Debenhams becomes first prosecution under disability access law

July 29 2005

Debenhams will become the first retailer to be prosecuted under the Disability Discrimination Act (DDA) for failing to improve physical access to goods and services within its Derby store, the Disability Rights Commission (DRC) revealed today.

Greg Jackson, a 43-year old wheelchair-user, is suing the retailer because he has been denied access to a section of the menswear department in the Derby store which can only be reached via a set of steps. The DRC is supporting him in his case.

Greg Jackson commented:

"It's unacceptable that Debenhams are refusing to make any adjustments for disabled people. Improvements to access the menswear section in the Derby store would be relatively cheap and simple to make. Instead, I'm in the embarrassing situation of having to ask for clothes to be brought down to me by a shop assistant which means it's impossible to browse properly and places pressure on me to buy.. It also emphasises and draws attention to my impairment and so I feel like I'm being singled out because of my disability."

The high street retailer, with 123 stores in the UK and Ireland and annual profits last year totalling £300.5m, failed to make improvements to the menswear section in Derby despite several requests from Mr Jackson dating back to January 2004.

Bert Massie, Chairman of the DRC, said:

"An independent report for the DRC shows that some 20 Debenhams stores pose similar access barriers to those found in Derby. This is unacceptable. Debenhams has had many years to make these changes yet unlike their competitors there is no centrally managed plan to make access improvements that would meet their legal duties. Instead, they appear satisfied in doling out a second class service to disabled customers."

Part three of the DDA places specific duties on shops and business that provide services available to the public to alter, adapt or remove physical barriers that make it unreasonably difficult for disabled people to receive fair treatment. The law, passed in 1995, gave businesses a nine-year breathing space to plan and prepare for changes that would benefit the UK's 10 million disabled people with a combined spending power of £80 billion. The equal access provision of the DDA came into force on October 1 2004.

Mr Massie continued:

"Businesses that make their services open to all are benefiting from fair access laws and from disabled shoppers who have a disposable income estimated at £80 billion a year. Bad access is bad for business.

"The extent of improvements needed depends on the relative size of the retailer and its level of resources. Debenhams, as a large retailer with 123 stores and a £300 million-plus profit last year, should be doing more. Offering to bring the goods out to Mr Jackson might be acceptable in a corner shop with limited resources, but the relatively meagre cost to a big chain like Debenhams of installing a ramp makes this practice unreasonable. Likewise, when you consider the fact that between one third and half of all goods ordered over the Internet are sent back because they are the wrong size it is clearly an inferior service."