Failure to make buildings accessible could see thousands of businesses in court

The TUC warmly welcomes the new disability regulations that come into force, but is warning the many businesses that have not done enough to make their buildings fully accessible that they could end up in court facing hefty fines.

TUC General Secretary Brendan Barber said: Today’s changes will make a real difference to disabled people’s work and home lives. Previously the limited scope of disability legislation meant that small firms were able to get away with treating disabled people unfairly. Now, discriminating employers will no longer be able to hide behind the law.

But although the changes have been well publicised, many firms have been burying their heads in the sand, hoping that today would never happen. Now all public buildings must be fully accessible, many companies could find themselves up in court.

As much as today is a major advance towards equal treatment, there is still much work to do. The Government has promised a new disability bill in the next Parliament and the TUC will campaign to make sure that this delivers even more for disabled people.