Purple Tuesday 2026: a practical guide for businesses and employers

Tuesday 3 November 2026 · 9 days to go · Updated 25 October 2026

Purple Tuesday 2026 is on Tuesday 3 November 2026. It asks every organisation to make at least one lasting change that makes life easier for disabled customers and staff. This guide gives you practical steps for a shop, cafe, venue or service, a separate set for employers, and ideas you can do this week, whatever your size.

Running a Purple Tuesday event or offer? Add it to Buzzbo free

Why Purple Tuesday matters for your business

• £274 billion a year. That is the spending power of disabled people and their households in the UK, known as the Purple Pound, according to Purple.
• 75% have walked away. Three in four disabled people and their families have left a UK business because of poor accessibility or customer service (Inclusive Employers).
• 1 in 5 customers. About one in five potential UK customers is disabled, and most disabled people, around 80%, have a non-visible impairment. Only 8% are wheelchair users.
• Only 10% of businesses have a strategy for disabled customers, so a small change can set you apart from competitors.

Disabled customers rarely visit alone. When a place works for them, it works for their family, friends and carers, and they come back and tell others.

A Purple Tuesday guide for businesses

For shops, cafes, pubs, venues, attractions, salons and any business that serves the public. You don't need to do all of this. Pick what fits, and keep it going after the day.

1. Publish your access information. Most disabled customers check before they travel. Say what you have and what you don't: step-free entrance or how many steps, accessible toilet, Changing Places, parking, hearing loop, seating, lighting and noise. Honest detail builds more trust than a vague "we're accessible".
2. Train your front-line team. A short disability awareness session goes a long way. Cover how to offer help without taking over, how to talk to the customer rather than their companion, and what the Hidden Disabilities Sunflower lanyard means.
3. Offer a quiet hour. Dimmed lights, music off and fewer announcements for an hour a week help autistic customers, people with sensory needs and many older customers. Pick a regular time so people can plan around it.
4. Check your website and booking. Can someone book using only a keyboard or a screen reader? Do your images have alt text, and are your phone number and email easy to find for people who can't use online forms?
5. Make it easy to ask. Add a line to your booking confirmation and website such as "Tell us if you need anything to make your visit easier", and make sure someone acts on the answer.
6. Look at carer and companion tickets. If you charge entry, a free or discounted carer ticket removes a real cost for many families. Say clearly how to get one.
7. Welcome assistance dogs. Assistance dogs are allowed in shops, cafes, restaurants and taxis under the Equality Act 2010. Make sure every member of staff knows that, and put a water bowl out.
8. Walk your own route. Go from the car park or bus stop to your counter, toilet and exit as a wheelchair user, a parent with a pushchair or someone with low vision would. Fix the small things: a heavy door, a cluttered aisle, a sign that's too high.
9. Ask disabled customers what would help. Invite feedback on the day and after it. The people who use your service will find barriers you didn't know about.

A Purple Tuesday guide for employers

Around one in five working-age people in the UK is disabled. These steps help you recruit from the whole talent pool and keep the people you have.

1. Sign up to Disability Confident. The government's free scheme has three levels, from Committed to Leader. Level 1 is a short online sign-up that commits you to steps such as accessible, inclusive recruitment and offering interviews to disabled candidates.
2. Offer adjustments at every stage of hiring. Say in every job advert and invite that applicants can ask for adjustments, such as questions in advance, extra time, a quieter room or a video interview, and how to ask.
3. Write accessible job adverts. Keep the essential criteria genuinely essential, use plain English, and say whether the role can be flexible, part-time or remote.
4. Know about Access to Work. Access to Work is a Department for Work and Pensions grant that can pay for support at work, such as specialist equipment, a support worker or taxis to work. Tell new starters and current staff about it.
5. Make reasonable adjustments easy to ask for. Have a simple, private way to ask, a named person to ask, and a record so an employee doesn't have to explain again when they change manager. Many adjustments cost little or nothing.
6. Run disability inclusion training. Use Purple Tuesday to book a session for managers, covering non-visible disabilities, neurodiversity and how to have a supportive conversation.
7. Support a disabled staff network. An employee resource group gives disabled staff a voice and gives you honest feedback. Give it time, a senior sponsor and a small budget.
8. Check your own systems. Test your intranet, HR system and internal documents with a screen reader and keyboard, and caption your internal videos and meetings.

Useful links: Disability Confident · Access to Work on GOV.UK · Inclusive Employers: Purple Tuesday. Hiring? Post an inclusive job on Buzzbo.

Ideas for your one commitment

• A cafe, pub or restaurant

  Add a large-print and allergy-clear menu, keep one table near the door free of clutter, and list your access details on Buzzbo.

• A shop

  Start a weekly quiet hour, keep a chair by the till, and train staff on the Sunflower lanyard.

• A venue or attraction

  Add a carer ticket, publish a visual story or photos of your entrance and toilets, and put a relaxed session in the calendar.

• A salon, gym or service

  Offer a quieter appointment slot and an accessible booking option by phone or text.

• An office-based employer

  Sign up to Disability Confident Level 1 and add an adjustments line to every job advert.

When you've chosen, tell people: post it with #PurpleTuesday, put it on your website, and add it to your Buzzbo listing so disabled customers can see it.

Show disabled customers your access on Buzzbo

Buzzbo is a free UK directory of accessible places and events. Disabled people and families search it by the access they need, such as step-free entry, a hearing loop, BSL, quiet hours or a Changing Places toilet. A listing is free, and your access information is never behind a paywall.

• List your access details, photos and opening hours, so customers can plan their visit.
• Add your quiet hours and relaxed sessions so they show on your listing.
• Add your Purple Tuesday events, which appear on this page automatically.

List your business free   See memberships

Purple Tuesday questions

When is Purple Tuesday 2026?

Purple Tuesday 2026 is on Tuesday 3 November 2026. It is held on the first Tuesday of November each year.

What is Purple Tuesday?

Purple Tuesday is an awareness day for organisations that want to improve the experience they give disabled customers, their families and carers. Each organisation that takes part makes at least one commitment to change something, and many share it with #PurpleTuesday.

Who started Purple Tuesday?

It was started in 2018 by the disability organisation Purple, and was launched as the UK's first accessible shopping day. It now includes organisations of every type, in the UK and abroad.

Does it cost anything to take part?

No. Any business, charity or public organisation can take part for free. You decide your own commitment, which can be as simple as training your staff or publishing your access information.

What is the Purple Pound?

The Purple Pound is the spending power of disabled people and their households. Purple puts it at £274 billion a year in the UK.

What can a small business do for Purple Tuesday?

Pick one change you can keep going: publish clear access information, start a weekly quiet hour, train your team in disability awareness, or add a carer ticket. Listing your business on Buzzbo with its access details is free and helps disabled customers find you.

How can employers take part in Purple Tuesday?

Employers can sign up to the Disability Confident scheme, offer adjustments throughout recruitment, tell staff about Access to Work, run disability inclusion training and support a disabled staff network.

Do I need to wear purple?

You don't have to, but many organisations light up their buildings, wear purple or use purple on social media on the day to show they are taking part.

Sources: Purple Tuesday, Purple, Inclusive Employers, GOV.UK. Buzzbo is not connected to Purple Tuesday or Purple.