Web Access Centre

UK Law

Summary: The legal case for accessible websites.

• When must a site be accessible by?
• What are the October 2004 changes to the DDA?
• What are the obligations in the DDA?
• How does it apply to websites?
• What is meant by “reasonable adjustments”?
• What happens if my website does not comply?
• What level of compliance should I be achieving?
• What about websites used in education?
• Laws and standards

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When must a site be accessible by?

The Disability Discrimination Act 1995 - Word (the DDA), was introduced with the intention of comprehensively tackling the discrimination which many disabled people face. The part of the DDA that states websites must be made accessible came into force on 1 October 1999 and the Code of Practice for this section of the Act was published on 27 May 2002.

What are the October 2004 changes to the DDA?

The DDA changes that came into effect on October 1 2004 are as follows:

• small employer exemption removed. All employers are now legally obliged to make all their services accessible including websites, intranets and extranets accessible
• police and fire services are now also legally obliged to make their websites, intranets and extranets accessible. Previously they were exempt. The only area of employment still specifically excluded is the armed forces.
• service providers will have to make physical adjustments to their premises where these features make it impossible or unreasonably difficult for disabled people to use the service they provide.

• Note that since 1999 websites have had a legal obligation to be accessible.

What are the obligations in the DDA?

Broadly speaking, the DDA makes it unlawful to discriminate against disabled people in the way in which you recruit and employ people; provide services; or provide education. Discrimination can take place in two ways - by treating a disabled person less favourably; and/or by failing to make "reasonable adjustments" so that disabled people can participate in employment and education or make use of a service.

How does it apply to websites?

Websites may be covered under the employment provisions, as they may be a means of advertising jobs; or there may be an intranet which staff need to use. Websites will most commonly be covered when they constitute the provision of a service, or they are related to education.

The Code of Practice cites an airline website as an example to define a service online. Taken from the Code of Practice 2.13 - 2.17 (p11-13):

“What services are affected by the Act? An airline company provides a flight reservation and booking service to the public on its website. This is a provision of a service and is subject to the act.”

What is meant by “reasonable adjustments”?

Steps that should be taken to make reasonable adjustments include changing:

• a practice, policy or procedure which makes it impossible or unreasonably difficult for a disabled person to use a service;
• any physical features which make it impossible or unreasonably difficult for a disabled person to use a service.

Reasonable steps must also be taken to provide:

• “auxiliary aids and services " (an example of which would be an accessible website) where these would enable or facilitate the use of a service.

These changes have been required since October 1999. Note that "reasonable" is not defined in the Act, but the Code of Practice does give some guidance on this, and indicates that it will depend upon:

• the type of service provided
• the type of organisation you are and resources available
• the impact on the disabled person

What happens if my website does not comply?

A disabled person can make a claim against you if your website makes it impossible or unreasonably difficult to access information and services. If you have not made reasonable adjustments and cannot show that this failure is justified, then you may be liable under the Act, and may have to pay compensation and be ordered by a court to change your site.

A useful reference is the case brought against the Sydney Olympics Committee in Australia in 2000. This resulted in a landmark decision against the website owners, requiring them to pay $20,000 Australian dollars.

“This response, I am satisfied, was very hurtful for him; the suggestion that he enlist the aid of a sighted person to assist him was wholly inconsistent with his own expectations and what he himself, unaided, had been able to achieve, both at university level and in business, in spite of his disability. To dismiss him and to continue to be dismissive of him was not only hurtful, he was also made to feel, I am satisfied, various emotions including those of anger and rejection by a significant statutory agent within the community of which he himself was a part.” Judge Hon. William Carter QC ²

Find out more about the Sydney Olympics failure

What level of compliance should I be achieving?

No case has been brought to court in the United Kingdom to date, so there is no case law guidance. In any event, case law can only provide broad guidance - what websites have to do may vary from site to site. What is important, however, is the outcome: the DDA requires that you make what it refers to as “reasonable adjustments”, to your services to ensure that a person with a disability can access that service. This means making changes to websites - which offer 24 hour service, and a variety of features not available via, for example, a telephone service - so that disabled people can use them.

At RNIB, as outlined in our “See it Right” website accessibility requirements, we recommend that websites exceed the basic level of compliance that the World Wide Web Consortium (W3C) recommend in their Website Content Accessibility Guidelines (WAG) version 1.0 and aim for Double AA compliance. If you are a UK government website you should be aiming to achieve Double AA.

What about websites used in education?

The Special Educational Needs and Disability Act 2001 (SENDA) establishes legal rights for disabled students in pre- and post-16 education by amending the DDA to include education. The Act ensures that disabled students are not discriminated against in education, training and any services provided wholly or mainly for students. This includes courses provided by further and higher education institutions and sixth form colleges.

It is unlawful to treat a student "less favourably" for reasons due to disability. If an individual is at a “substantial disadvantage” due to the way in which a body provides its educational services, responsible bodies are required to take reasonable steps to prevent that disadvantage. This may include:

• changes to policies and practices (these are the only changes required in pre-16 education)
• changes to course requirements or work placements
• changes to the physical features of a building
• the provision of interpreters or other support workers
• the delivery of courses in alternative ways
• the provision of material in other formats

The application of the law will depend on the size and resources of the educational institution, nature of services and the impact it has on the disabled person.

This content is not an authoritative statement of the law and the information is not a substitute for obtaining legal advice. Whilst we have made every effort to ensure that the information we have provided is correct, we cannot accept any responsibility or liability for any errors or omissions.

Laws and standards

• The Web Accessibility Initiative
• UK law
• The Disability Discrimination Act
• Business benefits
• The ethical case

For Web Access Centre updates email webaccess@rnib.org.uk

Content author: webaccess@rnib.org.uk

Last updated: 13/03/2008 13:42