The Consumer Protection from Unfair Trading Regulations 2008 (CPRs) were largely reinstated in the Digital Markets, Competition and Consumers Act (DMCC Act) from 6 April 2025. The CPRs will apply to unfair commercial practices that took place before this date.
These protection from unfair trading provisions address:
A general ban on unfair commercial practices A ban on misleading and aggressive practices, which are assessed in light of the effect they have, or are likely to have, on the average consumer A ban on omitting material information from an ‘invitation to purchase’ (including drip pricing) A ‘blacklist’ of commercial practices which will always be unfair and so are banned outright. There are 32 banned practices under the DMCC Act, and one new banned practice is fake reviews.
Under the Equality Act 2010, customer service providers must treat all individuals equally and fairly, avoiding discrimination, harassment, and victimisation based on protected characteristics.
Protected Characteristics The Equality Act identifies nine protected characteristics that cannot be used as a basis for unfair treatment in services:
Age
Disability
Gender reassignment
Marriage and civil partnership
Pregnancy and maternity
Race
Religion or belief
Sex, and sexual orientation
Service providers must ensure that customers are not discriminated against due to these characteristics, either directly or indirectly.
Types of Discrimination in Customer Service Direct discrimination: Treating someone less favourably specifically because of a protected characteristic. Examples include refusing to serve a person due to their ethnicity or sexual orientation. Indirect discrimination: Applying a neutral rule or policy that disproportionately disadvantages people with a protected characteristic, unless the rule can be objectively justified. For example, a “no head coverings” policy may indirectly discriminate against customers who wear religious attire. Harassment: Any unwanted conduct related to a protected characteristic that violates dignity or creates a hostile, degrading, or offensive environment.
Victimisation: Unfair treatment of someone because they made a complaint about discrimination or supported another person’s complaint.
Reasonable Adjustments for Accessibility Service providers have a duty to make reasonable adjustments for disabled customers to ensure they can access services equally. This includes measures such as ramps, alternative formats for written information (Braille or large font), assistive technology, and staff training to accommodate different needs. The duty is proactive; providers must anticipate barriers and not wait for requests to be made.
Practical Implementation in Customer Service Inclusive culture: Train staff to respect diversity, listen actively, and respond sensitively to customer needs. Policy development: Implement equality, diversity, and inclusion (EDI) policies that guide recruitment, service delivery, and day-to-day operations. Communication: Use inclusive language, provide alternative communication methods for customers with language barriers, and accommodate cultural or religious practices. Positive engagement: Regularly review services to identify potential barriers and improve inclusiveness, potentially conducting Equality Impact Assessments for public or large-scale service projects.
Legal Scope and Exceptions While the Act prohibits unjust discrimination, some exceptions exist, including age-based concessions, health and safety requirements, financial services risk assessments, and single-sex or regulated services where necessary. Any differential treatment must be objectively justified or in line with permitted exceptions.
Benefits of Compliance Complying with the Equality Act enhances the organisation’s reputation, fosters customer loyalty, and demonstrates respect for diverse customer needs. Inclusive practices also attract top talent and ensure fair, equitable service delivery. In summary, customer service under the Equality Act 2010 requires fairness, respect, and proactive accommodation of diversity, encompassing all nine protected characteristics, preventing discrimination, harassment, or victimisation, and ensuring accessibility for disabled individuals.
Ever since I’ve embarked on my journey to marketing myself as an Access Consultant, I’ve had an increasing interest in legislation surrounding Access Consultancy. I believe my BA Degree in History and Politics has sparked this interest.
Before then, I had never heard of Access Consultancy.
Are WCAG guidelines law? Whilst the WCAG standards themselves do not function as law, they represent the internationally recognised standard for web content accessibility, and you will meet the legal requirements for accessibility by meeting the WCAG standard.
Who is required to comply with WCAG? Ensuring your website is accessible is covered by the Equality Act 2010 in the UK, which protects all individuals from unfair treatment and promotes a fair and more equal society.
There are equivalent laws in other countries, which encompass web accessibility law and legislation, such as the Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA) of 1990. The European Accessibility Act (EAA) seeks to ensure equal access to digital products and services throughout Europe and becomes law in all EU member states in June 2025.
The Public Sector Bodies (Website and Mobile Applications) Accessibility Regulations (PSBAR 2018) apply to the UK public sector specifically and require public sector organisations to meet WCAG 2.2 guidelines at AA level of conformance, which from October 2024 will be monitored by the Government Digital Service (GDS).
What happens if your website is not accessible? Not ignoring the threat of legal action, it’s very important to consider the barriers you might be creating for people if you are not ensuring your web content is accessible.
There are an estimated 16 million disabled people in the UK, and in 2019 the ‘Click-Away Pound’, which measures the volume of people who abandon a retail website because of the barriers they found, grew to £17.1 billion.
Good accessibility practices benefit everyone, not just disabled people. Consider a person using captions when watching a video on a noisy train, or a worker with a sprained wrist using speech-to-text to write an email. Many of us use accessibility features every day.
The free guide to the Business Case for Accessibility will help you win hearts and minds inside and outside your organisation.
To find out more about WCAG and digital accessibility join their mailing list or take a look at their free digital accessibility resources. If you’re ready to create meaningful change and achieve significant results, speak to their experts to learn how they can help you to achieve your accessibility goals.
Ministers and commissioners are both important for ensuring fairness in human rights. They also reinforce diversity. They are appointed by the Queen. The UK has both.
However, the difference between a minister and a commissioner, is that a minister is a person who is commissioned by the government for public service, while a commissioner is a member of a committee.
Disability Minister
Responsibilities
The minister’s responsibilities include:
responsibility for the departmental strategy on disability and disability employment
cross-government responsibility for disabled people
Employment and Support Allowance
Personal Independence Payment
Disability Living Allowance and elements of Universal Credit that relate to disabled people, including severe disability premium
work and health strategy including sponsorship of the joint Department for Work and Pensions and Department for Health and Social Care Work and Health Unit
disability benefit reform
devolution framework
Carer’s Allowance
future relations with the EU
Motability
arms-length compensation schemes
Disability Commissioner
Responsibilities The Commissioner conducts visits to help raise the standards of human rights protection in all Council of Europe member states, in accordance with his mandate.
Visits aim at pursuing a direct dialogue with the authorities and looking into one or several specific issues. The Commissioner is currently carrying out more targeted country visits focused on specific topics. A report may be published, containing conclusions and relevant recommendations to help redress shortcomings. Some of these reports may also relate to crisis situations and human rights in conflict areas.
Based on my research, I think it is more effective and beneficial to have a Disability Minister to help advocate for disability rights because their role is multifaceted and unrestricted. They have more legislative privileges.
On December 3, 2020, I was a panelist for a Virtual Conference hosted by the WindReach in Bermuda. This virtual conference was held in honour of ‘International Day of People with Disabilities’.
Conference objective:
Due to COVID-19, but even before, the needs and voices of People Living with Disabilities were often not made a priority in our social world, in our workplaces, in our schools or even in their own care and goals. Focusing our main topics of understanding on the history of disability, employment, accessibility, stigma, people’s misperceptions, and encouraging self-advocacy, we hope to address many of the issues facing Bermudians living with disabilities.
This conference is meant to shine a light on the disability community as a whole, give space for their voices to be heard and to work on solutions to better the lives of all individuals. Everyone benefits when we collectively move towards a more inclusive society. There were ASL interpreters present throughout the whole conference. It was well organised and things went smoothly.
During the conference, I shared the subject of Disability & Accessibility in Bermuda (Panel) alongside Chris Bulley, Vince Godber from Vision Bermuda & Keith Simmons.
This discussion was between Panelists on the state of accessibility in Bermuda, what are the issues facing individuals accessing public and private establishments, transportation, and health care from an access perspective. Examine what laws are in place to address this, how they are used and how we can move forward to create a more accessible Bermuda.
I also discussed how I’ve explored the option of marketing myself as an Access Consultant, and how we could do with more in Bermuda.
I have always advocated and written articles on the subject of Wheelchair Accessibility, especially while growing up in Bermuda. This has been a longstanding issue in Bermuda, at least since 2006. I’ve even attended a ‘Brown Bag Lunch’ with Bermuda’s former Premier Dr. Ewart Brown, to discuss subjects like Wheelchair Accessibility amongst other things.
This is a photo of former Premier Dr. Ewart Brown’s first Brown Bag Lunch.
Accessibility can be viewed as the “ability to access” and benefit from some system or entity. The concept often focuses on people with disabilities or special needs (such as the Convention on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities) and their right of access, enabling the use of assistive technology.
Bermuda is not wheelchair-friendly. But in the City of Hamilton, some roads have disabled-friendly sidewalks. Bermuda’s sidewalks are often very busy with pedestrians, can be steep, are not always on both sides of the road and traffic on the main road between sidewalks is often dense. It is a very hilly, with few flat places, not good for disabled people confined to a wheelchair who are not accompanied by a spouse or caregiver with the strength to lift them. Main roads are very narrow and almost always busy during the weekday especially. There are now sidewalks with sloping ramps uniformly throughout the most frequently traveled tourism and international business areas of the city. The Town of St. George is slowly improving. It is semi-rural. http://www.bermuda-online.org/disabledinBermuda.htm.
Wheelchair Accessibility and mobility issues are additional problems that wheelchair users face daily. I experienced this many times in Bermuda, especially at school. Access alleviates the amount of limitations and restrictions on wheelchair users. Failing to ensure wheelchair accessibility is neglecting to provide reasonable adjustments. It is like functioning in dysfunction. Fortunately AccessAdvisr helps to tackle this in England. I still think that people must be mindful.
Accessibility Consultation and Disability Services (ADS) provides inspections, assessment, and consultations for accessibility requirements like ramps, door sizes, for new buildings and renovations. The purpose of this service is to help ensure and promote accessibility for all. The Accessibility Officer reviews planning applications, upon the request of the Department of Planning or the applicant, to help ensure buildings meet accessibility requirements. For more information about the Building Codes in Bermuda visit The Department of Planning Website: https://www.gov.bm/accessibility-consultation.
The Department of Planning has Building Control. Building Control consults with other government agencies, reviews building permit applications for compliance with Building Codes and may require professional engineer certification of structures before issuance of building permits.
Building Control building and electrical inspectors visit the sites where construction is underway to inspect work and determine if work is in accordance with the planning approval and the building permit. It is the responsibility of the property owner to ensure inspections are requested and the owner may be required to obtain a professional engineer certification of works which have not been inspected. Requests for Certificates of Completion/Occupancy, whether partial or final, must be made in writing: https://planning.gov.bm/index.php/building-control/.
Additionally, Bermuda businesses are taking steps to improve accessibility. In 2019, Bermuda joined the UK’s business initiative called ‘Purple Tuesday’. Companies and individuals can register in advance using an online form or can speak with accessibility advocates in Hamilton, where sign-up details are taken in-person and additional information is available.
This initiative is part of a National Tourism Plan effort to ensure Bermuda becomes a more accessible destination for people with disabilities, an effort that will not only set the island apart but also benefit Bermudians, too.
However, I get really annoyed with drivers who park across dropped kerbs. Dropped kerbs are meant to make it easy for wheelchairs to enter and exit sidewalks. Some drivers even park on top of the sidewalks blocking the walkway. We need to clamp down on this with a fine both in the UK and Bermuda.
One solution to resolve this is through installing ramps and lifts.
Having this event is one good way to make some noise about Wheelchair Accessibility. The purpose of this virtual conference is to find a common ground on this relentless issue so that we can move forward together as a community. Finding a solution might mean compromising things for the greater good to move Bermuda forward.
But we need more help. We need more allies, pressure groups, focus groups and need to get more people with disabilities in Parliament and The Human Rights Commission.
I am very thankful and happy that I was given the opportunity to be a panelist for this virtual conference. I hope this virtual conference can encourage positive change and bring about a ‘new reality’ for disabled Bermudians and disabled tourists.
Equality is the state of being equal, especially in status, rights, or opportunities. Equality is a human right. It prevents discrimination. It’s all about inclusion.
The Equality Act 2010
It was created in 2010. It is comprised of 115 sections, which includes the DDA. Inclusion is a key theme of this Act. It covers the workplace and society.
Example of Unconscious bias in the Workplace
Historically, there has been a gender pay gap. However, this has changed, at least since 2017, according to the gender pay gap factsheet. file:///C:/Users/Daniella%20Lowe/Downloads/Gender-Pension-Gap-Factsheet.pdf. This factsheet shows evidence that people (women in particular) are now encouraged to discuss salaries with each other. This will definitely expose and clamp down on discrimination.
Disability Employment gap still remains high. But there are some improvements to this such as the Access to Work for the Self Employed. This covers disability.
Benefit changes have disadvantaged disabled people.
We expect more action instead of information and promises.
Intersectionality must be focus of progress.
Culture of organisations must be inclusive.
Inclusion cannot be bias – it means all, not our favourite parts.
As an overview, this means that there is still work to be done. Law reinforcement and accountability must take place. Hopefully ten years from now we can expose all inequalities and have disparities resolved.
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