The Equality Act aims to eliminate discrimination in the essential aspects of life

This legislation aims to end the discrimination many disabled people face every day of their lives.

The Act (in Part 2, Chapter 1, Protected Characteristics) defines a disabled person as someone who has a physical or mental impairment that has a substantial and long-term adverse effect on his or her ability to carry out normal day-to-day activities.

The Equality Act explains the impairments to be taken into account. They include mobility, manual dexterity, speech, hearing and eyesight and severe disfigurement. Schedule 1 makes the point people with HIV, cancer and multiple sclerosis are included.

These equality regulations can be a difficult topic

The businessman focussed on successfully running his enterprise within the law can find this subject daunting. AccessOK is here to help.

INTRODUCTION TO THE EQUALITY ACT

The Equality Act (EA)

This legislation came into force on October 2010. You'll find the full text of the Act here . This Act supplanted the Disability Discrimination Act. The EA covers many types of discrimination - not only disability and age.

This Act, clarified by associated regulations, standards and advisory documents, requires service providers to make "reasonable adjustments" to physical features which make it unreasonably difficult for disabled people to use their services.

Physical features for enhancement include steps, paths, paving, parking, entrances and exits, internal and external doors, toilets, exterior facilities such as seating in a pub garden or fixed signs on a shop.