The European Accessibility Act (EAA) is a pivotal directive reshaping accessibility standards across Europe, aiming to make products and services more inclusive for people with disabilities. Given that 9 out of 10 small businesses in Switzerland have an online presence, the digital requirements of EAA hold particular weight. They transcend mere legal compliance and serve as a mechanism for growth.
What is the European Accessibility Act (EAA)?
The EAA is a European Union (EU) directive which requires businesses to make their products and services accessible to users with disabilities by June 2025. While the EAA applies broadly across all member states, its impact extends beyond the union’s borders, affecting businesses like those in Switzerland too, which engage in EU trade.
Broadly speaking, the EAA aims to eliminate barriers to accessibility in both public and private sectors. It aims to create a more inclusive society, allowing individuals with disabilities to participate equally and more wholly in everyday life. It also aims to establish consistent accessibility standards across the EU, helping to promote trade and innovation.
Unlike regulations, directives like the EAA allow member states to decide how to implement their requirements. For instance, Germany and France have tailored laws to enforce EAA standards domestically. Swiss businesses, although outside the EU, must align with the standards of the EU country within which it is trading.
The EAA applies to sectors such as banking, e-commerce, telecommunications, and public transportation. Its emphasis on digital accessibility has come about in recent years, following the dominant rise of the internet and the pivotal role it plays in serving the global economy. As a result, websites, apps, and other digital platforms have come under increasing scrutiny and have become the subject of an increasing number of EAA lawsuits.
Free EAA Compliance Audit of your Website
Detecting EAA Compliance issues has never been easier than it is now. At Recite Me we offer a free audit of your websites homepage. This will identify and highlight any non-compliance on your website as it relates to the European Accessibility Act and WCAG. Followed by recommendations on how to implement the necessary changes to improve your websites accessibility score and standing.
Which organisations in Switzerland does the EAA apply to?
The EAA applies to any organisation which sells its products and services within the EU, excluding only microenterprises. What is a microenterprise? A microenterprise is defined as a small business with 10 or fewer employees and an annual turnover of less than €2 million.
So, provided your company surpasses these thresholds, which 93% of EU companies do, then you must comply with the EAA. This exclusion ensures that larger organisations bear the responsibility for creating accessible services, affording smaller businesses some slack during their initial growth phase.
For Swiss companies, it is important to note that the EAA does not discriminate based on where your headquarters are located. For example, it doesn’t matter that your business is registered in Switzerland. So long as your products and services are made available to citizens of the EU, meaning if you trade within EU member states, you must adhere to the EAA’s requirements.
Accessibility laws relevant to EAA compliance in Switzerland?
As previously discussed, the EAA acts as a framework directive, meaning that while member states subscribe to the EU’s instruction, they are given the freedom to implement and enforce it as they see fit. For most member states, this means employing the Web Content Accessibility Guidelines (WCAG), although Switzerland does itself have some laws which might help guide companies toward accessibility.
Web Content Accessibility Guidelines (WCAG)
WCAG is the gold standard of web accessibility. Essentially, it’s a set of globally-recognised criteria for making your online content accessible. These criteria are built on four core principles, called the POUR principles:
- Perceivable: Information must be presented in ways users can perceive (e.g., text alternatives for images).
- Operable: Navigation and interfaces should be usable without complex actions (e.g., keyboard accessibility).
- Understandable: Content and interfaces should be easy to comprehend.
- Robust: Content should be compatible with assistive technologies now and in the future.
There are several versions of WCAG — WCAG 1.0, 2.0, 2.1, 2.2. 3.0 — each one an evolution of the next. And within these versions, are three levels of compliance — Level A, AA, and AAA — where each subsequent addition of ‘A’ represents an increase in the stringency of the requirements. Importantly, for Swiss companies to comply with EAA, they should follow WCAG 2.1 Level AA standards.
Federal Act on the elimination of discrimination against people with disabilities (BehiG)
The BehiG, also known as the Disability Discrimination Act (DDA), is Switzerland’s primary anti-discrimination law, covering accessibility in both physical and digital environments. It came into force in 2004, requiring public and private entities who serve the general public to make reasonable accommodations for individuals with disabilities. The law doesn’t just stop at physical accessibility, extending to digital platforms, such as websites, mobile apps, and other technologies too.
While Switzerland is not part of the EU nor subject to EU laws, the BehiG provides a robust legal foundation for improving accessibility, which can be used by Swiss companies to make significant progress toward EAA compliance.
Non-compliance with BehiG can lead to discrimination claims in court; the results of which can result in compensation being awarded up to a maximum of 5,000 Swiss Francs, alongside any corrective measures ordered by the court. But more importantly, non-compliance with BehiG means that you are likely failing to accommodate disabled individuals, and thus failing to comply with EAA — the penalties for which can be much stronger.
Important requirements for EAA compliance as a Swiss business
The EAA details requirements in several key areas. As a Swiss company trading in the EU, it is absolutely essential that you understand these requirements so that you can take steps toward ensuring compliance. Let’s unpack a few of these key areas.
Website accessibility
First and foremost is web accessibility. Ensuring your website is designed to accommodate users with visual, hearing, motor, or any other kind of impairment, is a crucial part of EAA compliance. Websites must adhere to WCAG 2.1 Level AA guidance, which includes features such as, seamless keyboard navigation, screen reader compatibility, and the ability to resize text up to 200% without losing functionality.
Mobile app accessibility
Similar to websites, mobile apps must comply with WCAG 2.1 Level AA standards. Apps should support features like voice control and high-contrast modes to accommodate users with motor impairments or low vision. Interfaces should be intuitive, fonts should be readable, and content should be compatible with assistive technologies, like screen readers.
Accessible customer support
Under the EAA, customer service channels, such as chatbots or call centres, must cater to users with disabilities. This might involve adding live captioning to phone support or ensuring chat interfaces work with screen readers. However, the easiest way for business owners to ensure accessible customer support is simply to offer alternative means of support. For example, if you only offer phone support, consider introducing an email support service so that users with speech or hearing impairments, who may not be able to communicate effectively over the phone, can still receive the help they need.
Accessibility of documentation
Digital documents like PDFs have become the primary format of information transfer and business communications in recent years. To create accessible PDF documents, use features such as tagged headings to ensure screen readers can follow a logical order. Use descriptive link text which appropriately alludes to the link destination. You may even use OCR (Optical Character Recognition) technology to make any text in scanned images searchable, and readable by screen readers.
Risks of EAA non-compliance in Switzerland
Failing to meet EAA requirements while trading within the EU can create quite the headache for Swiss businesses. Being aware of these risks serves as a strong reminder why you should always seek to maintain the highest possible standard of accessibility. In this section, we unpack some of the main consequences of EAA non-compliance.
Legal and financial penalties
Non-compliance can result in hefty EAA fines, legal challenges, or other regulatory actions. For instance, a Swiss-based e-commerce company operating in the EU may face sanctions if their website lacks screen-reader compatibility, as this makes it inaccessible to visually impaired users, which violates the EAA’s stipulations.
The type and extent of these sanctions depends on the country where the lawsuit is filed. For example, a lawsuit brought about by a plaintiff in Ireland could result in fines of up to €5,000 and/or imprisonment for up to 6 months. It could also involve court-ordered remediation measures, such as a mandate for digital interfaces to be made fully accessible within a tight deadline, adding extra costs.
Market restrictions
Failure to comply with EAA standards can lead to restricted market access within the EU, significantly limiting growth opportunities. For example, a Swiss software provider offering project management tools may be unable to secure contracts with EU-based organisations that require vendors to demonstrate accessibility compliance. This restriction could cut the company off from a large portion of the European market, curbing potential revenue streams.
Reputational damage
Businesses that neglect accessibility are highly likely to be perceived negatively by the public. This is especially true as consumers become more attuned to corporate social responsibility and inclusivity. Negative publicity stemming from EAA-related lawsuits can spread quickly on social media or throughout advocacy groups.
Imagine, for example, that you own a Swiss e-learning platform. Should you fail to make its content accessible for your learners, you may face a public call-out, causing existing users to churn and future users to reconsider their loyalty. Both of these outcomes have detrimental consequences for sales and revenue. Not to mention, once customer trust has been undermined, it can be extremely difficult to get back, leaving your business in a nasty predicament.
Customer alienation
An inaccessible digital presence risks alienating millions of potential users with disabilities. For example, a travel booking platform that fails to provide keyboard-navigable interfaces could frustrate users with motor impairments, deterring them from becoming customers. This alienation not only reduces immediate sales but also damages long-term customer loyalty in an increasingly competitive marketplace.
Download your free EAA Compliance Checklist
Want to make sure your website is compliant with the European Accessibility Act? Then get started today with our EAA checklist. This document details all of the important steps you need to take to ensure your website is EAA compliant before the deadline. Work through each step to avoid the negative consequences of being non-compliant.
How to make your website EAA-compliant before the june 2025 deadline
According to a 2024 WebAIM study, which analysed some 1 million website home pages for WCAG errors, 95.9% of them carried WCAG failures, with an average of 50.8 errors per home page. With the June 2025 deadline for EAA compliance in our near sights, this is a staggering figure. It highlights the urgent need for business to begin addressing accessibility gaps, and the speed with which they need to do so. Not sure where to start? Here is your 4-step process to becoming EAA-compliant.
Conduct an accessibility audit
Start by identifying areas where your website falls short. By understanding current deficiencies, you can create a roadmap for improvement.
A comprehensive audit should combine:
- Automated testing: Conducts rapid scans of website code to reveal common issues like missing alt text or poor colour contrast.
- Manual testing: Relies on web designers or accessibility experts to evaluate the usability of your website in terms of navigation, readability, and other user-centric elements.
- User testing: Engages individuals with disabilities to assess real-world usability and provide constructive feedback from the one perspective that matters most.
All accessibility audits should be conducted using WCAG 2.1 Level AA as a benchmark. Consider using tools like an accessibility checker, which synthesise audit results into a concise report and offer guidance on making improvements.
Make adjustments according to WCAG’s requirements
Once you’ve assessed your current level of accessibility, the next step is to address any shortfalls. Use WCAG 2.1 Level AA standards to understand what is expected of you, and begin taking action, one WCAG failure at a time. This might involve:
- Enhancing the colour contrast ratio of normal size text to 4.5:1
- Adding contextualised alt text descriptions to images for better screen reader compatibility.
- Ensuring seamless keyboard navigation across various web page elements.
Continued testing
Once you have achieved accessibility according to WCAG’s Level AA standards, the next step is to maintain it. This is an ongoing process that involves regularly testing your site to prevent new barriers from arising due to updates or changes. Audit your site at least after every design adjustment or regulation update, and carry out monthly checks to stay on top of long-term compliance. Adopting this kind of proactive approach will save you time and resources in the long run.
Run employee training sessions
Educating your team is critical to maintaining accessibility. Training helps embed a culture of inclusivity into your company, making everyone more proficient at identifying and fixing accessibility issues.
Training sessions should cover topics, such as:
- Basics of WCAG compliance.
- Best practices for creating accessible content.
- Hands-on testing exercises using assistive technologies.
The benefits of training also extend to other areas of business and employment, like making sure diverse team members are treated correctly, are accommodated for, and are given the necessary resources to succeed. Ultimately, accessibility isn’t a one-and-done project; it’s a continuous commitment to inclusivity that never really goes away. So, instead of making it a chore, learn how to wield accessibility to your advantage.
Need more help becoming EAA compliant?
The following resources are packed full of actionable tips and expert advice for making your digital content compliant with the European Accessibility Act:
European Accessibility Checklist
Start ticking off European Accessibility Act requirements and ensure your organisation is compliant to avoid the risks.
European Accessibility Act Guide
Ensure your organisation is meeting the necessary requirements for European Accessibility Act compliance.
Free EAA Audit of your Website
Download a free accessibility check of your website. This report will highlight any EAA non-compliance and how to fix it.
