Assistance dogs: What your business needs to know

For disabled and visually impaired people, assistance dogs are a vital lifeline. The dog helps to keep them safe and support them to live independently.

Under the Equality Act 2010, disabled people have the same rights to services such as accommodation, restaurants, pubs and cafes as everyone else.

If you refuse access to someone with an assistance dog, you or your staff are denying that person the opportunity to buy goods or use services in the way other people do. Not only do you risk damaging your reputation, but you could lose valuable custom and risk claims of disability discrimination, which could result in prosecution or a fine.

It’s important that businesses across the borough continue to champion inclusion and welcome disabled people and their assistance dogs.

The Equality and Human Rights Commission have produced a guide that informs businesses of their legal obligation to allow access to assistance dogs.

Thousands of disabled people rely on an assistance dog to help them with day-to-day activities. Assistance dogs also help people with vision impairments, hearing difficulties, epilepsy, diabetes, physical mobility problems and more.

Most are instantly recognisable by a harness or the dog jacket they wear.

• guide or seeing eye dogs wear fluorescent strips around their white harness
• hearing dogs for deaf people wear burgundy jackets
• dog AID (Assistance in Disability) dogs and medical detection dogs wear red jackets
• canine partners (for people with physical disabilities) wear purple jackets
• dogs for good (for people with physical disabilities or children with autism) wear green jackets
• support dogs (for physically disabled adults, seizure alert dogs for people with epilepsy, and autism assistance dogs for children with autism) wear blue jackets.

A person with an assistance dog is no different from any other customer. They should be treated in the same way as you would treat all customers.

You have a duty to make reasonable adjustments to ensure that people with assistance dogs can access your services.

Things to consider include:

• educating staff so they know to allow assistance dogs
• changing or updating a ‘No dogs’ policy to allow for assistance dogs.
  display an ‘Assistance dogs welcome’ sign (available from Guide Dogs)
• never distracting or harassing the dog. Check with the owner before any contact is to be made
• not feeding the dog
• creating sufficient space in seating areas so a guide dog can remain with its owner
• large retail outlets, such as shopping centres, should consider providing a toileting area for assistance dogs.

The Equality and Human Rights Commission have produced a guide for retail and tourist outlets who want to welcome customers with assistance dogs.

The Food Standards Agency (FSA) state that assistance dogs should be allowed in restaurants, food retailers and other premises where food is available.

Due to the special level of training that assistance dogs go through, they are unlikely to be a risk to hygiene and should be allowed access to these premises.

There are a number of things you can do to help owners of assistance dogs:

• change or update a ‘No dogs’ policy to allow for assistance dogs.
• display an ‘Assistance dogs welcome’ sign (available from Guide Dogs)
• never distract or harass the dog. Check with the owner before any contact is to be made
• don’t feed the dog
• provide a water bowl for the dog
• create sufficient space in seating areas for the dog can comfortably remain with its owner.

If you are a taxi driver or run a minicab (private hire) company, the service you provide is vital to people with disabilities, who are unable to drive and often face barriers when using public transport.

Under the Equality Act 2010, taxi and minicab drivers have a duty to carry assistance dogs at no extra cost. Drivers that cannot carry assistance dogs must carry a certificate of exemption confirming they have permission to refuse on medical grounds.

Reasonable adjustments can include:

• The driver guiding the passenger to the vehicle, and assisting with entry into the vehicle.
• Assisting the customer to exit from the car and guiding them to a safe location/destination point before departing.
• The taxi or minicab firm having a standard training programme to include disability awareness for all drivers and booking staff.

Guide Dogs have useful information to help drivers feel more confident when helping passengers with sight loss and assistance dogs.

Landlords, rental agencies, and other housing providers must make reasonable adjustments for disabled people who use assistance dogs.

This includes making changes to a tenancy agreement to allow a disabled person to have their assistance dog. If you refuse to make a reasonable adjustment, you could be acting illegally.

The NRLA has more information on making reasonable adjustments.

You can also find more information on a tenant’s rights from Citizen’s Advice.

Allergies

Allergies are not a valid reason for denying access or refusing service to people with assistance dogs. If there is a member of staff or customer who is allergic to dogs, you should take reasonable steps to ensure that the person has minimal or no contact with any customer with assistance dogs.

This could include:

• letting the dog owner know that a member of staff or another customer suffers from dog allergies
• getting a member of staff who isn’t allergic to serve any customers with assistance dogs
• making sure staff avoid physical contact with the dog
• creating distance between the dog and person affected by allergies. Move them to another area or opposite sides of the room if space is limited.

Religion or culture

Religious or cultural beliefs can not be used as a reason to refuse people with assistance dogs. The Muslim Shariat Council have clarified that Muslims should accept assistance dogs in their businesses.

However, this is a sensitive aspect of the access issue and tact should be used by all involved.

Dislike or fear of dogs

You cannot refuse entry to an assistance dog owner because you or a member of staff fear or dislike dogs.

Assistance dogs are working dogs and impeccably behaved. The Equality and Human Rights Commission states that assistance dogs:

• are highly trained
• will not wander freely around the premises
• will sit or lie quietly on the floor next to its owner
• are trained to go to the toilet on command and so are unlikely to foul in a public place.

As such, they will not jump up at people or on furniture, beg for food or be a nuisance.