Nearly eight in ten small businesses are still unaware of disability discrimination laws set to become law in October, new research has revealed.

A survey by Peninsula found that 79 per cent of small firms were ignorant of the legislation, which outlaws discrimination against disabled jobseekers and requires businesses to make their premises accessible to handicapped customers.

Worryingly, the amount of bosses in the dark over the new rules has remained high over the past year, with studies repeatedly showing that ignorance is widespread in almost all small businesses.

The Peninsula study found that the laws are set to have a significant impact on small firms, with 77 per cent predicting they will need to freeze recruitment to absorb the cost of the legislation.

Just 19 per cent felt their premises were disabled-friendly, with more than six in ten employers having no immediate plans to change their workplaces to comply with the rules.

Nearly nine in ten of those surveyed felt the laws will herald an increase in red tape, while over half felt that the government should help small firms fund changes to their premises.

The updated Disability Discrimination Act will, for the first time, cover firms with less than 15 employees.

Employers will have to ensure they do not unfairly snub disabled job applicants and make their workplaces and services easy to use for those in wheelchairs or with mobility problems.

Peter Done, managing director of Peninsula, said that employers need to consider making reasonable adjustments to the physical features of their premises overcome physical barriers should the situation arise.

“It looks like only a very small percentage of firms have done this. The survey shows that employers have failed to budget for this and many small firms are going to feel the crunch.

“It’s not just the cost of ensuring that workplace premises are covered, employers need to ensure that they do not unlawfully discriminate on any grounds of disability.

“Employers need to also recognise the different types of disability. Just because someone does not posses obvious disability features doesn’t mean that they are not disabled and that is where employers need to be cautious,” he said.