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Since October 2010 the Equality Act (EA) has replaced the Disability Discrimination Act (DDA) in the UK with the key aim of strengthening anti-discrimination laws within the United Kingdom whilst providing greater consistency for citizens with protected characteristics, for example race, gender or sexual orientation. By providing a more unified definition of both disability and equality legislation, in theory the act serves to consolidate and simplify the Disability Discrimination Act. However, compliance is just as important, and many of the key changes it introduces will require implementation by both employers and service providers. One of the key aspects of the EA is that thanks to its clearer definition of a disabled person (a person with a mental or physical impairment that has a substantial and long-term effect on their ability to perform normal day to day activities) it is now simpler for a person to show they are disabled and bring a claim against an employer or service provider who is failing to meet their basic needs. Whilst this may seem like a minimal change from the DDA definition (a person needs to prove they are adversely affected when performing a pre-established day to day activity such as mobility, hearing, speech etc.) by not having to formally prove their disability in order to affect change to an environment or process (usually through a court settlement) it turns the onus onto service providers and employers, where reasonable, to ensure their employees and customers basic needs are being met. Another key point is that the DDA only really applied to protect the disadvantaged when carrying out their duties in their place of work, whereas the EA extends this protection into other areas, for example in the supply of goods and services. Accordingly, it is vital to ensure that your business premises have suitable access for both your employees and customers and to ensure your property is compliant. To that end Axess 2 offer a number of Lifts solutions to assist businesses to achieve easier access to their premises, from small step lifts suitable for wheelchair access, to fully integrated passenger lifts. Thanks to their broad range of pitless lifts, reto-fitting older premises to ensure compliance is also surprisingly quick and painless, as there is no need to dig out a substantial pit they are ideal for 1st floor shopping centre premises where this simply isn’t an option. Combine this with their low headroom requirements and you’d be surprised at how wide the range of possible applications really is.
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Lifts, disabled lifts, pitless lifts,
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