Over 16 million people in the UK live with a disability. That is around a quarter of the population, and every one of them deserves to use your website without hitting barriers. The UK Equality Act 2010 exists to make sure they can.
Serving those users well is not just a legal obligation. It is the right thing to do, and it is also good for business. And most organisations genuinely want to get it right. But the harder question is knowing exactly what the law requires and where to begin.
This article explains exactly what the UK Equality Act requires for web accessibility: what standard applies, what reasonable adjustments mean in practice, how enforcement works, and how to meet your duty with confidence.
What is the Equality Act 2010?
The Equality Act 2010 is a UK law that protects people from discrimination. It applies in England, Scotland, and Wales (but not in Northern Ireland). The Act was introduced to bring together previous anti-discrimination laws into a single framework.
The Act makes it unlawful to treat someone unfairly because of protected characteristics including disability, age, sex, race, religion or belief, sexual orientation, gender reassignment, pregnancy and maternity, and marriage and civil partnership.
Does the Equality Act apply to websites?
Short answer: Yes, the Equality Act 2010 applies to websites.
Long answer: The Equality Act 2010 applies to anyone providing services to the public. This is set out in Part 3 of the Act, which covers services and public functions. It includes services offered by private, public, and voluntary organisations.
How this applies to websites is clarified by the Equality and Human Rights Commission (EHRC). It is the UK’s statutory body responsible for enforcing and promoting the Equality Act. It publishes Codes of Practice, which courts must take into account when interpreting the law.
In that Code, the EHRC clarifies what counts as a service. In Chapter 11, it explicitly includes “Website services” within that definition.
As a result, the Equality Act 2010 applies to websites.
What are the Equality Act requirements?
The Equality Act 2010 requires organisations to ensure that their services are accessible and do not discriminate against disabled people.
1. Make reasonable adjustments
At the core of the Act is the duty to make reasonable adjustments (Section 20). This means you must remove or fix barriers that make it difficult for disabled users to access or use your website.
In practice, this includes making sure:
- Content is readable and clear
- Navigation works without a mouse
- The site supports assistive technologies
If something creates a barrier, you are expected to address it.
2. Do not discriminate
Under Section 29, it is unlawful to discriminate when providing services. For websites, this means disabled users should not be blocked, limited, or given a worse experience.
Users must be able to:
- Access information
- Navigate pages
- Complete key tasks
If they cannot, it may amount to discrimination.
3. Anticipate accessibility needs
The duty to make adjustments is anticipatory. You must think about accessibility in advance rather than waiting for someone to report a problem.
This means:
- Designing with accessibility in mind
- Testing with a range of users
- Identifying and fixing issues early
This reflects the Act’s focus on shifting accessibility left, where barriers are addressed early rather than after they impact users.
What are reasonable adjustments for websites?
A reasonable adjustment under the Equality Act 2010 is any change that removes a barrier preventing a disabled person from accessing your service.
The Act outlines three ways to make a reasonable adjustment:
- Remove the barrier: Remove the feature causing the issue.
- Alter the feature: If removal is not possible, modify the feature so it becomes accessible.
- Provide an alternative: If the issue cannot be fixed right away, offer another way to access the service.
The term “reasonable” is based on proportionality.
The cost and effort of making the change are weighed against the benefit to disabled users. For most common website issues, such as adding alt text, fixing contrast, or enabling keyboard navigation, the cost is low, and the benefit is high. This means these fixes are almost always required.
In some cases, the balance may differ.
If a change is expensive, or technically difficult, the organisation’s size and resources are taken into account. However, this does not remove the duty. It may mean prioritising fixes, phasing work over time, or providing an alternative in the short term while the issue is addressed.
What standard should you follow for Equality Act website compliance?
The Equality Act does not define technical accessibility standards.
However, in the UK, this is clarified through the Public Sector Bodies (Websites and Mobile Applications) Accessibility Regulations 2018. These regulations require public sector organisations to meet the Web Content Accessibility Guidelines (WCAG) 2.2 AA standard.
Government monitoring reinforces this in practice. It confirms that from October 2024 onwards, the GDS monitoring process for websites and mobile apps uses WCAG 2.2. Accessibility statements are also reviewed as part of compliance checks.
How is the UK Equality Act enforced?
The Equality Act is enforced through a mix of government monitoring and legal action.
1. Government monitoring (public sector)
For public sector organisations, the Government Digital Service (GDS) and the Central Digital and Data Office (CDDO) monitor accessibility.
They:
- Review websites and mobile apps
- Check accessibility statements
- Publicly report non-compliance
This creates ongoing oversight, not just one-time checks.
Recent findings show how active this monitoring is. In its latest report, GDS reviewed 1,203 websites and 21 mobile apps between 2022 and 2024. Accessibility issues were found on nearly all of them, and organisations were formally notified and required to fix these issues.
2. Individual legal claims
Disabled users can also enforce their rights directly under the Equality Act when a website is inaccessible.
If a website cannot be used, they can:
- Bring a claim in the county court
- Seek compensation for discrimination, including damages for distress
They do not need to go through a regulator first. A user can take legal action themselves if they are personally affected by barriers on a website.
A real-world example shows how this applies to websites.
For example, in 2021, a blind student, Holly Scott-Gardner, took legal action against the Student Loans Company after she could not complete an online Disabled Students’ Allowance form due to accessibility barriers. The case resulted in a £5,000 settlement, and the organisation later made the form accessible and improved its online content.
Note: The Equality and Human Rights Commission (EHRC) can also enforce the Equality Act. It can take legal action against non-compliant organisations, including investigations, unlawful act notices, and court action.
How to make your website Equality Act compliant
Making your website compliant means finding and removing barriers that block disabled users from accessing your service. It also means documenting what you have done.
Step 1: Audit for barriers
Before you can make reasonable adjustments, you need to know what barriers exist. An audit identifies the gaps between your current website and the WCAG 2.2 AA standard. That standard is the practical proxy for the reasonable adjustments duty.
Tools like WebYes Accessibility can scan your site against WCAG 2.2 AA criteria, detect issues across your reasonable adjustments duty, and suggest AI-powered fixes to resolve them faster. It can also alert you when new issues are introduced.
Note that automated scanning will not catch every accessibility issue. A complete accessibility audit combines automated scanning with manual testing. Where possible, include testing with disabled users or assistive technology.
Step 2: Fix barriers in order of user impact
Not all barriers are equal. Work through your fixes in order of user impact: prioritise issues that affect the largest number of disabled users and that block access to your core service. Cosmetic issues and edge cases come last.
Missing form labels, keyboard inaccessibility on navigation, and absent text alternatives on images are high-impact barriers. They block access entirely for specific groups of disabled users. Start with the most common web accessibility issues and fix those first.
Frame each fix through the reasonable adjustments lens: does this change remove a barrier a disabled person would otherwise face?
Step 3: Publish an accessibility statement
An accessibility statement documents what you have fixed, what known issues remain, and how a user can contact you if they encounter a barrier.
Public sector bodies are legally required to publish one. Private sector organisations are not, but publishing one demonstrates that you have considered your reasonable adjustments duty. That is relevant evidence in the event of a complaint.
Tip: You can generate an accessibility statement for free using the WebYes Accessibility Statement Generator. Just answer a few questions, and you have a ready-to-publish statement in minutes.
Step 5: Establish a feedback and monitoring process
The reasonable adjustments duty is ongoing. Websites change. New features introduce new barriers, third-party scripts introduce new failures, and WCAG evolves.
A monitoring process that runs regular scans and a feedback mechanism that captures user-reported barriers are both part of a defensible ongoing compliance position.
FAQs
A reasonable adjustment is any change that removes a barrier for disabled users. This can mean removing the feature, altering it, or providing an alternative. What counts as “reasonable” depends on the cost, effort, and benefit.
You should aim for WCAG 2.2 AA. The Equality Act does not name WCAG, but regulators and courts use it to assess compliance. Meeting it is strong evidence, but not a guarantee.
The GDS and CDDO monitor public sector websites and mobile apps for compliance. The EHRC can enforce the law through investigations and legal action.
Yes. A disabled user can bring a claim in the County Court if your website is inaccessible. Courts can award damages, including compensation for distress.
No, it is not legally required. However, it is recommended as it shows effort, documents fixes, and provides a way for users to request help.
The European Accessibility Act does not apply directly to the UK. It applies only if your business serves customers in the European Union. UK-only businesses are not covered.
AUTHOR
Melwyn holds a Bachelor's degree in Computer Science and has been writing professionally for over 4 years. He has a strong background in SEO and is certified in web accessibility from the World Wide Web Consortium (W3C). When he's not writing about website optimisation, you can find him enjoying a game of FIFA or exploring the open world of GTA.
Melwyn Joseph 
