Definition
‘Visual impairment’ (VI) is a term used to describe a loss of sight that cannot be corrected using lenses. Sight loss is usually categorized into partial or severe impairment, and once formally identified, the individual automatically meets the definition of a disabled person under the Equality Act (2010). However, degrees of sight loss, the impact on daily functioning, and the type of support required varies considerably from person to person. Many individuals will have some level of functional sight and the VI will often not be obvious to others (even if registered blind).
Fully sighted individuals can read the top letter on an optician’s eye chart from 20 metres; partial sight loss reduces this to 3-6 metres and severe loss to 3 metres at best or no light perception at worst.
Things to consider when supporting a VI member of staff
Environment
- A visually impaired member of staff may well use a combination of methods to navigate the physical office environment such as a white cane. Most visually impaired people have some residual vision and their overall mobility is greatly improved by good office lighting and contrasting colour schemes. Discuss with the individual staff member whether or not their proposed workstation is appropriate and whether or not an individual Personal Emergency Evacuation Plan (PEEP) is required; additional advice should be sought from your departmental safety advisor or the staff disability advisor as appropriate.
- If the staff member uses a guide dog, respect its presence as a working animal and do not touch or pet without the staff member’s permission.
Additional support
The specific support needs and reasonable adjustments required by an individual staff member will be outlined in their Workplace Adjustment Plan (Insert link to relevant page). However the most common types of support and adjustments are as follows:
- Use of specialist assistive technology such as a portable magnifier, screen enlargement software or speech screen reader. This technology may be available via the government’s Access to Work programme [link to Funding page]
- An acknowledgement by line-managers and colleagues that it may take a visually impaired staff member longer to perform certain tasks if they are required to access large amounts of written information using assistive technology. Managers and colleagues should also ask the individual staff member if there are things they need to consider when sending them material to access, such as including text descriptions of charts and graphs. It is also worth noting that material shared in online platforms such as MS Teams and Zoom is not necessarily viewable by a member of staff with a visual impairment and so they may need copies of all presentations to be sent to them in advance of the meeting.
- A visually impaired staff member may need some additional support from a colleague or support worker with certain practical tasks such as attending in-person meetings, notetaking and accessing paper-based documentation. Again there may be support available from the government’s Access to Work programme for this.
Additional resources
For further advice and information on the types of support and adjustments for staff with a visual impairment, contact the Staff Disability Advisor via staffdisability@admin.ox.ac.uk or 01865 280687. RNIB provides information about visual impairments, likely effects, and types of support. The Government Service Design Manual provides guidance on creating accessible documents and PDFs.
