The scenario in this article is illustrative. It is a composite built from situations that come up often in workplace assessments, and it describes no real person, employer or report. It is here to show what the process looks like from the inside, for the people who refer into it.
A claims handler is four years into a job she is good at. Her accuracy has always been high. Over the last year, though, her manager has noticed that files take longer, a few figures have been mistyped, and she now declines to read documents aloud in team meetings. She has also stopped joining the informal chat at lunch. Nobody has asked why, and she has not said.
What her manager does not know is that she has a condition affecting her central vision. It has progressed slowly, and she has been compensating for it with effort: leaning towards the screen, enlarging text by hand in each document, rereading lines and checking figures twice. By the middle of the afternoon she is tired, her head aches, and she is afraid that if she mentions it she will be seen as a risk. This is a common pattern, and it is usually the workplace, not the person, that needs to change.
How the referral happens
In this scenario, the referral comes from occupational health after the employee finally discusses her sight at a wellbeing appointment. The manager agrees to commission a visual impairment workplace assessment. The reasons it is a sensible next step are practical. Occupational health can describe what the condition is likely to mean in general terms, but it cannot see the actual job: the systems, the documents, the screen set-up, the lighting and the daily pattern of work. A specialist workplace assessment looks at exactly that.
A good referral says plainly what is being asked: what the person finds difficult at work, what adjustments are already in place, and what the employer would like to understand. It does not need a diagnosis, and it should not ask the assessor for medical opinions or a view on fitness for work, because a workplace assessment does not give either.
What the assessment involves
The assessment can be carried out by video call or in person.
The conversation covers four areas. First, the role: what the claims handler actually does across a typical day, which systems she uses, how many documents she handles, what reading is involved and how much of it is under time pressure. Second, her sight at work: not a clinical history, but what she can and cannot see in practical terms, at what size and distance, under which conditions, and how this varies through the day. Third, the environment: the desk, the screen, the lighting, glare from windows, and how the same work is done at home if she works there some days. Fourth, what she has already tried, since people often have workable strategies that nobody has ever written down.
In this scenario she explains that standard text is hard for her unless enlarged, that high contrast between text and background helps, that glare from the window behind her makes the screen harder to read, and that long periods of reading tire her eyes. She reads policy documents more slowly than before and checks them a second time. She has been doing all of this quietly for months.
The assessor does not diagnose and does not predict how her sight will change. The assessment records the present barriers and what would reasonably help with them.
What the report recommends
The written report is a workplace adjustments report. It is non-clinical, describes the work and the barriers in functional terms, and makes practical recommendations that each stand alone, with a reason that links back to something the employee described. The line manager is asked to consider each recommendation that depends on an employer decision.
In this scenario, the report might include recommendations along these lines.
| Barrier reported | Possible adjustment | Why it may help |
|---|---|---|
| Small text across several systems, enlarged by hand each time | Screen magnification and text-to-speech software on the work computer, with training in using them | May reduce the effort of reading and let her choose between looking and listening when tired |
| Eye strain and headaches late in the day | A larger, good-quality monitor set to a high-contrast display mode, positioned at a comfortable distance | May reduce the need to lean in, and the strain that comes with it |
| Glare from the window behind her | Blinds or a screen position that avoids reflections, and an adjustable task light | May make the screen easier to read throughout the day |
| Documents arriving as scanned images or small-print attachments | A request that documents are sent in editable electronic formats where possible | May let her enlarge or listen to content without retyping or rescanning |
| Long reading sessions | Planned screen breaks and a review of how much reading is scheduled back to back | May reduce fatigue and the second checking she currently does |
| Concern about disclosure | A conversation between her and her line manager about what to share with the team | May make asking for help easier in future |
Equipment and software recommendations are specific enough that a buyer could order them. Where a piece of software needs learning, the report recommends training from the supplier of that product. Features already built into the computer’s operating system do not need additional training, but are worth setting up properly.
The report also makes a recommendation that is not about equipment at all. It suggests that the employee and her line manager have a conversation about the adjustments. That conversation is where recommendations on paper turn into changes in practice, and it is worth giving time to.
What this might change
It would be wrong to promise outcomes. Adjustments do not remove the underlying condition, and people differ in how much benefit they get from any one measure. What they can do is remove avoidable barriers so that the employee spends less effort seeing and more effort doing her job. In this scenario, the possible benefits are modest and realistic: fewer errors from rereading and fatigue, less afternoon strain, and an employee who no longer feels she has to hide a problem.
For her manager, the more important change may be understanding. The slower files and the quiet withdrawal were not signs of disengagement. They were what effort looks like when a barrier has not been named.
What this means for occupational health, HR and case managers
Referrers can make the assessment more useful in three ways. Ask for function, not diagnosis, because a report that says “reduced central vision” tells an employer less than one that says what size of text she can read and what tires her. Make sure the employee knows the assessment is supportive and routine, since many people delay asking for help for fear of being judged. And agree beforehand who will take decisions on the recommendations, so the report does not sit unread.
Remember too that a workplace assessment sits alongside other input. It does not replace occupational health advice, an eye clinic or rehabilitation support, and it does not comment on the person’s medical condition or fitness for work.
Legal rights and support
Under the Equality Act 2010, a person is disabled where they have an impairment with a substantial and long-term adverse effect on their ability to carry out normal day-to-day activities. Where the definition is met, the employer must make reasonable adjustments. Access to Work, run by the Department for Work and Pensions, can pay for things like specialist equipment and support for eligible people in England, Scotland and Wales, but GOV.UK states that it does not cover reasonable adjustments an employer must legally make. Check the current GOV.UK position for the individual case. Whether the definition is met for a particular person depends on their circumstances, and this article is general information rather than legal advice.
Summary
The claims handler in this scenario was not underperforming. She was working around an unaddressed barrier, and nobody had asked what it was. A workplace assessment gives employer and employee the same description of the problem and a practical plan for it. The earlier it happens, the less time is spent on avoidable effort.
Watch the short film
A short film about hiding sight loss at work, and what happens when a manager asks how you really are.
Frequently Asked Questions
No. It is an illustrative composite, written to show how the assessment process works. It does not describe a real person, employer or report.
A workplace assessment looks at what the person can and cannot see at work and what would help. A named condition is useful context, but the functional detail matters more to the recommendations.
No. A workplace adjustments report is non-clinical. It describes barriers and practical adjustments and does not give a view on capability, fitness for work or prognosis.
That depends on the circumstances. Employers must make reasonable adjustments where the Equality Act definition is met. Access to Work may help eligible people with some costs, and the current rules are on GOV.UK.
If you or someone in your team is visually impaired and would like expert, tailored support to stay productive and comfortable at work, visit https://visualisetrainingandconsultancy.com/workplace-assessments/visual-impairment-workplace-assessments/ to arrange a visual impairment workplace assessment.
Sources
GOV.UK, Access to Work: get support if you have a disability or health condition: https://www.gov.uk/access-to-work
GOV.UK, Access to Work, Eligibility: https://www.gov.uk/access-to-work/eligibility
GOV.UK, Definition of disability under the Equality Act 2010: https://www.gov.uk/definition-of-disability-under-equality-act-2010
legislation.gov.uk, Equality Act 2010, Schedule 1, Part 1: https://www.legislation.gov.uk/ukpga/2010/15/schedule/1/part/1
legislation.gov.uk, Equality Act 2010, section 20: https://www.legislation.gov.uk/ukpga/2010/15/section/20
Acas, Reasonable adjustments at work: https://www.acas.org.uk/reasonable-adjustments
HSE, Working safely with display screen equipment: https://www.hse.gov.uk/msd/dse/