Reasonable Adjustments

We are asked to make reasonable adjustments, but what exactly are they?

Reasonable adjustments are alterations to policies, procedures, practices or premises that enable a variety of disabled people to access your goods or services where they would otherwise be unable to do so or would find it unreasonably difficult. The adjustment has to be available when required and be effective. In addition the adjustment must be reasonable for the business to undertake, taking into consideration items such as capital cost, disruption whilst implementing, effect on the businesses operation and ongoing maintenance.

Many adjustments are simple and effective, the following are examples you should consider:

Ensuring your web site and promotional material are accessible, or if that is impractical, then ensuring that alternative provision is made such as providing it in large print etc.

Entrances should be obvious, contrasting from their surroundings so that customers may find it easily, this has benefits for many customers, not only those who are disabled. However, it may not be possible say for a listed building, in which case you will need to be more imaginative, like referring to a feature opposite or a prominent planted feature.

Inside you should be able to communicate with all guests, so provision of an induction loop to help hearing aid wearers is something worth considering, also ensure that the faces of staff are lit making it easier for people who lip-read.

When determining what reasonable adjustments to make think of each service or facility in turn and consider if everyone can:

Think about this from the perspective of people with:

Can you do anything to make the use of your facilities easier and more enjoyable?

Best Practice

We wish to highlight best practice in the hospitality industry and are happy to include any examples of good practice on these pages.

Marketing
Accor participated in the 2003 Mobility Roadshow, taking advantage of an opportunity to market their brand to a captive audience of active disabled people.

Training
Four hotel chains came together in an unprecedented move to fund development of a disability awareness training CD. The forward thinking groups, Accor, Jarvis, Moat House and Millennium & Copthorne, are now in the process of providing cost effective training to all of their staff.

Access Audits
Hand Picked Hotels have audited all of their properties, and are ensuring that access is built in where ever practical in their major refurbishment and development programmes.

Training
The Royal Society for the Arts runs an annual staff training program, to encourage staff to consider the needs of people with a variety of disabilities. This gives staff an opportunity to ask questions in a low threat environment, and gives them the confidence to know that they ~can help disabled people appropriately.

Bad Practice

We highlight common mistakes and really bad blunders where disabled people generally, or an individual disabled person, has been disadvantaged as a result of their disability.

There are a number of businesses who go to the expense of providing accessible WCs, yet make them difficult or impossible to use. In a recent case where the key was temporarily unavailable, it cost the business £500. In another case the key was unavailable on a number of visits and no improvement was made. That cost them £5000.

Would you go to a venue where you had to ask to go to the loo, and then not know how long you would have to wait?

People with Assistance Dogs, and wheelchair users are still regularly refused service in restaurants where they are given a variety of excuses from lack of space to health and safety. None of these excuses are reasonable and compensation of about £1000 per case is currently being awarded.

Many businesses are making changes, but few are telling people about them. If you understate your level of accessibility it may be tantamount to refusal to serve which would contravene the DDA.

For further information on reasonable adjustments and how to determine where you should make them, consider our Accessible Solutions Manual and Self Audit Toolkit or our Consultancy Services.