TIP 18

By When Must A Website Be Accessible In The UK?

The Disability Discrimination Act 1995 - (the DDA), was introduced with the intention of comprehensively tackling the discrimination which many disabled people face.

You now have a legal obligation - following the implementation of section 21 of the Disability Discrimination Act (1999) - to make reasonable adjustments to ensure blind and partially sighted people can access your service. RNIB, 2005

The part of the DDA that states website owners have a responsibility to make reasonable adjustments to make a website 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 website owners have had a legal obligation to make reasonable adjustments to make a website accessible... if approached.

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