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Sainsbury's and MET Parking

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rdwarr
rdwarr Posts: 6,159 Forumite
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in Parking tickets, fines & parking
Just spotted an interesting dichotomy in the way Sainsbury's treats its disabled customers.

Sainsbury's Corporate Website:
"All car parks have designated disabled parking spaces. These are situated near the main store entrance for any of our customers with a mobility/access requirement."

Sainsbury's, Stevenage
"Park here without a Blue Badge and it will cost you £60."

I have asked them which one takes precedence ;)
Can I help?
«1

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  • Dave_TH
    Dave_TH Posts: 183 Forumite
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    I think the disability equality act 2010 takes full precedence, Sainsburys and MET's little rules are meaningless.

    http://www.legislation.gov.uk/ukpga/2010/15/section/6

    Cheers

    Dave
  • rdwarr
    rdwarr Posts: 6,159 Forumite
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    Had the reply today which I thought was prety interesting - I've actually posted to Pepipoo as well as I was interested to find out if people had come across a similar policy:
    Dear Mr Warr

    Thank you for your email and your patience while we looked into your query about designated disability parking spaces.

    We have received a reply from our internal team and they have advised us that we only allow disabled customers with blue badges to use our disabled spaces which is in line with DFT guidance. If you are registered disabled, you are entitled to a blue badge.

    If you have walking difficulties and require wider bays to get in or out of your vehicle, you are welcome to use a parent and child bay. Our website will be updated to display the correct information.

    We appreciate you taking the time to bring this matter to our attention.


    Kind regards

    Katrina !!!!!! | Customer Manager
    Sainsbury's Supermarkets Ltd | 33 Holborn, London | EC1N 2HT
    Can I help?
  • pogofish
    pogofish Posts: 10,852 Forumite
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    Read this and the linked PDF:

    http://forums.moneysavingexpert.com/showpost.php?p=46122433&postcount=21

    And the clincher, from the EHRC themselves:
    In order for someone to be regarded as disabled under the Equality Act a person does not need to hold a blue badge. The requirement under the Equality Act is that a person would need to meet the Definition of Disability under Section 6 of the Act.

    I have attached a link to the appropriate section of our website which will give further guidance on this.

    http://www.equalityhumanrights.com/a...ts/disability/

    I hope you find this information useful."

    So Sainsburys (and I'll bet their "advisors are MET themselves) are talking utter rubbish!
  • Stroma
    Stroma Posts: 7,971 Forumite
    Uniform Washer
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    Dear Katrina,

    Thank you for the reply, and for confirming that Sainsbury plc routinely breaks the Equality Act 2010 on parking at your sites. You obviously have no idea that the Blue Badge Scheme doesn't apply on private land, and the Department of Transport guidelines are for public land only.

    I would like to remind you that you can be disabled without a blue badge, providing you are classed as disabled under the Equality Act 2010, you as a service provider must make reasonable adjustments to ensure you don't discriminate against disabled drivers whether they display a blue badge or not.

    You are likely to be taken to the small claims for a breach, the claim can depending on the severity of it be unlimited. I suggest you read the definition of disablement and who is protected below


    https://www.gov.uk/definition-of-disability-under-equality-act-2010
    When posting a parking issue on MSE do not reveal any information that may enable PPCs to identify you. They DO monitor the forum.
    We don't need the following to help you.
    Name, Address, PCN Number, Exact Date Of Incident, Date On Invoice, Reg Number, Vehicle Picture, The Time You Entered & Left Car Park, Or The Amount of Time You Overstayed.
    :beer: Anti Enforcement Hobbyist Member :beer:
  • rdwarr
    rdwarr Posts: 6,159 Forumite
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    Well, the "get out" appears to be that disabled people are allowed to use the parent and child spaces. However, the obvious concerns with that one are:
    - This isn't publicised so people will not know of the entitlement.
    - The policy could put disabled people at risk of abuse/harassment from parents who were not aware that it was OK.

    As a result I believe there is still a case for discimination there and will happily take on further advice/suggestions before proceeding.
    Can I help?
  • Guys_Dad
    Guys_Dad Posts: 11,025 Forumite
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    edited 29 March 2013 at 2:23PM
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    Stroma wrote: »
    Dear Katrina,

    Thank you for the reply, and for confirming that Sainsbury plc routinely breaks the Equality Act 2010 on parking at your sites. You obviously have no idea that the Blue Badge Scheme doesn't apply on private land, and the Department of Transport guidelines are for public land only.

    I would like to remind you that you can be disabled without a blue badge, providing you are classed as disabled under the Equality Act 2010, you as a service provider must make reasonable adjustments to ensure you don't discriminate against disabled drivers whether they display a blue badge or not.

    You are likely to be taken to the small claims for a breach, the claim can depending on the severity of it be unlimited. I suggest you read the definition of disablement and who is protected below


    https://www.gov.uk/definition-of-disability-under-equality-act-2010


    I would add that most disabled drivers have a special zero-rated tax disc that contains the word "Disabled" which is a perfectly reasonable alternative indicator of the driver's disability. I would add that to the 2nd paragraph.

    I would also send copy of the correspondence to the "Risk Manager" at Sainsbury's Head Office as well as "The Equalities Director"

    As an alternative approach, you could take the non confrontational approach that might achieve a better result. By slightly rewriting Stroma's letter as below, you may not put their backs up and achieve top level attention.
    Thank you for the reply. If your reply is correct, then, regrettably in its attempts to aid disabled drivers by taking action against able-bodied drivers who abuse these wider spaces, Sainsbury plc is actially routinely breaking the Equality Act 2010 on parking at your sites. The Blue Badge Scheme doesn't apply automatically on private land, and the Department of Transport guidelines are for public land only.

    I would like to remind you that you can be disabled without a blue badge, providing you are classed as disabled under the Equality Act 2010. You as a service provider must make reasonable adjustments to ensure you don't discriminate against disabled drivers whether they display a blue badge or not. I would add that most disabled drivers have a special zero-rated road tax disc that contains the word "Disabled" which is a perfectly reasonable alternative indicator of the driver's disability.

    You are potentially liable to be taken to the small claims for a breach. The claim can, depending on the severity of it, be unlimited. The attendant adverse publicity, of course, would be far more damaging.

    I attach a link from the government's official web site that describes the definition of disablement and who is protected

    https://www.gov.uk/definition-of-disability-under-equality-act-2010

    I have also copied our correspondence to Sainsbury's Business Risk Director/Manager and the Director responsible for Equality,

    Oh - and if you park in a parent and child space, you put yourself at risk of a ticket from the PPC for misuse of that space.

    Edit:- You might also add that if you were carrying a visiting disabled relative or friend from overseas, or any disabled tourist who obviously would not have a blue badge, then clearly their policy implies a form of racial discrimination as well, which, again, has no limit on damages awarded.
  • rdwarr
    rdwarr Posts: 6,159 Forumite
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    pogofish wrote: »
    Read this and the linked PDF:

    Sadly the PDF is no longer there but the rest of it was pretty useful. Thank you :)
    Can I help?
  • trisontana
    trisontana Posts: 9,472 Forumite
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    There is also the risk that if you do park in a P&C bay without having a child with you, then you might get a ticket for that!
    What part of "A whop bop-a-lu a whop bam boo" don't you understand?
  • pogofish
    pogofish Posts: 10,852 Forumite
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    rdwarr wrote: »
    Sadly the PDF is no longer there but the rest of it was pretty useful. Thank you :)

    Sorry - Still, Coupon Mad quoted the salient part. :)
  • Stroma
    Stroma Posts: 7,971 Forumite
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    pogofish wrote: »
    Sorry - Still, Coupon Mad quoted the salient part. :)

    Salient part for me is that Katrina is saying that a disabled person without a badge cannot in effect use a disabled bay, and must use bays that are a gimmick. That is a clear breach of the act, and it should be made clear to them that they are going to be liable for a claim against them .
    When posting a parking issue on MSE do not reveal any information that may enable PPCs to identify you. They DO monitor the forum.
    We don't need the following to help you.
    Name, Address, PCN Number, Exact Date Of Incident, Date On Invoice, Reg Number, Vehicle Picture, The Time You Entered & Left Car Park, Or The Amount of Time You Overstayed.
    :beer: Anti Enforcement Hobbyist Member :beer:
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