Ensuring Your Business is Fully Accessible

**Collaborative Post**

AD: When you open your business premises, there are lots of things to consider, one of those being making your business premesis as accessible of possible for all so that everyone is treated fairly. This means you must ensure that it doesn't discriminate against those needing additional support or accommodations to access the bonding or use your services. As per The Equality Act 2010 and the Disability Discrimination Act 1995, you must make sure your building is wheelchair accessible, and those who need to use your services or gain access are not prohibited from doing so or discriminated against due to a disability or impairment.

As a business owner, if you breach these policies, you could be facing fines of up to £5,00 per breach, so putting accommodations in place will help you to ensure you are meeting all required policies and ensuring your customer's need to need to consider the following points when adapting your premise to make it more physically accessible.

Access

The external access to your property must be wide enough for people who need to gain entry using wheelchairs or mobility aids. You need to look at aspects such as if your doors are wide enough for them to move freely through them. If the doors themselves are easily opened, or do you need automatic doors or a button people can push so they don't physically have to open them? Other aspects include whether or not you have stepped outside and if you need to add an access ramp or railings for additional support.

The same needs to be followed through to internal access points such as doorways and entrances to different levels. For example, if you have an office building and people need to move between floors, can they do so easily, or are you restricted to steps only? You might need to consider introducing ramps, configuring your layout, or adding a lift.

Training

A massive art of making your building accessible is providing training for your employees on discrimination and how to assist those who need additional support when using our services. Not all disabilities are visible, and as such, you and your employees need to be able to recognise when to offer assistance and how to ensure everyone is treated equally and fairly. This means not denying anyone access to parts of the building or service simply because of preconceived ideas or misconceptions of them as a person.

It is also a training theme to know how best to use any support or medical aids you have in place and maintain the safety of such equipment. From booking in lift maintenance services to avoid your lift being out of use to fixing broken floor tiles or steps that make things difficult or reporting problems you need to address that restrict accessibility, such as implementing a T-Loop system for people wearing hearing aids or braille for people with visual impairments. There are many ways you can ensure being inclusive and accessible, and having your employees know how to identify weak points and be able to address concerns, and treat people with compassion can go a long way.

Conclusion

Making your business accessible means you need to be aware of how people interact with your business and their potential needs when doing so. You need to ensure you are doing everything you can to meet equality and discrimination guidelines for everyone.