Over three-quarters of small to medium sized businesses are at risk of court action under the recently updated Disability Discrimination Act (DDA), according to new research.
The research, carried out by hearing impairment charity RNID, shows the extent of employers' indifference to the changes, revealing that a staggering 75 per cent of respondents have yet to make the ‘reasonable adjustments’ required.
Figures also show that despite being aware of the implications of the DDA, few employers have taken steps to make their services accessible to deaf and hard of hearing customers.
John Low, RNID Chief Executive, said: “RNID expected to see small businesses make significant changes in order to meet the requirements of the new disability legislation.
“This research shows there is much that remains to be done to encourage small businesses to make the simple, cost-effective changes necessary to embrace the needs of disabled customers.”
To address the problem RNID are providing businesses with a free deaf and disability awareness training with free fact sheets and business cards on how best to implement the DDA.
Stephen Alambritis, from the Federation of Small Businesses (FSB) said: "Whilst there is high awareness amongst FSB membership many more small businesses need to come up to speed on how to comply with the DDA. We welcome the way in which the RNID is tackling the problem and the DDA Business cards are particularly helpful."
Advice provided by the RNID includes:
- Installing a permanent induction loop to help hearing aid users
- Supplying pens and paper to help ease communication
- Training staff in deaf awareness
- Improving lighting, to help lip-readers
