Equality Act + PSBAR (post-Brexit)
UK tribunal-driven
Post-Brexit GB reverted to Equality Act 2010 + PSBAR 2018 with retained-EU-law status. No fixed PSBAR fine — enforcement is case-law and Cabinet-Office monitoring. Damages assessed under Vento bands (up to £60,700 for severe injury to feelings).
How the model works
The UK left the EU on 31 January 2020 and the WAD-transposing PSBAR (Public Sector Bodies (Websites and Mobile Applications) (No. 2) Accessibility Regulations 2018) was retained as domestic law. The EAA does NOT apply in Great Britain. Northern Ireland follows a separate track under the Windsor Framework for goods placed on the NI market.
Enforcement runs through two parallel tracks: (1) the Equality Act 2010's reasonable-adjustment duty, which the Employment Tribunal (employment cases) and county courts (services and public functions) enforce through compensation orders; and (2) PSBAR public-sector monitoring, which the Cabinet Office runs without a fixed administrative-fine schedule — non-compliance produces compliance notices, public reporting, and reputational consequences.
Damages under the Equality Act are uncapped in principle but follow the Vento guidelines — the Vento bands for injury-to-feelings awards are updated annually by the Presidents of Employment Tribunals: lower (£1,200-£12,000), middle (£12,000-£36,400), upper (£36,400-£60,700) for the 2024 cycle. Plus material loss, plus interest. Recent digital-accessibility tribunal awards have typically fallen in the £10,000-£60,000 range.
Strengths and weaknesses
Strengths
- Uncapped damages on the civil side produce real exposure for egregious cases — no statutory ceiling means courts can match remedy to harm.
- EHRC unlawful-act notices + s.23 binding agreements provide a regulator-led track that can scale beyond individual complainants.
- Cabinet Office quarterly monitoring of public-sector accessibility statements produces consistent compliance data.
- The Procurement Act 2023 (in force 24 February 2025) tightens accessibility-aware procurement with debarment risk for serial offenders.
Weaknesses
- No fixed PSBAR fine means private-sector accessibility runs purely on the Equality Act civil route — slower, more uncertain than administrative enforcement.
- Post-Brexit divergence from EU technical standards is a live risk: the UK government has not committed to tracking WCAG 2.2 or EAA-aligned product scope.
- Northern Ireland separate trajectory means EU-aligned obligations apply for NI-market goods but not for UK-market goods, creating internal-market friction.
- Resource constraints at EHRC have limited the volume of strategic enforcement actions in recent years.
Countries that use this model 1
Notable cases and enforcement actions
Vento v. Chief Constable of West Yorkshire Police [2003] IRLR 102
Court of Appeal decision establishing the three-band injury-to-feelings framework that still governs Equality Act remedies. The bands are updated annually for inflation.
EHRC investigations of UK retail banks (2023-2024)
EHRC has used its formal investigation powers under the Equality Act 2006 to pressure major retail banks on accessibility of online banking. Outcomes have included binding agreements rather than tribunal awards.
Procurement Act 2023 first-cycle exclusions
Under the new Act, EHRC unlawful-act findings can trigger exclusion from public contracts. For vendors selling into the UK public sector, the procurement-disqualification layer is typically the dominant economic exposure.