What are the rules regarding this? I assume if, as an employer, you employ someone in a wheelchair you need to ensure they have access but what is the situation if (for example) a client or someone else needing to attend the office is disabled?

We don’t own the building, are on the first floor and there is currently no disabled access.

Smoking hut doubling as a ground floor meeting room?

The key phrase is “reasonable” provision.
If providing step-free access to the first floor requires rebuilding an existing building then it’s probably not reasonable. Ask your landlord/ building owner.

There is a lift in the building but it it is out of commission…

Should we ask about re-instating it?

Seems reasonable.

It can be a bit of a movable feast in terms of whats ‘reasonable’. The age of the building can be one, the size of the company can be another, who you do business with can be a third.

The legislation is limited in scope but pressure is also exerted through other channels rather than just ‘the rules’- if, for instance, you have dealings with the public sector (either through grant aid or funding or if you tender to supply services) equal ops of all sorts become a pre-qualification issue.

We are a web design agency, team totals six people in a >100 year old property.

We are hosting a (free) event and one attendee is temporarily in a wheelchair.

What sort of difference is that likely to make?

DDA states unless the building is subject to any kind of preservation order then disabled access MUST be inplace.

Since December 1996 – it has been unlawful for service providers to treat disabled people less favourably for a reason related to their disability
Since October 1999 – providers have to make reasonable adjustments for disabled people such as providing extra help or making changes to the way they provide their services
From October 2004 – requires service providers to assess obstacles and make reasonable adjustments to the physical features of their premises to overcome physical barriers to access.

I little section of the act which covers it

This person isn’t disabled, they are temporarily in a wheelchair. Does that make a difference?

The lift needs to be recommissioned to bring it back into service, this would be a reasonable request from you to the landlord. This is the area I would sort first. Surely you rent the building and its facilities, such as a working lift. It will either be broken of require annual certification, both are a cost which the landlord is taking as a saving (and not passing on to you).

OR

As the host of the meeting your company should have made provision for access to the meeting, if this means holding it at another venue then that is also reasonable.

The cost of adjustments is not a good excuse to discriminate against someone, the law sees it that way aswell.

We are a web design agency, team totals six people in a >100 year old property.

We are hosting a (free) event and one attendee is temporarily in a wheelchair.

What sort of difference is that likely to make?

Either hold it elsewhere, don’t invite them or wait until they are mobile?

Surely you rent the building and its facilities, such as a working lift.

When we entered into the lease agreement it wasn’t working and the landlord said he had no intention of doing so.

Hang on.

If it’s a rented property then surely the onus is on you as a tenant to do “nothing whatsoever,” no? It must be the landlord’s responsibility to ensure that reasonable access is available and people aren’t being discriminated against?

He can intend what he likes but needs to adhere to legislation.

So basically we don’t need to do anything but if challenged we should revert it to our landlord…

Sounds reasonable.

If it’s a rented property then surely the onus is on you as a tenant to do “nothing whatsoever,” no? It must be the landlord’s responsibility to ensure that reasonable access is available and people aren’t being discriminated against?

Depends on the lease if its a maintaining lease then its on the renter not the landlord, apathy is no excuse there are actually disabled people going around making a killing from this threatening legal action if access isn’t up to scratch, and then selttling ‘out of court’ read taking a bribe to go away……

…….incidentally where did you say your office is?

As I said – the person is not disabled – they are just in a wheelchair due to an operation. They have said they may even be on crutches by then anyway.

But it pricked up my interest as to what the legal requirements are….

So basically we don’t need to do anything but if challenged we should revert it to our landlord…

Sounds reasonable.

I don’t think its that black and white. The DDA doesn’t start to be an issue for an employer once someone in a wheelchair is trying to get into the building, the equality of opportunity should always be there. Its the landlord’s responsibility to maintain the lift and its your responsibility to be in suitable premises for the business you operate, not in premises that could be suitable once the two of you get round to discussing it sometime. The landlord’s also not at fault for you being in the wrong building.

What does your business’s equal opps policy say about the matter? 🙂

The person isn’t an employee nor disabled and they have been invited to attend a (free) workshop.

Naturally, should we be considering employing a disabled person we would do all we could to ensure they had reasonable access but that isn’t what I am asking about.

^^^ Not the DDA anymore, all covered by the Equality Act 2010. Which also defines what a disability is in connection with duration etc. I can’t remember what it actually says, though…

edit – assuming England, of course.

Further edit – https://www.gov.uk/definition-of-disability-under-equality-act-2010. Your subject more than likely doesn’t fit the definition of disabled, so the Act won’t apply specfically to that person. More generally, though, there could still be issues concerning general access being provided.

Do the workshop at the top of the stairs and get someone to relay the message via shouting.

Something you need to think about though what if a client comes in without stipulating their disability? You’d look a reet lemon.

There is a lift in the building but it it is out of commission…

it’d need to be an emergency lift – otherwise it couldn’t be used in an evacuation. yo might be causing more problems than fixing

So basically we don’t need to do anything

There is a difference IMO between what you have to do, and what you should do for a potential customer, or for good relations.

Something you need to think about though what if a client comes in without stipulating their disability?

But surely there are offices the country over without disabled access? I think to the previous two places we have worked from, neither had any disabled provision.

There are but DDA and equal rights act have been trying to address that – If i wanted my business to have the right ethos and image it’d be something i’d seriously look at*.
You can’t just blame the landlord otherwise you could just asbestos – landlord innit you hae a duty of care to you’re employees/visitors. Not quite the same here but you chose the offices and signed the lease so you’re not absolved of responsibility.

Legally you could probably make the case – is it good business? Not so sure.

*(happily i sell stolen human organs so ethics can f*** off).

We are a web design agency, team totals six people in a >100 year old property.

I thought the Equality Act 2010 only applied to businesses dealing with the public.
My thoughts would be that if the OPs business is B2B it may not apply???