Making Access to Goods and Services Easier for Disaled Customers文档.doc

Making access to goods and services easier for disabled customers A practical guide for small businesses and other small service providers The Disability Rights Commission The Disability Rights Commission (DRC) is an independent body, established by Act of Parliament to eliminate the discrimination faced by disabled people and promote equality of opportunity. When disabled people participate – as citizens, students, customers and employees – everyone benefits. So we have set ourselves the goal of ‘a society where all disabled people can participate fully as equal citizens’. We work with disabled people and their organisations, the business community, Government, public sector agencies and the education sector to achieve practical solutions that are effective for employers, service providers, education providers and disabled people alike. There are about 10 million disabled people in Britain – one in five of the population. This includes people with epilepsy, cancer, schizophrenia, Down’s syndrome and many other types of impairment. Under the Disability Discrimination Act 1995, legal rights and obligations affecting disabled people’s access to services, employment and education are in force. The DDA was amended in 2002 to include education, some duties came into force in September 2002, some in September 2003 and some will come into force in September 2005. Many people are still not aware that they have many new rights. In addition education providers, employers and service providers are often unsure how to implement ‘best practice’ to make it easier for disabled people to use their services or gain employment. The DRC has offices in England, Scotland and Wales. For further details of how we can help you, please contact our Helpline – contact details are given on the back cover of this publication. Contents Foreword 2 Introduction 3 About this guide 4 How the Disability Discrimination Act affects you 5 Disabled customers 8 Meeting the needs of your disabled customer