EAA: Only 11% of organisations confident they will meet June deadline
Mark Walker | 17 Apr 2025A survey conducted by AbilityNet in January 2025 showed that the majority of organisations are not confident they will comply with the new European Accessibility Act (EAA) when it comes into force in June 2025.
Most of the people who responded (60%) have known about the Act for up to a year, and 40% said they’d known about it longer than that.
However, just 11% feel confident about what they’re doing and think they will be compliant.
Reasons for not being prepared
The majority (70%) either aren’t sure what to do, have some idea, but don’t think they have time, or simply don’t know what they are doing about it.
The reasons given for not being prepared include:
- Lack of in-house expertise, 44%
- Uncertainty about technical requirements, 37%
- Budget constraints, 30%
- Leadership buy-in, 25%
- Fixing all the issues that have been identified, 24%
- Third-party vendor delays, 12%
More education and information needed
AbilityNet’s Head of Consultancy, Will Sutton, sees this moment as a chance for organisations to accelerate progress: but acknowledged how much education and support is still needed:
“The European Accessibility Act is an exciting step forward that’s generated plenty of discussion in the accessibility community, but our survey shows that there is still a lot of work needed to spread the word. It’s vital for businesses within the UK to recognise how the EAA impacts their operations, both immediately and moving forward. With enforcement across Europe beginning this summer, being proactive ensures any organisation can confidently meet the requirements and ensure continuous compliance with the Directive"
“AbilityNet has been running events about the EAA for several years, and recently published our Five-Step Guide to EAA Readiness. It’s encouraging to see such a strong response from the accessibility community, and together, we can reach more people working in relevant roles and sectors and keep building knowledge and confidence."
"These survey results are a reminder to organisations that this is a great time step back and critically evaluate their current accessibility maturity and look towards what they need to do to build a more holistic and embedded approach. As well as achieving and maintaining compliance it will give them access too the broadest market for their products and services.”
UK businesses and the EAA
The European Accessibility Act comes into force on 28 June and affects any UK business that provides a range of product or service to consumers in the EU. This includes anyone using websites or apps to sell products or services to EU consumers, which puts many UK-based businesses and other organisations in scope of the Act.
AbilityNet ran a highly popular webinar in July 2024 about the EAA requirements and has continued to explain the likey impact on UK businesses.
However the survey shows that just half have attended webinars or training about the EAA, 36% have conducted an accessibility audit and 30% have taken legal advice about the possible impact of the EAA.
The picture may be much worse
As Will notes, the sample in the survey is skewed towards those with accessibility knowledge:
"Our survey connected with clients and newsletter subscribers, an audience often focused on accessibility."
For example it’s notable that 43% of the 100+ respondents identified as subject matter experts in the EAA or possess an advanced understanding of its requirements, giving us valuable perspectives from a knowledgeable group."
"The feedback from this in-the-know group shows that even those familiar with accessibility principles need more clarity and preparation time, underscoring the importance of comprehensive EAA awareness and support for all relevant business sectors."
The organisations in the survey cover a wide range of sizes and types. Businesses with fewer than 20 employees made up just 11% of the responses, but 1 in 3 either have more than 250 employees or describe themselves as multinational corporations. A further 30% are government, public sector or non-profits – all of which may be affected by the EAA.
How to prepare for June deadline
The first step for any UK organisation is to understand the purpose of scope of the EAA, and to be clear whether they need to meet its requirements.
- Almost half (49%) of respondents said they believe they are in scope for the EAA, but 35% said they don’t yet know whether they are.
- Given the risks associated with non-compliance it may be necesary to ask for legal advice, however just 30% of respondents say they have done so.
When asked how AbilityNet can help them prepare, the responses fell into three main types:
- Information and resources, such as checklists, roadmaps and country-by-country details
- Consultation services, providing guidance and advice about what to do
- Audit and testing services
AbilityNet has repsonded to this by cretaing a new Five-Step Guide to EAA Readiness, available for free download form our website.
Download your AbilityNet EAA Readiness Guide
Summary of key EAA survey results
Method
The survey was issued to AbilityNet email and cient contacts in February 2025. 115 responses were processed.
Who responded
Type of organisation that best applies to your work:
- Government/Public sector 8.5%
- Non-profit/NGO 20.8%
- Educational institution 14.2%
- Small business with fewer than 20 employees 11.3%
- Large business (250+ employees) 11.3%
- Multinational corporation 22.6%
- Other 11.3%
What is your role in your organisation?
- Diversity, Equity and Inclusion 22%
- Content Creation 19%
- Project Management 18%
- Customer Experience 16%
- Digital Design: Visual design or UX/UI 14%
- General Management 14%
- Digital Product Management 13%
- Marketing and Communications 10%
- None of the above 10%
- IT Strategy 9%
- Digital Quality Assurance 8%
- Testing (standards-based) 8%
- Testing (user research) 8%
- Development: Front End 6%
- IT Architecture and Integration 6%
- Digital Accessibility 5%
- Digital Security 5%
- Procurement 5%
- Development: Back End 4%
- Sales 3%
- HR and training 2%
- Data Science 0%
- Legal 0%
- Other (please specify) 20%
- Others included:
- Digital Accessibility (5); Inclusive design consultant (1); Built Environment Standards and Guidelines, Business Development Training (1); Engineering (1); Library Management (1); Supply Chain Manager (1); Internal Trainer - focus on accessibility (1); Founder (2); Finance and admin (1); Admin (1); Trustee (1); Email developer (1); C suite (1); Brand (1)
How would you describe your knowledge of the EAA? Please select one only.
- Expert - I lead EAA compliance efforts and am considered a subject matter expert 11%
- Advanced - I understand requirements and its implications for my organisation 33%
- Basic - I know the EAA exists but need guidance 37%
- None - I'm unfamiliar with the EAA 19%
When did you first learn about the EAA?
- Today 18%
- In the past 3 months 22%
- In the past year 19%
- More than 1 year ago 40%
Do you believe your organisation is in scope of the EAA? Please select one only.
- Yes 49%
- No 16%
- Not sure 35%
Has your organisation taken legal advice about the possible impact of the EAA? Please select one only
- Yes 31%
- No 53%
- Don’t know 17%
How ready is your organisation for the June deadline?
- We are clear about what we need to do and confident we will be compliant 12%
- We are clear about what we need to do but not sure we can get it all done by June 18%
- *We have some idea about what we need to do but not sure we'll be ready by June 29%
- We are not prepared and don't know what we need to do 20%
- I’m not sure 22%
What have you done to prepare for the EAA? Please select all that apply.
- Conducted an accessibility audit or gap analysis 54%
- Trained staff on EAA requirements 34.20%
- Developed a compliance road map or policy 18.40%
- *Participated in EAA-related webinars, workshops, or training 75%
- Sought legal advice 42%
- Engaged third-party consultants 21%
What have been the biggest challenges in preparing for the EAA? Please select all that apply.
- Budget constraints 41%
- *Lack of in-house expertise 59%
- Uncertainty about technical requirements 49%
- Fixing all the issues that have been identified 32%
- Leadership buy-in 34%
- Third-party vendor delays 17%
What help do you think AbilityNet can provide to help you prepare for EAA?
- Information and resources, such as checklists, roadmaps and country-by-country details
- Consultation services, providing guidance and advice about what to do
- Audit and testing services
Attitudes survey 2024 EAA results
When AbilityNet's Attitudes to Digital Accessibility survey asked in 2024 how organisations were preparing for the EAA, responses outlined different approaches:
- Just over 1 in 5 of respondents told us their organisation is educating staff about the EAA
-17% are updating accessibility statements
A smaller percentage of respondents are talking to internal teams about it:
- 17% will be talking to product teams about the requirements of the EAA
- 17% are talking to their legal team
- Just over 1 in 10 of respondents are procuring an audit for some or all digital products and services.
Some respondents told us they didn’t know what their organisation was doing (13 respondents), or that their organisation was doing nothing (11).
“I had to run an awareness campaign for 7 months before anyone started paying attention even a little bit.” - respondent to AbilityNet's Attitudes to Digital Accessibility Survey 2024
Download Attitudes Survey results
