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

Many people with sight loss tell us they are worried about work issues. 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.

Work and the Equality Act

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.

Access to Work

Access to Work is a government grant scheme which supports disabled people in work. The scheme applies to any paid job. This includes part-time work, temporary work and work trials organised by Jobcentre Plus. You can also apply for a support worker for a job interview. For more about the Access to Work scheme, and how it could help you click here

Support from RNIB

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. You can find out more about how RNIB can help you with employment here.