Cheaper gym memberships for disabled people set to follow landmark Yorkshire settlement involving Nuffield Health customer

In the settlement, secured by Yorkshire law firm Truth Legal against Nuffield Health which has 114 gyms across the UK, the company has agreed to establish an independent committee including medical experts, which will allow people with disabilities to apply to pay reduced fees for gym membership and submit medical evidence of their disability, across their sites.

This is because their disabilities and health conditions prevent them from accessing all the equipment and facilities.

Mr Gray, the original founder of Truth Legal in 2012 and still a consultant with the firm, was previously twice a member at Nuffield Health in Harrogate. He enjoyed an active lifestyle including marathon running, playing football competitively and various other sporting activities until April 2021 when he experienced a rapid decline in his health. Side effects attributed to treatment following a prescribed course of the antibiotic fluoroquinolone, led to Mr Gray developing chronic fatigue, fainting episodes and numerous other symptoms due to heart, blood pressure and prostate problems.

Now disabled, Mr Gray was no longer physically capable of using gym equipment at the Nuffield or able to attend any scheduled exercise classes.

After contacting his former gym, Nuffield Health in Harrogate in February 2022 to find out about resuming his gym membership as a disabled person, Mr Gray inquired about a reduced membership fee. Truth Legal said he was told that no adjustments in the membership pricing structure for disabled people were available.

Truth Legal issued a disability discrimination claim for breach of the 2010 Equality Act. The outcome saw Nuffield agreeing to settle the claim, establishing an independent committee, comprising a team of medical experts to look at all future memberships for disabled members. Moving forward, people with disabilities will be able to apply for reduced membership rates after submitting medical evidence of their disability. The committee will consider applications on a case by case basis.

Mr Gray has welcomed the settlement, which is thought to be the first policy of its kind to be introduced in the UK, and said he believes it will be of significant benefit to people with disabilities who wish to visit their local gym without paying full fees for equipment and facilities that they cannot use.

“All I wanted to do was to enhance my chance to get well again. Many disabled people would benefit from fairer access to such facilities. People with chronic conditions are put off joining such places because of the unfair pricing.

“My hope is that other gym chains follow suit. If they did, they would be opening themselves up to many with disabilities who are put off by the unfair pricing policies.”

No timeframe for introducing the new policy has yet been confirmed.

A spokesperson for Nuffield Health said: “We are committed to improving the health and wellbeing of the nation and are always looking at ways to widen access to our services. As part of this we continually consider new ways to support people with different needs.”