Employers are required by law to take reasonable precautions to accommodate disabled employees and ensure that they receive equal treatment. This can require a variety of changes to be made, such installing wheelchair ramps to improve accessibility or automatic doors. It varies from case to case and the first step often taken by a business to do a risk assessment and discuss with their disabled team members or a disability group to find out what kind of signage and infrastructure could be helpful.

If you are unable to find the right disabled parking sign for your needs, a custom sign could be an option. UK Safety Store offer free graphic design support to help with your custom design, along with free proofs provided on email and free delivery to all UK mainland addresses.

When a ‘Disabled parking only’ sign is installed, it offers guidance for disabled and non-disabled motorists, so they are aware of the parking spaces available to them. It can be installed directly in-front of or above the parking space so it can be clearly viewed by drivers.

Disabled parking signs are not only intended to provide immediate instructions about where a vehicle should be parked. There are also complementary signs that can be used to guide drivers in the right direction upon entering the car park. For example, the Parking only sign includes the wheelchair symbol above a directional symbol, instructing drivers which way to drive or turn to find the disabled parking spaces on the site.

Approximately 4 million of the UK's working population have reported they have a disability, which indicates there is a high chance some employees or visitors to your business could include disabled people. This is why many businesses take this into consideration when it comes to providing disabled parking facilities on their premises. Businesses that employ disabled members of staff are actually required by law (Disability Discrimination Act 2005) to ensure that there is one space for each disabled employee plus an additional 2% of the available spaces. A disabled parking sign is installed close by to these spaces so every driver using the site is aware of where they can and cannot park.

A Blue badge holders only sign or Blue badge required sign informs and reminds drivers that they must be in possession of a Blue Badge to park in the designated space (not every site uses the Blue Badge scheme as it is not a legal requirement).

Sometimes a stronger message is required to prevent misuse of particular parking spaces. For example, a ;Blue badge holders only & Violators will be towed sign informs drivers that if a vehicle is left parked in a space designated solely for use by Blue Badge holders it will be towed away. Some businesses may find this message useful if they are experiencing issues with non-disabled drivers repeatedly parking in the wrong space.

When disabled signs are installed, they should be positioned between 1000mm and 1100mm above floor level for wheelchair users. For visually impaired persons, signs should be between 1400mm and 1700mm when standing. It is also recommended that the design has a good colour contrast, with white text on a blue background the most common form of disabled car parking sign. The rest of the design should have:

Below are a few examples of disabled parking signs commonly used by businesses and organisations. When you order from UK Safety Store, all our disabled parking signs conform to EN ISO 7010 standards, and come with a 5-year warranty against cracking or fading.

At UK Safety Store, all our disabled car parking signs are designed with these guidelines in mind, making it easier to purchase, install and maintain safety for everyone in your car park.