Event's new disability policy - legal/fair?
An event I attend is changing its policy. They have a "disability access" style pass which allows disabled people to meet the event's special guests in a separate quiet session, lets them sit in reserved seating at the back of the event hall so they can enter/exit freely and without getting crushed in the crowds, and so on.
They've changed the policy to say you must apply for the pass within 48 hours of buying your event ticket. This applies to all events, so I became aware of it for an overseas event, but tickets will soon be on sale for the next UK event.
Here are the reasons I'm not sure it's acceptable in either country, but especially in the UK:
- This rule is only written on the accessiblity page. Tickets go on sale roughly 5 months before each event. It's unreasonable to expect every disabled person to view the accessibility page before buying tickets, without even knowing the pass exists for them to read about.
- 48 hours is an unreasonably short time to gather the appropriate information, especially as a disabled person. This creates an unnecessary barrier for disabled customers.
- Information about the exact details of how the pass works is currently gated behind being approved for the pass, and attempts to discuss the exact details with other disabled people in the Discord server are shut down as that information is "private" to attendees. I would have thought that restricting the information to “approved” individuals, stopping them from fully understanding the support available - would constitute an issue.
- The burden is on the disabled person to explain why the current system doesn't work for them, potentially without knowing the system (first time attendee).
- When someone didn't know about the change to the system and was going to be months late in apply for the pass, an organiser said they could try emailing but they might not get it if the scheme was "full", suggesting they intend to limit the pass regardless of the needs of later applicants, cutting it off once they reach a certain number. Extending the provisions I've mentioned above would not constitute "undue hardship" to the organisation in either country.
- I'm fairly sure you can't restrict provision of accomodations to a narrow 48hr window that takes place five months before the event.
- The exact details aren't sent out until a few days before the event, so the disabled person may be about to leave to travel to the event before they even know which day and time the session is. Non-disabled people will have access to their full schedule much earlier. The disabled person will be at a disadvantage there anyway, but moreso as they may have needed extra time to plan their days because of their disability.
- (On a separate note, you can only get a carer ticket if you can prove you're in receipt of higher-rate benefit. Not even things like the Access Card with the Essential Companions portion are suitable, nor medical evidence that might be accepted elswhere. I'm not sure if they're allowed to do that.)
I want to contact them about it, but I'm scared of making a fuss if I don't have a point. I don't want to look like a troublemaker and get banned from future events for giving them a hard time. I just really like the event otherwise and want to make sure this sort of thing is fair for everyone, and I feel like the new 48hr rule really isn't fair. I feel like the tight timeframe and "hidden" details undermine equality.
Do I have a point? Am I right about this? How do I go about wording it to them in an email, since I've probably used a lot of "technical" disability rights stuff here?
Comments
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Edit: 3. should say "private to attendees who've already been approved for the pass, so they don't even know what they're applying for until they've been accepted"
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