Can You Be Sued in the UK for Your Website Not Being Accessible?

13 October 2026 · AI Web Page SEO

Yes. A disabled person put at a substantial disadvantage by an inaccessible website can bring a claim under the Equality Act 2010 in the county court in England and Wales, or the sheriff court in Scotland, normally within six months. The court can award damages, including compensation for injury to feelings, or order an injunction or declaration. RNIB took legal action against bmibaby over its website in 2012, and the case was settled after the airline made changes.

Yes. In the UK, a disabled person who is put at a substantial disadvantage by an inaccessible website can bring a claim under the Equality Act 2010, because the Act covers services provided through websites. The claim goes to the county court in England and Wales, or the sheriff court in Scotland, and the court can award damages, including compensation for injury to feelings. Public bodies can also face action from the Equality and Human Rights Commission. This is general information, not legal advice.

The short answer

Who can sue: a disabled person who has been discriminated against, for example by a failure to make reasonable adjustments to a website.
Where: the county court in England and Wales, or the sheriff court in Scotland.
When: normally within six months of the discrimination. A court can allow a later claim if it thinks that is just and equitable.
What the court can order: damages (including compensation for injury to feelings), an injunction, or a declaration.

Why a website counts

The Equality Act 2010 applies to anyone who provides goods, services or facilities to the public in Great Britain, and it does not matter whether the service is provided in a shop or online. Service providers must make reasonable adjustments so disabled people are not put at a substantial disadvantage, and for services that duty is anticipatory: you are expected to plan for the needs of disabled people in general, before anyone complains.

A site that cannot be used without a mouse, that a screen reader cannot follow, where buttons have no names or form fields have no labels, or where online-only prices can only be had by someone who can use the site, can put disabled customers at exactly that disadvantage. Scope for Business sums it up: anyone who believes they have been discriminated against by a UK online service provider can bring a claim in the UK courts.

Has anyone been sued?

Yes. In January 2012 the Royal National Institute of Blind People (RNIB) started legal proceedings against the airline bmibaby. RNIB said the website could not be used by people relying on screen readers or by people who cannot use a mouse, and that customers had to phone to get fares that were only offered online. The case did not reach a court ruling: bmibaby made changes to its website, and the claim was settled.

That is the usual pattern in the UK. Most website claims are settled once the organisation agrees to fix its site, and few reach a judgment. That does not make the risk small: a claim costs time and legal fees to defend, and the outcome is often a commitment to fix the site anyway.

Public sector bodies

Public sector websites have an extra layer. Under the Public Sector Bodies Accessibility Regulations 2018 they must meet WCAG 2.2 Level AA and publish an accessibility statement. The Government Digital Service monitors a sample of sites, and the Equality and Human Rights Commission (England, Scotland and Wales) and the Equality Commission for Northern Ireland are responsible for enforcement. The EHRC can investigate organisations and take court action.

Northern Ireland and the EU

In Northern Ireland, disability discrimination in services is covered by the Disability Discrimination Act 1995 rather than the Equality Act 2010. A UK business that sells services such as online shopping or banking to consumers in EU countries may also fall under the European Accessibility Act, which has applied since 28 June 2025 and is enforced by each EU country.

How to reduce the risk

Test against WCAG 2.2 Level AA. It is the standard used to judge whether a site is accessible.
Fix what you find, and keep a record. Audits and the fixes that followed show you took reasonable steps.
Give people another way to get help. A phone number, email or accessible contact form, and the same prices offline as online, so no one is shut out while fixes are made.
Publish an accessibility statement. Say what works, what does not yet, and how to ask for help.
Do not rely on an overlay. A toolbar added to a page does not fix the page's own code.

Our Accessibility Audit checks a page against all 55 WCAG 2.2 Level A and AA criteria as your visitors see it, checks two more pages of your site, and explains each problem and how to fix it. See a real report in our example accessibility report.

Sources

Try it yourself: Accessibility Audit

Frequently asked questions

What can a court order if my website is found to discriminate?

Under the Equality Act 2010 the main remedies are damages, which can include compensation for injury to feelings, an injunction requiring you to act or stop acting, and a declaration of the parties' rights. Claims about services are heard in the county court in England and Wales or the sheriff court in Scotland, and are normally brought within six months unless the court allows a later claim.

Has anyone in the UK been sued over an inaccessible website?

Yes. In January 2012 the RNIB started legal proceedings against the airline bmibaby, saying its website could not be used with screen readers or without a mouse and that some fares were only available online. The airline made changes to its website and the case was settled. Most UK website claims end the same way, with the organisation agreeing to fix its site.

How can I reduce the risk of an accessibility claim?

Test your site against WCAG 2.2 Level AA, fix what you find and keep a record of both. Offer another way to get help and the same prices offline, publish an accessibility statement saying what works and how to get help, and do not rely on an overlay toolbar, because it does not change the page's own code. Regular audits after changes catch new problems before customers do.