Equality Act compliance for your website

Our solutions help you to ensure that your digital platforms comply with the Equality Act and provide an excellent user experience for everyone.

The Equality Act (EQA)

What you need to know to meet compliance

What is the Equality Act?

The Equality Act (EQA) is a combination of several anti-discrimination laws in the United Kingdom of England, Scotland, and Wales. The Act legally protects people from discrimination in the workplace and wider society based on their disability, age, religion/belief, sex/sexual orientation, and gender reassignment.

Who does the Equality Act apply to?

The Equality Act 2010 applies to a wide range of individuals and organizations in the United Kingdom. These include:

Service providers, including public and private sector organizations.
Employers.
Educational institutions.
Trade unions, professional bodies, and associations.
Public authorities, such as government departments and local councils.

What’s required to meet the Equality Act compliance?

The Equality Act does not provide specific technical requirements for websites; instead, it mandates a principle of “reasonable adjustment”. However, in practice, it is generally accepted that to meet compliance, websites must:

Achieve WCAG 2.1 Level AA conformance.
Publish an accessibility statement which provide details about the accessibility of the site.

4 facts about UK web accessibility regulations

1. There are 3 main regulations governing the accessibility of digital products in the UK:

The Equality Act (EQA) of 2010 which came into force on 1 October 2010.
The Public Sector Bodies (Websites and Mobile Applications) (No. 2) Accessibility Regulations 2018, which became a law in the UK on 23 September 2018.
ISO 30071-1 Digital Accessibility Standard - Inspired by the British Standard BS 8878, ISO 30071-1 international process-oriented standard was released to be the Code of Practice for creating accessible ICT products and services on 28th May 2019.

2. Websites are required to meet the following deadlines:

Public sector websites published on or after 23 September 2018 must be compliant by 23 September 2019.
Websites published before 23 September 2018 must be compliant by 23 September 2020.
Public sector bodies must ensure their apps are compliant by 23 June 2021.
Public sector bodies must provide an accessibility statement in accordance with the model accessibility statement (accessibility statement adopted by the European Commission), and regularly review the statement.

3. The Public Sector Bodies Accessibility Regulations 2018 requires public sector websites (including intranet and extranet websites) and mobile applications to achieve certain accessibility standards.

Through the accessibility regulation, the government will monitor the websites of all public organizations, those with a legal personality, publicly funded organizations, and those subject to management supervision by bodies governed by public law. These organizations are mandated to make their content perceivable, operable, understandable, and robust.

4. UK accessibility standards supersede BS 8878 and represent guidance on how organizations can embed accessibility considerations into their processes to impact digital inclusion and accessibility.

Organizations can embed accessibility into key organizational and technical policies like procurement, risk assessment, and software development lifecycle processes by following the guidelines in the standards.

Take the Next Step To Compliance

Achieve compliance with the Equality Act effortlessly with our robust accessibility platform, which combines advanced technology and top-notch expertise. Start with a 7-day free trial of our automated accessibility widget or contact our sales team for streamlines solutions and services.

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