ISO 22458 Inclusive Service Standard

ISO 22458:2022 Consumer Vulnerability – Requirements and guidelines for the design and delivery of inclusive service is the ISO standard covering the requirements for providing an inclusive service and replaces the British BS 18477 standard. This standard outlines the requirements for Inclusive Service Provision and details the requirements for identifying and responding to consumer vulnerability.

The current version of this standard is ISO 22458:2022 and is intended as a guideline for organisations looking to ensure that they are fully committed to providing a fair and inclusive service with consideration of the needs of vulnerable users.

Meeting the requirements of this standard

To meet the needs of this standard there are a number of inclusive practices that need to be in place and the organisation must also demonstrate that effective systems are in place to identify and deal with service users who may be vulnerable. In addition the service must also be fully accessible which covers marketing materials and website and an accessibility review should also be completed. All operatives who deal with any identified vulnerable groups must be trained so that they can recognise the triggers to indicate vulnerability.

If you want hands-on help preparing your management system we can introduce you to a consultant from our network of approved ISO consultants. If you would rather set the system up in house, the alphaZ ISO 22458 toolkit gives you the policies, procedures and registers to build it from, and access to the alphaZ documents is included free when you certify with us.

If you would like further information about this standard, the ISO 22458 section of the isomanaged.com knowledge base goes through the standard clause by clause in plain language, setting out what each requirement means in practice and what you need to have in place.

ISO 22458 Documentation Toolkit

To assist with meeting requirements of this new ISO standard we have prepared a document toolkit for setup of documentation and resources to assist with meeting the ISO 22458:2022 requirements and comes complete with implementation guidance. Files can also be supplied with your company name / logo added to ensure ready to use.

The toolkit includes a number of useful documents including;

• Template code of conduct for dealing with vulnerable consumers including key policies
• Vulnerable consumer policy and procedure
• Audit checklists
• Various forms;
  • Consumer vulnerability focus committee
  • Inclusive design impact assessment form
  • Staff questionnaire - consumer vulnerability provision
  • Vulnerable consumer report form
  • Consumer vulnerability monitoring form / checklist
• Consumer vulnerability register and vulnerability risks register
• Consumer vulnerability risk assessment
• Training and guidance documents

To get a copy of this toolkit please apply for certification and we will be in touch to arrange file preparation.

ISO 22458 Certification process

We offer a simple, smart, certification process using a combination of remote and onsite auditing to audit against the requirements of the ISO 22458 standard and once an audit has been completed with a satisfactory outcome we issue an ISO 22458 registration certificate and authorise your organisation to display our 'ISO 22458 Registered' logo. Audits are completed by a qualified auditor and can be completed remotely or by site visit depending on the circumstances.

Further details on our certification service are available on the ISO Certification page.