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Worried about work issues? Sight loss affecting your job? We’re here to help.

Worries about work issues trouble many people who are living with sight loss. Research conducted by RNIB suggests that 66 per cent of blind and partially sighted people who are of working age aren’t currently in employment. We’re here to support you. Whether you want to get into employment, or whether you want to stay in work after being diagnosed with sight loss, we can help. Sight loss shouldn’t mean job loss.

Sight Life works in partnership with  ELITE Supported Employment. ELITE is a registered charity empowering people with disabilities or those at a disadvantage across South, Mid and West Wales. The organisation supports hundreds of people every year with vocational opportunities, training and employment through to independence. Elite helps people with disabilities and disadvantages get jobs. It believes that anyone can work, irrespective of their disability, given the right training and support.

The Equality Act says that employers have a legal duty to make ‘reasonable adjustments’ for disabled people. Reasonable adjustments may include:

• Providing a blind or partially sighted person with a reader or an adapted computer with large character, braille display or speech output
• Providing time off when an employee develops a sight problem for rehabilitation/assessment
• Reallocating some minor duties to another colleague

For more details please see the Disclosure and the Equality Act 2010.

You can find further information about employment rights here on the RNIB website. RNIB also has information about the practical support you might need. If you’d like to talk to someone about this, please call the RNIB Helpline on 0303 123 9999