Hospital Complaint For Breach Of Equality Act 2010

Coupon-mad

Yes maybe contact DMUK, why not? Maybe they will redeem themselves in your case!

Fergie76

I've just had a thought. I get rather confused about contract etc.

If it is contract, as the hospital has suggested (even though we know it isn't), does that mean that the hospital (APCOA) should therefore be paying VAT to HMRC?

If so, I might FOI the hospital and ask them how much VAT they have paid?

Is my understanding right or am I getting confused?

bazster

Fergie76 wrote: »

I've just had a thought. I get rather confused about contract etc.

If it is contract, as the hospital has suggested (even though we know it isn't), does that mean that the hospital (APCOA) should therefore be paying VAT to HMRC?

If so, I might FOI the hospital and ask them how much VAT they have paid?

Is my understanding right or am I getting confused?

I don't think they have said that, but since what they said was as clear as mud submit the FOI anyway, it might help clarify the point and will add to the pressure.

Fergie76

Baz, on phone so can't quote, but look at reply from hospital in post 38, they say it is contract, though to be fair, I don't think they have a clue.

Enterprise_1701C

I have only just seen this, but I have to say one thing. You are in severe danger of forcing all car park companies to levy charges for blue badge holders on the same basis as normal drivers. I have already seen this happening in car parks local to us.

That said, the only discrimination I can see here is against normally abled people, who are not allowed to park in disabled spaces but are expected to pay for less convenient spaces. I have also often seen blue badge cars parked in parent and child spaces when there has been more than enough disabled spaces available, this leaves less parent and child spaces available, meaning parents have to park in "normal" spaces making it difficult to get the child/children out and back into the car.

bazster

Fergie76 wrote: »

Baz, on phone so can't quote, but look at reply from hospital in post 38, they say it is contract, though to be fair, I don't think they have a clue.

I know, but it seems to me that they were referring there to the contract between themselves and APCOA rather than a supposed contract between APCOA and the motorist. This is the matter that's unclear.

bazster

Enterprise_1701C wrote: »

I have only just seen this, but I have to say one thing. You are in severe danger of forcing all car park companies to levy charges for blue badge holders on the same basis as normal drivers. I have already seen this happening in car parks local to us.

No he isn't, he's in danger of forcing this NHS trust to allow free parking for persons with "protected characteristics" within the meaning of the Equality Act 2010, regardless of what space they park in.

Enterprise_1701C wrote: »

That said, the only discrimination I can see here is against normally abled people, who are not allowed to park in disabled spaces but are expected to pay for less convenient spaces.

As the OP has made perfectly clear, the discrimination is against disabled people who have to pay more than the able (when the spaces for disabled motorists are full), because in many cases their visit will take them longer as a result of their disability.

The Equality Act 2010 is crystal clear, if a disabled person is put at a disadvantage compared to an able person it's discrimination.

Enterprise_1701C wrote: »

I have also often seen blue badge cars parked in parent and child spaces when there has been more than enough disabled spaces available, this leaves less parent and child spaces available, meaning parents have to park in "normal" spaces making it difficult to get the child/children out and back into the car.

You are going to undermine yourself completely here by (i) referring to Blue Badges and (ii) conflating issues for disabled people with gimmick parent/child parking. Blue Badges are a scheme applicable to the public highway only and have no meaning on private property. The Equality Act 2010 does not restrict its protections to Blue Badge holders, any person with "protected characteristics" is entitled to "reasonable adjustments", so restricting those "reasonable adjustments" to Blue Badge holders only is in itself discriminatory.

Parent/child spaces are just a supermarket gimmick unlike "reasonable adjustments" for disabled people which have statutory backing in the form of the Equality Act 2010.

Enterprise_1701C

bazster wrote: »

Parent/child spaces are just a supermarket gimmick unlike "reasonable adjustments" for disabled people which have statutory backing in the form of the Equality Act 2010.

That may be the case, but they are a gimmick that allow extra space for getting the child into and out of the car. Parents are not allowed to park in disabled bays (unless they are disabled), using normal parking spaces causes real problems when getting children into and out of car seats. Disabled bays are available so why take a space that someone else needs? They would be the first to complain at a parent using a disabled bay.

bazster

Enterprise_1701C wrote: »

That may be the case, but they are a gimmick that allow extra space for getting the child into and out of the car. Parents are not allowed to park in disabled bays (unless they are disabled), using normal parking spaces causes real problems when getting children into and out of car seats. Disabled bays are available so why take a space that someone else needs? They would be the first to complain at a parent using a disabled bay.

Why don't you ask them? You are wasting your breath on me, you'll never persuade me that gimmick parent/child parking spaces are in any way comparable to parking spaces for disabled people.

Half_way

that gimmick parent/child parking spaces are in any way comparable to parking spaces for disabled people.

Im pretty much of the same belief as above, Parent /child bays are nothing more than a gimmick and a relatively recent one at that.
They serve as nothing more than a marketing gimmick, and another potential revenue stream for the greedy parking companys that infest supermarket ( and other ) car parks like a cancer.

Another significant problem is that they give people a false sense of entitlement, there have been several cases on here where someone has occupied a disabled space as "All the parent and child spaces were full" or "there were no Parent and Child spaces in the car park so I used a disabled space"