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The transition is complete. On 5 August 2026, the Equality and Human Rights Commission's replacement Code of Practice for Services, Public Functions and Associations became statutory. The 2011 Code was revoked on the same date. The new Code is now the principal statutory guide to how Parts 3 and 7 of the Equality Act 2010 should be interpreted and applied.
The Equality Act itself hasn't been rewritten. The legal duties owed to disabled customers haven't suddenly become stricter overnight. But the document that courts, advisers, regulators and businesses will now look to when considering those duties has changed. The period for describing the replacement Code as “the new draft” has ended. It's now the statutory Code.
Why statutory status matters
A statutory Code isn't legislation in its own right. It doesn't create new legal duties. But it carries a status that ordinary guidance doesn't.
Courts may take it into account when deciding Equality Act claims. It therefore becomes an important benchmark for determining what good practice looks like.
If an organisation has chosen not to follow the Code, it should be able to explain why its alternative approach still satisfies the Equality Act. That's a very different position from simply ignoring non-statutory guidance.
What hasn't changed
Although the Code has changed, the core legal principles remain familiar.
The duty to make reasonable adjustments is still anticipatory. Service providers should think about barriers before disabled customers encounter them. The cost of providing reasonable adjustments shouldn't ordinarily be passed on to disabled customers.
The Equality Act still applies to services, facilities, goods, websites, digital platforms and public functions. Organisations remain responsible for the way services are delivered by employees, contractors, volunteers and agents acting on their behalf. The legal test continues to focus on whether disabled people experience substantial disadvantage and whether reasonable steps could remove or reduce that disadvantage.
The Dynamic Disability Assessment is available now for sport, music, entertainment, and live events organisations. Contact Chris Fry to find out more.
The full article covers what has changed operationally under the new Code, which documents need updating, how to review your customer journey, how to test whether adjustments actually work, verification and GDPR, staff training, and a practical 30-day review framework.
The replacement Code reflects fifteen years of legal development and practical experience since the previous version was published. It provides much stronger guidance on issues that service providers now encounter routinely: hidden disabilities, fluctuating conditions, neurodiversity, digital accessibility, communication barriers, auxiliary aids, and the effectiveness of reasonable adjustments.
Many organisations have already begun moving in this direction. Others have policies that still reflect assumptions made more than a decade ago. One practical consequence of the new Code coming into force is that every organisation should now identify every document that still refers to the 2011 version.
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The full article covers the operational implications of the new statutory Code: which documents need updating, how to audit your customer journey, how to test whether adjustments actually work, evidence and verification under UK GDPR, and a practical 30-day review framework.
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What's in the full article
Operational review
What has changed under the new Code and which documents to update first — accessibility policies, training, complaints procedures, and contractor guidance.
Customer journey audit
How to review accessibility from first contact to departure, test whether adjustments actually remove the disadvantage, and handle evidence and verification lawfully.
30-day action framework
A structured checklist covering the ten areas every service provider should complete in the first 30 days after the new Code came into force.
Accessibility specialist and legal professional. Postgraduate legal qualifications, CEDR mediation accreditation. Experience in Court of Appeal and Supreme Court cases, contributions to House of Lords and Commons Select Committee proceedings. Director, Strategic Access Advisory Limited.
This article provides general legal and operational information and doesn't constitute legal advice on the circumstances of any particular organisation. For organisation-specific guidance, contact us.