Equality Act 2010

Overview

The Equality Act 2010 is the principal anti-discrimination law of the United Kingdom (excluding some provisions in Northern Ireland). It consolidated earlier laws, including the Disability Discrimination Act, into a single framework protecting people from discrimination based on protected characteristics such as disability, age, sex, race, and others. For software and digital teams, its disability provisions make accessible websites and apps a legal duty.

A central concept is the duty to make reasonable adjustments so that disabled people are not placed at a substantial disadvantage. In the digital context this is widely understood to require accessible interfaces, with WCAG used as the practical benchmark.

Who It Applies To

The Act applies to employers, service providers, public bodies, and others across Great Britain. Anyone providing goods, services, or facilities to the public, including online, must avoid discrimination and make reasonable adjustments for disabled users. Public bodies additionally carry the Public Sector Equality Duty, and separate accessibility regulations impose specific WCAG-based requirements on public-sector websites and apps.

Key Requirements

Service providers must not discriminate against, harass, or victimize disabled people, and must make reasonable adjustments to remove barriers. For digital services this means designing and maintaining content that disabled people can perceive and operate, commonly demonstrated by conformance with WCAG 2.1 or 2.2 Level AA. The duty is anticipatory for service providers, meaning they should plan for accessibility rather than wait for individual requests.

Penalties for Non-Compliance

The Act is enforced primarily through civil claims brought by affected individuals, with remedies including compensation and orders to change practices. The Equality and Human Rights Commission can also take enforcement action. There is no single fixed fine; exposure comes from litigation, reputational harm, and, for public bodies, breach of statutory duties.

How to Comply

Organizations should adopt WCAG 2.1 or 2.2 Level AA as a baseline, build accessibility into design and testing, and treat reasonable adjustments as an anticipatory, ongoing obligation. Public bodies must also meet the specific public-sector accessibility regulations and publish accessibility statements. Maintain training, user feedback channels, and a remediation process.