Discrimination does not only happen at work. It can happen when a customer enters a shop, someone books a hotel room, or a patient uses a local service. In Great Britain, the Equality Act 2010 sets rules for how organisations treat people seeking goods, facilities and services. Those protections apply before a transaction begins, while a service is delivered and when it is withdrawn.
Understanding discrimination in services under the Equality Act helps distinguish an unpleasant experience from potentially unlawful treatment. It also explains why accessibility is more than a courtesy: sometimes it is a legal duty.
Which services does the Equality Act cover?
Section 29 applies to organisations providing services to the public or part of the public, whether customers pay or receive them free. Examples include shops, restaurants, banks, gyms, hotels, healthcare providers, entertainment venues and public-facing online services.
Public bodies delivering services must follow the rules too. Certain other public functions, including decisions under statutory powers, are covered separately. The legal position depends on what an organisation is doing, not just whether it is publicly owned.
The Act operates across England, Scotland and Wales. Northern Ireland has a different equality law framework.
Who is protected when using services?
These provisions protect people in relation to disability, gender reassignment, pregnancy and maternity, race, religion or belief, sex, sexual orientation and age where the person is 18 or over. Marriage and civil partnership is not a protected characteristic for this part of the Act.
Age restrictions are not automatically unlawful. The legislation permits exceptions for certain activities and circumstances. Other specific service exceptions also exist, so the legal assessment depends on the precise restriction and applicable rules.
Access to services rights extend beyond initial refusals. A person might be given worse terms, subjected to humiliating treatment or excluded after making a complaint. Fair access concerns the entire customer experience.
What counts as unlawful service provider discrimination?
Direct and indirect discrimination
Direct discrimination generally means treating someone less favourably because of a protected characteristic. A restaurant refusing to serve a couple because of their sexual orientation, for instance, may be acting unlawfully.
Indirect discrimination concerns a rule applied to everyone that puts people sharing a protected characteristic at a particular disadvantage without sufficient objective justification. A seemingly neutral booking or identification requirement may therefore deserve scrutiny. Understanding direct and indirect discrimination helps explain why equal-looking rules can have unequal effects.
Disability-related discrimination
The Act also addresses unfavourable treatment because of something arising in consequence of disability, subject to legal tests including possible justification. This differs from the separate requirement to make reasonable adjustments. Offering identical treatment does not always provide equal access.
Harassment and victimisation
Unwanted conduct related to specified protected characteristics may amount to harassment when it violates dignity or creates an intimidating, hostile, degrading, humiliating or offensive environment. In services, these harassment provisions cover age for adults, disability, gender reassignment, race and sex.
Religion or belief and sexual orientation are not covered by those particular harassment provisions for services. Related conduct may nonetheless amount to direct discrimination. Victimisation can occur when someone suffers a detriment because they complained about discrimination, supported someone else’s complaint or performed another protected act.
Reasonable adjustments: access must be planned
A distinctive feature of equality act services law is the anticipatory duty to make reasonable adjustments for disabled people. Providers should consider barriers before someone asks for help. This may mean changing policies, addressing physical obstacles or supplying auxiliary aids.
Imagine a cinema whose online booking system cannot be used with common screen-reading technology. It should consider accessible booking arrangements. Similarly, a venue with entrance steps should assess whether a usable accessible route or reasonable alternative is available.
What is reasonable depends on factors such as effectiveness, practicality and available resources. Not every requested change is mandatory. However, service providers cannot charge disabled customers for reasonable adjustments they are required to make.
The principles behind reasonable adjustments under the Equality Act show why an apparently uniform process can still create unlawful barriers. The duty is owed to disabled people generally, so providers should not wait for the first complaint.
What should you do after unfair treatment?
Record the date, location, service requested, people involved and exactly what happened. Keep emails, screenshots, receipts, booking records and any written reasons. Note the words used while events are fresh.
Then raise a written complaint with the organisation. Explain the treatment, its connection to a protected characteristic and the outcome sought. You might request access, an adjustment, an explanation, an apology or changes to a policy. Internal complaints can help, but they do not automatically pause court deadlines.
For example, if a gym refuses entry to a customer using an assistance dog, that customer can request written reasons and ask how the gym considered its duties. A blanket no-dogs rule does not itself resolve whether reasonable adjustments were required.
Citizens Advice and the Equality Advisory and Support Service may offer guidance on how to report discrimination. Court claims about service discrimination normally go to the county court in England and Wales or sheriff court in Scotland. The usual deadline is six months less one day from the unlawful act, subject to rules on continuing conduct and possible extensions. Seek advice promptly if a deadline may be approaching.
Frequently asked questions
Does the Equality Act apply to small businesses?
Yes. A business is not exempt simply because it is small. Its resources may affect which disability adjustments are reasonable, but the legal duties still apply.
Can a business ever refuse a customer?
Yes. Genuine safety concerns or unacceptable behaviour can justify refusing service in some circumstances. A refusal must not amount to unlawful discrimination, and any applicable exception or justification must meet its legal requirements.
Do free services have the same obligations?
Section 29 covers services provided with or without payment. Charities and public bodies may therefore have obligations even when no fee is charged.
Is a rude employee automatically breaking equality law?
No. Poor manners alone do not prove discrimination. The conduct must satisfy a relevant legal test for discrimination, harassment or victimisation, assessed in its context.
Why fair access goes beyond the front door
The Equality Act concerns the terms, treatment and accessibility of services, not just permission to enter a building. Knowing these distinctions helps customers raise precise concerns and encourages providers to remove barriers before they exclude someone. A clear written record and timely advice are useful first steps when an incident may cross the legal line.