A blind woman was reduced to tears by staff at a Tesco supermarket after she was illegally told off and “banned” from the store for taking her guide dog in. Maya Makri was with a friend in the Belsize Road branch, north London when a cashier shouted “no pets allowed”. Staff refused to believe the dog was a guide dog despite it wearing a fluorescent high-viz jacket and harness labelled “guide dog”. Two additional cashiers are said to have joined in to agree that she would be banned from the store in future. It is against the law to refuse access to a guide dog as they are a mobility aid and are exempt from policies banning dogs under the UK Equality Act 2010, according to The Guide Dogs for the Blind Association. More than 4,700 people relying on guide dogs for their everyday activities and cases of discrimination can be taken to the civil court with guidance from The Guide Dogs for the Blind Association. Tesco customer services contacted Ms Makri to offer her a £20 voucher, however no one from the Swiss Cottage store had contacted her and she is still awaiting a reply from the companys equality department.
Posted on: Fri, 17 Oct 2014 11:49:28 +0000