Access and facilities for disabled people

Provide extra aids or services so disabled people can access your goods or services

An extra aid is a piece of equipment or technology. Extra aids are not limited to communication - you might provide a portable ramp to make sure customers with mobility impairments can access your premises.

An extra service means providing assistance to help a disabled person to use your goods or services.

Examples of extra services include:

• training a member of staff in sign language so that they are able to communicate with customers who are hearing impaired
• helping a customer in a wheelchair to access goods

When considering what extra aids or services are required, you will need to take into account that different people will have different requirements. Some people, for example, may have both speech and hearing disabilities.

You should take "reasonable steps" to provide extra aids and services. What is regarded as a "reasonable step" for one business may be different for another. Whether the aids and services you provide are judged as reasonable will depend on:

• the size of your business
• the resources available to your business
• the cost of providing the extra aid or service

You may be required to make permanent alterations to your premises to put in place extra aids or services to accomodate disabled people.

Businesses in England, Wales and Scotland can read information on access for disabled people on the Disability Rights Commission website.

Read about the Northern Ireland disablement advisory service on the Department for Employment and Learning Northern Ireland website.

Subjects covered in this guide

• Introduction
• When a person is considered disabled
• Change practices to give disabled people equal access
• Provide extra aids or services so disabled people can access your goods or services
• Overcome physical barriers to access
• Improve access to and use of your facilities for disabled employees
• What to consider before making an adjustment for disabled employees
• Make significant changes to your premises
• Make significant changes to premises you rent
• Here's how ensuring accessibility for staff and customers has helped our business

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