UK Equality Act Accessibility Checker

The Equality Act 2010 is the UK's primary anti-discrimination legislation, consolidating and replacing previous discrimination laws including the Disability Discrimination Act 1995 (DDA). The Act establishes a duty to make reasonable adjustments when a provision, criterion, or practice puts disabled persons at a substantial disadvantage. For digital services, this means websites and applications must be accessible to users with disabilities. While the Equality Act does not specify a technical standard, WCAG 2.1 AA is the recognized benchmark following the Public Sector Bodies (Websites and Mobile Applications) Accessibility Regulations 2018. These regulations, derived from the EU Web Accessibility Directive before Brexit, explicitly require public sector websites to meet WCAG 2.1 AA and publish accessibility statements. With approximately 14.6 million disabled people in the UK (22% of the population) and the Purple Pound estimated at £274 billion annually, accessibility is both a legal obligation and a significant commercial opportunity.

The UK framework creates different obligation levels:

• Public sector bodies — must meet WCAG 2.1 AA under the 2018 Accessibility Regulations. Must publish an accessibility statement using the prescribed format. Monitored by the Central Digital and Data Office (CDDO) and enforced by the Equality and Human Rights Commission (EHRC)
• Private sector — must make "reasonable adjustments" under the Equality Act 2010. No specific technical standard is mandated, but WCAG 2.1 AA is the accepted interpretation of what constitutes a reasonable standard. The EHRC can investigate and take enforcement action for Equality Act violations
• Regulated sectors — financial services providers have additional obligations under FCA guidelines requiring accessible customer communications and digital services

Post-Brexit, the UK is not bound by the European Accessibility Act. However, the UK government has signaled intent to maintain equivalent accessibility standards, and any business serving EU customers must still comply with the EAA. The UK's own regulatory trajectory points toward stronger digital accessibility requirements rather than weaker ones.

UK accessibility enforcement operates through multiple channels:

• EHRC enforcement: The Equality and Human Rights Commission can investigate organizations, issue compliance notices, enter into binding agreements, and apply to court for enforcement orders. For the public sector regulations specifically, the EHRC can require accessibility audits and remediation within set timelines
• Individual claims: Disabled persons can bring claims in the County Court (England/Wales) or Sheriff Court (Scotland) for discrimination under the Equality Act. Remedies include compensation for injury to feelings (typically £1,000-£45,000) plus any financial loss
• Judicial review: Public sector decisions can be challenged through judicial review if accessibility obligations are not met
• CDDO monitoring: The Central Digital and Data Office monitors public sector website compliance and publishes findings. Non-compliant organizations face reputational damage and escalation to the EHRC

The Royal National Institute of Blind People (RNIB) and other disability organizations actively monitor websites and support complainants, making enforcement a practical reality rather than a theoretical risk.

CompliScan evaluates your website against WCAG 2.1 Level AA — the standard required for UK public sector bodies and considered best practice for private sector Equality Act compliance. The scanner checks all 50 Level A and AA success criteria using Playwright and axe-core, generating results that map directly to the UK government's accessibility statement template format. Each violation includes the WCAG criterion reference, impact level, and AI-generated fix suggestion. For public sector organizations, CompliScan's reports help you identify which issues to document in your accessibility statement's "non-compliance" section and prioritize remediation. Automated scanning catches 30-40% of WCAG issues — supplement with manual testing using screen readers (JAWS, NVDA, VoiceOver) and keyboard-only navigation for complete coverage. Start with a free scan, or use Shield Pro ($149/mo) for daily monitoring with up to 10 sites to maintain ongoing compliance.