rights Commision​