Justice chancellor: Stores can't expect that everyone can use self-checkout
Chancellor of Justice Ülle Madise has requested that stores in Estonia review their workplace organization to ensure that no customers end up unable to pay for essential goods in a situation where a store only uses self-checkouts that are noncompliant with accessibility requirements and store employees are not prepared to assist them.
"Self-checkouts certainly make shopping more convenient for many and help stores save costs, but we must not forget disabled people's right to an environment that respects their dignity and self-sufficiency," Madise said.
Someone had contacted the justice chancellor with the concern that the increasing share of self-checkouts in supermarkets is putting the elderly and disabled people who have difficulties or do not know how to use self-checkouts at a disadvantage.
Although some stores have more regular checkouts than self-checkouts, and their store hours are longer as well, it cannot be assumed that everyone is able to go shop at these stores, Madise noted.
Self-checkouts are not accessible for many disabled people, she continued.
"Blind people, for example, cannot use a self-checkout with a touch screen that isn't equipped to give or receive voice commands," Madise cited. "A [self-checkout] register whose screen is at eye level for someone standing cannot be used by a wheelchair user. People using other mobility aids, such as a walker or crutches, can have a difficult time scanning items' barcodes with one hand; this could lead to falls and injuries."
Someone with an intellectual disability, she added, may be confused by what is displayed on the screen, be unable to find the right button or not understand how to weigh items.
Madise noted that the UN's Convention on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities (CRPD) stresses the importance of universal design.
"According to the convention, 'universal design' is the design of products, environments, programs and services to be usable by all people, to the greatest extent possible, without the need for adaptation or specialized design," she explained. "Thus, when stores are accessible to everyone, disabled people can go shopping more easily and independently as well. Self-sufficiency, including in shopping, is a part of human dignity."
Estonia's Products and Services Accessibility Act allows for self-checkouts in use prior to June 28, 2025 to continue to be used for a period of up to 20 years.
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Editor: Mari Peegel, Aili Vahtla
