Welcoming customers with guide dogs, assistance animals and emotional support animals

Welcoming customers with guide dogs, assistance animals and emotional support animals

Can businesses turn away guide dogs, assistance animals and emotional support animals?

Except for in rare circumstances, it is unlikely to be legal to refuse entry to guide dogs and well-trained assistance animals.

It is also generally unlawful for organisations to charge extra for allowing entry to an assistance animal.

It may be legal to refuse entry to an animal if:

• The animal has not been toilet trained. Also, if it is a breed that cannot be toilet trained, such as guinea pigs and miniature horses.
• The animal’s behaviour is unacceptable (for example, bothering other customers or making loud noise).
• The animal is bothering other assistance animals. For example, in a situation where one dog is barking at another animal, it would be sensible to ask the owner of the barking dog to calm it down, or leave if this is not possible.
• The animal poses a safety risk to other customers or assistance animals. For example, the Chartered Institute of Environmental Health has found that assistance dogs are unlikely to present a risk to food hygiene – but it is less clear for other animals such as cats and peacocks. There is currently (October 2023) an ongoing legal case about a man whose emotional support cat was refused entry to a supermarket on hygiene grounds.

All guide dogs and most assistance animals are formally trained by professionals, so this is unlikely to apply to them. Emotional support animals (ESAs) don’t necessarily receive any training, so they may be more likely to exhibit such behaviours.

Customer-facing organisations should provide training to all customer-facing staff on how to engage with customers who have guide dogs, assistance animals and ESAs. This should include training entrance staff and security staff that guide dogs and well-trained assistance animals are allowed in.

Making adjustments for disabled customers

Businesses have a legal duty to make reasonable adjustments for disabled employees and customers, clients and service users.

For customers, clients and service users, the duty is “anticipatory.” This means that businesses must make adjustments that disabled customers might need in advance, rather than waiting for a disabled customer to ask for it.

For example, if a shop advertises a ‘no dogs’ policy, they will be legally required also to advertise that people with guide dogs and assistance animals are exempted.

Customer-facing organisations should identify potential barriers to a customer with a guide dog or assistance animal, and how these barriers could be removed or reduced.

Welcoming customers with assistance animals – five top tips

1. Businesses must not refuse entry to customers with guide dogs and assistance animals – as long as the animal is quiet, well-behaved and not disruptive. There are very few instances where refusing entry is lawful.
2. Customer-facing staff, such as security and assistance staff must know not to refuse entry to customers with guide dogs and assistance dogs.
3. Businesses are allowed to advertise a “no dogs” policy – but if they do, they must also advertise that guide dogs and assistance dogs are exempted from this policy.
4. Well-behaved emotional support animals are likely to be reasonable if guide dogs and assistance animals are – but businesses should start thinking about which types of animals can and cannot reasonably be allowed in.
5. Businesses should look at consumer spaces and identify any barriers to a person accompanied by a guide dog. Work to remove those barriers before a customer raises an issue.

For guidance about guide dogs, assistance animals, ESAs and your organisation, contact our Advice Service.

Assistance animals and insurance

Businesses that welcome customers with assistance animals may need to check whether their current insurance is sufficient. Animals on the premises (even well-behaved assistance animals) could create the potential for liabilities, for which the organisation may want to be covered.

Reasons for covering assistance animals

There are strong arguments as to why your organisation should consider covering the insurance for assistance animals. These include:

• The organisation has full knowledge of what is covered and that it meets its needs.
• Insurance is renewed and at the required level (this may be more difficult to check and manage if the employee is responsible)
• Your organisation is potentially more attractive to people with assistance animals as employees, customers and clients.

What should insurance cover relating to assistance animals?

There are a few considerations to be addressed here:

• Local legislation.
• Does our current public and product liability already cover assistance animals and what you want covered? For example:
  • the animal causing harm to people or property
  • the organisation or premises causing harm to the animal.
• The potential number of people and their assistance animals who may need to be covered.
• Who is covered: employees, core contractors, customers, clients, visitors? If you have contractors, you may need to discuss this with their employer.

Further information

Assistance Dogs UK

See Assistance Dogs UK’s range of Quick Guides and Resources for more information.

Business Disability Forum

Contact our Advice Service for guidance about specific situations.

Our ‘Welcoming disabled customers’ series of resources has more information.

This page is part of a series of resources on guide dogs, assistance animals and ESAs:

• What are guide dogs, assistance animals and emotional support animals?
• Assistance animals – Deciding what’s reasonable
• Supporting employees with guide dogs, assistance animals and emotional support animals
• Welcoming guide dogs, assistance animals and emotional support animals to events and meetings.