Reasonable adjustments
Service providers must take reasonable steps to remove, alter or provide alternatives where a provision, criterion or practice puts disabled people at a substantial disadvantage. Anticipatory duty — not reactive.
Equality Act 2010
United Kingdom · Public & Private
What is the Equality Act 2010?
The Equality Act 2010 is the UK’s consolidated anti-discrimination law. It requires ‘reasonable adjustments’ for disabled people — including in how websites, apps and digital documents are built. For the public sector, PSBAR 2018 bolts a WCAG 2.2 AA requirement on top.
Enacted
8 April 2010
Enforced by
EHRC & GDS / CDDO
Public-sector target
WCAG 2.2 Level AA
Public Sector Bodies Regs
SI 2018/952
The Equality Act 2010 consolidated decades of UK anti-discrimination law into a single statute. Section 20 imposes a positive duty on service providers to make reasonable adjustments where a provision, criterion or practice puts disabled people at a substantial disadvantage. An inaccessible website is precisely such a disadvantage.
Enforcement runs through the Equality and Human Rights Commission (EHRC) for strategic cases and through the County Court (England & Wales) or Sheriff Court (Scotland) for individual claims. Damages for injury to feelings are available and there is no statutory cap.
For the UK public sector, technical obligations are locked in by the Public Sector Bodies (Websites and Mobile Applications) Accessibility Regulations 2018 (SI 2018/952). Every public-sector website and mobile app must meet the accessibility standard set out in the implementing EN standard — currently EN 301 549 v3.2.1, which in turn requires WCAG 2.2 Level AA.
The regulations also mandate a published accessibility statement, a procedure for users to request accessible formats, and escalation to the Cabinet Office Central Digital and Data Office (CDDO) as the monitoring body, and ultimately the Equality and Human Rights Commission as the enforcement body.
Scope
Who must comply?
The Equality Act covers essentially all service providers to the public. PSBAR 2018 stacks additional technical duties on the public sector, and procurement rules pull suppliers in through contract.
Private-sector service providers. All businesses offering goods, services or facilities to the public — e-commerce, banks, insurers, airlines, hotels, telecoms, media, SaaS. No employee-count threshold. Equality Act s. 29 applies.
Public-sector bodies. Central government departments, non-departmental public bodies, local authorities, NHS trusts, police, fire and rescue, schools and universities. All covered by PSBAR 2018 unless specifically exempt.
Public-sector exemptions. Narrow: pre-recorded media pre-2020, live media, archived content no longer updated, third-party content not under the body’s control, and intranets/extranets last updated before 23 September 2019. No general “disproportionate burden” opt-out — burden must be assessed and documented.
Employers. Parts 5 and 6 of the Act impose reasonable-adjustment duties on employers. Internal systems, intranets and staff-facing apps must be accessible to disabled employees and applicants.
Education. Schools, colleges and universities have duties under the Equality Act (Part 6) and, for public-sector institutions, under PSBAR 2018. Learning platforms, exam systems and course materials are caught.
Key requirements
What the Equality Act and PSBAR 2018 require
The Equality Act sets the principle (reasonable adjustment, no discrimination). PSBAR 2018 sets the technical detail for the public sector. GDS and CDDO publish operational guidance.
Services and public functions
It is unlawful to discriminate against, harass or victimise a person requiring a service. Digital services are ‘services’ — settled by EHRC guidance and consistent with similar international case law.
Accessibility requirement
Public-sector bodies must ensure their websites and mobile apps are perceivable, operable, understandable and robust. This is the POUR formulation imported from WCAG.
Accessibility statement
Must publish a detailed accessibility statement: the standard met, non-compliant content, reasons, alternatives, feedback contact, escalation route. Required format in CDDO model statement.
Feedback and requests
Public bodies must provide a mechanism by which users can request accessible format alternatives and respond within a reasonable timeframe — typically interpreted as within 15 working days for practical requests.
Implementing standard
The accessibility requirement is met by conforming to EN 301 549 (currently v3.2.1), which incorporates WCAG 2.2 Level AA. EN 301 549 is updated by harmonisation, not by UK statute.
GDS Service Standard point 5
Make sure everyone can use the service — including disabled people. Must meet WCAG 2.2 AA. Mandatory for all services crossing the Service Standard assessment.
Public Sector Equality Duty
Equality Act s. 149: public bodies must have due regard to eliminating discrimination, advancing equality of opportunity and fostering good relations. Digital accessibility is a recognised PSED concern.
Public procurement
Awarded contracts covering ICT must include accessibility criteria. Tenders routinely require conformance with EN 301 549 and the supplier’s accessibility statement.
Accessibility and competition
Digital Markets, Competition and Consumers Act 2024 allows the CMA to consider accessibility in consumer-protection enforcement of digital platforms. New enforcement vector.
Penalties & enforcement
What non-compliance costs
Individual claimants can sue in the County Court. The EHRC can take strategic enforcement action. PSBAR 2018 empowers the CDDO to publish non-compliance and refer cases to the EHRC.
Uncapped
County Court damages
Injury-to-feelings awards under the Equality Act have no statutory cap. Vento bands (2024/25): lower £1,200–£11,700; middle £11,700–£35,200; upper £35,200–£58,700.
Public
Publication of non-compliance
CDDO can publish the names of public-sector bodies that fail monitoring checks. Reputation damage is the principal lever under PSBAR 2018.
EHRC
EHRC enforcement notices
The EHRC can issue compliance notices, investigate, and enter into binding agreements. Non-compliance with a compliance notice is a contempt offence enforceable in the High Court.
Personal injury analogy in damages. Courts have drawn on the Judicial College Guidelines to calibrate awards for loss of dignity, autonomy and accessibility-related distress in digital-service cases.
Aggregate cost. A 2024 EHRC report found that public-sector accessibility failures correlate with significant indirect costs: re-engineering, user-support load, and parallel equality-act complaints from the same users.
Parallel routes. A complaint can be pursued through the organisation’s own complaints procedure, the relevant ombudsman, the EHRC, and the County Court. Claimants may choose any combination.
Deadlines
Key UK accessibility milestones
UK digital accessibility sits on two tracks: the Equality Act from 2010 onward, and the PSBAR technical rules from 2018 onward. The WCAG baseline has risen from 2.0 to 2.2.
1 October 2010
Equality Act 2010 commences
Consolidates the Disability Discrimination Act 1995 and other statutes. Reasonable-adjustment duty becomes the basis for UK web-accessibility claims.
2011
EHRC guidance published
EHRC Services, public functions and associations — Statutory Code of Practice. Explicit that websites are services under s. 29.
22 December 2016
EU Directive 2016/2102 adopted
Web Accessibility Directive for public-sector bodies — basis for PSBAR 2018.
23 September 2018
PSBAR 2018 in force
Public Sector Bodies (Websites and Mobile Applications) Accessibility Regulations 2018. Sets the WCAG 2.1 AA technical baseline.
23 September 2019
New websites deadline
All new public-sector websites must conform from this date. Existing websites have a one-year glide path.
23 September 2020
Existing websites deadline
All existing public-sector websites must conform and publish statements.
23 June 2021
Mobile apps deadline
PSBAR 2018 mobile-app deadline. All public-sector mobile apps must conform and publish statements.
2023 – 2026
Uplift to WCAG 2.2 AA
EN 301 549 v3.2.1 and v4.1.1 incorporate WCAG 2.2. GDS guidance pivots from 2.1 to 2.2 AA. Statements are being updated accordingly.
How to comply
Your UK compliance checklist
For private-sector organisations, the Equality Act duty is the binding one; WCAG 2.2 Level AA is the practical standard. For public-sector bodies, PSBAR 2018 + EN 301 549 add hard technical and documentation requirements.
Meet WCAG 2.2 Level AA
This is the effective standard under PSBAR and the reasonable standard under the Equality Act. Automated plus manual testing, including screen reader and keyboard.
Publish the statutory accessibility statement (public sector)
Use the CDDO model. State the standard met, known non-compliances, reasons, alternatives, feedback contact, and the escalation route to EHRC.
Establish a feedback / alternative-format process
Named contact, response timeframe, audit trail of requests. Required by PSBAR reg 6 and expected by the EHRC even for non-public bodies.
Audit mobile apps separately
PSBAR 2018 explicitly covers iOS and Android apps. They are a common gap because teams test the web but skip the app. WCAG 2.2 AA still applies.
Make PDFs and Office documents accessible
Tagged PDF (PDF/UA), proper heading structure in Word, alt text, contrast. PDFs are a frequent PSBAR compliance failure.
Train procurement and vendor-management
Tenders for ICT must include accessibility criteria. Require vendors to produce an accessibility statement / VPAT against EN 301 549 before purchase.
Fulfil the Public Sector Equality Duty (if applicable)
Embed accessibility in impact assessments. Document decisions and trade-offs.
Retain compliance evidence
Accessibility audits, remediation tickets, training records, statement versions. EHRC investigations request this.
Next step
Audit your UK website against WCAG 2.2 AA
Because PSBAR 2018 and Equality-Act reasonable adjustments both run through WCAG 2.2 Level AA, a WCAG audit is the evidence you need for either. Our checker maps every failure to the regulatory citation and to the relevant PSBAR regulation.