Disability: Open up your pub to new business

Related tags Pub Wheelchair Disability

Licensee Sue Moore is more aware than most of how unfairly people with disabilities can be treated. Some years ago her pub employed a medical...

Licensee Sue Moore is more aware than most of how unfairly people with disabilities can be treated.

Some years ago her pub employed a medical student behind the bar. Part of his training was to spend a day in a wheelchair.

"The stories he came back with stick with you," says Sue. "People speak down to you and speak to the person pushing the chair."

Conversations with her 21-year-old nephew, who has cerebral palsy, suggests that things haven't changed much elsewhere. "He says 'why don't people talk to me - I can't use my legs but I can use my brain'," she adds.

So Moore and her team at the Calder in Accrington, Lancashire, are aware of some of the issues that people with disabilities face - which is probably the first hurdle licensees need to address if they are going to make their pubs accessible to this group.

The Calder, which is owned by the Barracuda Group, was refurbished 15 years ago and had permanent ramps installed, allowing wheelchair access. And there is plenty of space around the tables for groups of wheelchair users to sit.

The pub menu uses large print for people who are partially sighted and staff are always on hand to read out the menu for customers if requested.

The Calder also has a disabled toilet, which doubles as a baby changing area, has grab rails and is big enough to fit a motorised wheelchair.

Barred

But not all pubs are as welcoming, as Mark Cooper found. Cooper is the founder of Barred, the campaign that successfully fought to get all new Scottish pubs to say how their pub is accessible, and what facilities they have for the disabled.

He set up the campaign having once had to leave his pint and go up the road to another pub to use a disabled toilet.

"I started the campaign as a wheelchair user but I hope that the information will be helpful to people across the impairment groups," he says.

Cooper, who is the parliamentary and policy officer for the charity Capability Scotland and a CAMRA member, now hopes to bring the Barred south of the border.

Spending power

But why on earth wouldn't you want to make your pub as accessible as possible?

Government statistics show that people with disabilities have a spending power of around £80bn.

And as director at Stairlifts Scotland Lisa Barry says: "People with disabilities aren't always in work so they come into your pub when it is quiet."

She suggests that even small changes can make a big difference - such as having a bigger blackboard and writing your specials in a bolder colour. Make sure the disabled toilet is wide enough for wheelchairs and has adequate grab rails and isn't used as a storage facility.

But it's not just about having all the facilities, the way staff react to people with disabilities makes all the difference. Staff in pubs that have regulars with disabilities often have "fantastic" ways of working around the disability and being accommodating, says Barry.

"It's just using your head and delivering it in a way that's not patronising," she adds.

The legal angle

But if all that doesn't convince you, the law will. The Equality Act comes into force next month, and it aims to tighten up and clarify existing disability legislation.

The Act will make it easier for someone to claim they have been discriminated against. It will also be unlawful for an employer to ask a job applicant about their health before recruiting them. If an employer does ask and the person doesn't get the job, the employer will have to prove that they didn't discriminate due to their disability.

Licensees will need to make sure their premises are accessible to people with a wide range of impairments by making reasonable adjustments. And they need to have thought about this before a disabled person actually tries to use their pub.

But don't panic.

"A lot of it is about good customer service," says Yashoda Sutton, a spokesperson for the RNIB.

She suggests that if your menu doesn't change very often you might think about printing some in a larger font for people who are partially sighted. If this isn't possible she advises that staff be on hand to read out the menus for customers.

Making the changes

Ian Carter, a director of Equo - which publishes the Good Access Guide (www.goodaccessguide.co.uk) - says pubs need to think about what they can afford to do and what is appropriate.

Many pubs are old and old-style premises can be more difficult to make changes to, such as widening doorways. A pub that doesn't have many customers using wheelchairs might baulk at the cost of installing ramps at entrances - but they could consider buying a temporary ramp.

The Beacon in Wellington, Shropshire - also part of the Barracuda Group - was refurbished in January last year.

With accessibility in mind it got rid of as many steps inside the pub as it could and introduced sloping floors and ramps. The only area that isn't accessible by wheelchair is a small patch over the pub's cellar - the only way they could lower the floor here would be by demolishing the cellar.

"We have quite a few disabled customers," says manager John McCarthy. "We mainly serve them at the table but some people prefer to be more independent and be served at the bar."

The pub has a lowered bar area so people in wheelchairs wishing to order can be seen. Once an order is taken staff can also bring drinks over to where they are sitting if this is requested.

If the pub wasn't so welcoming McCarthy says it would "definitely be missing out - if we didn't have these things it would definitely hit sales".

Manager Judy Phillips at the Blue Ball Inn, in Devon, tells a similar story. Leased from the Punch Tavern group, the 14th century thatched pub was rebuilt three years ago after a devastating fire.

The architects ensured that the new pub had doorways wide enough for wheelchairs, a ramped entrance, and a large disabled toilet.

Being an inn, it built a twin-bedded downstairs room with wet room for wheelchair access. Lighting in the pub is an issue and while Phillips says the pub can't justify the expense of printing an alternative menu in a larger font, staff are on hand to read out the menu and the specials are written in large writing on blackboards.

But what does the future hold? Barry points out that the law is evolving and she predicts that automatic toilets might start making an appearance in large chain pubs over the next five years. She says they are already popular in Switzerland, Japan and the Middle East.

She adds that new-build properties are now being built with space left so a lift could be fitted at some later point.

Barry even speculates that track hoists - a sling system fitted to a ceiling used to lift people - could even start appearing in public buildings other than hospitals and care homes within the next 10 years.

Checklist - make sure you're making it easy

• Disability awareness training can help your staff to understand and meet the needs of all your disabled customers

• Have an accessible toilet

• Consider producing printed bar and menu information in large print or Braille

• Make sure signage is clearly visible and glass doors well marked

• Have good lighting in toilets, corridors, stairwells and car parks.

• Have information about accessibility on your website

• Think about how to make your bar and dining area and parking accessible

• Have level or ramped access to entrances

• Have a minimum door width of 80cms but beware this doesn't mean the wider door become too heavy to open easily.

Getting help to get started

Equo provides staff disability awareness training at £25 per person and offers discounts for groups. Visit: www.equo.co.uk

The RNIB c

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