You should anticipate the needs of disabled people and the adjustments that may have to be made.

Chubb can design, install and maintain access control systems in compliance with the Disability Discrimination Act. 

One in four of your customers is likely to be disabled or close to someone who is.

From October 2004 the Disbility Discrimination Act requires that service providers should make reasonable adjustments to physical features to ensure goods and servcies are accessible to disabled or physically challenged people.

CLICK HERE TO OPEN OUR 'GUIDE TO THE DISABILITY DISCRIMINATION ACT - access control' (82KB)

dda - reasonable adjustments

What is a 'Physical Feature'?

The majority of the duties placed upon you by Part III of the Disability Discrimination Act 1995 looks at the physical features of your building, such as:

• Ramps / Stairways
• Counters / Service Desks
• Entrances / Exits
• Internal / External doors
• Floor Layouts
• Toilet Facilities
• Telephones
• Escalators / Lifts
• Printed Materials
• Fire & Safety provision

What are 'Reasonable Adjustments'?

Whilst the policy asks you to make reasonable adjustments, it does not actually list what these are. It would certainly depend on the size and resource of the service provider, the financial cost of making the adjustments and just how practical it is to make these changes. A DDA risk assessor can do a full access audit and advise you on what you may need to change, but it is down to you as a responsible company to determine what is considered a reasonable adjustment.

This may mean removing, altering or providing a reasonable means of avoiding any physical features of a building which make access impossible or unreasonably difficult for disabled people. Examples include:

• putting in a ramp to replace steps
• replacing access control turnstiles with infra-red barriers
• improving access to toilet or washing facilities

Why should I make 'Reasonable Adjustments'?

Part III of the Disability Discrimination Act 1995 applies to those providing "free or paid-for" goods, facilities or services to the public. It is unlawful for you to treat disabled people less favourably for a reason related to their disability and a disabled person can make a claim against a provider whose services are impossible or unreasonably difficult for him or her to access.

There are more than 8.5 million disabled people in the UK, all requiring goods and services. Satisfying their needs in terms of complying with the Disability Discrimination Act, should make commercial sense to any provider of goods and services.

When should I make 'Reasonable Adjustments'?

The duties have been introduced in three stages:

• since 2nd December 1996 it has been unlawful for you to treat disabled people less favourably for a reason related to their disability
• since 1st October 1999 you have had to make "reasonable adjustments" for disabled people, such as providing extra help or making changes to the way you deliver services
• from 1st October 2004 you may have to make other "reasonable adjustments" to the physical features of your premises to overcome barriers to access

Where can I find further advice and support?

More information is contained in a Code of Practice available from the Disability Rights Commission website at www.drcgb.org.

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