Visual Impairment Workplace Assessment

Visualise Training and Consultancy offer specialist Visual Impairment Workplace Assessments for staff and employees struggling with sight loss or low vision. Working with the staff member, we identify the challenges they encounter on a daily basis, and offer a practical, functional assessment on how best to proceed. This will also include an element of risk assessment for the partially sighted and blind, ensuring that the employer is legally compliant.

We can conduct these Visual Impairment Assessments at your workplace, but we also offer an online alternative.

Spotting the Signs of Vision Loss

Here are some of the signs indicating sight loss:

• Becoming clumsy and struggling to move around the office, shop floor or workplace
• Difficulty in visually recognising colleagues and fellow staff members
• Finding computer screens, print and handwritten documents difficult to read
• Eye fatigue or pain, and discomfort with bright lights
• Experiencing migraines, headaches and overall tiredness
• Difficulties in dark or dim environments and with judging depth

This video explains why a Visual Impairment Workplace Assessment is so important…

Our Online or Face to Face Workplace Assessment Will Identify:

• Issues an employee is facing as a result of their visual impairment
• Specialist visual aids, sight loss resources and equipment needed to carry out duties efficiently and effectively
• Training needs for the recommended aids for partially sighted and blind people
• Impact of environmental factors such as lighting, signage and office layout
• Reasonable adjustments to be made, including flexible working, additional breaks and administration of medication
• Factors affecting the employee’s mobility to, from and within the working environment
• Installation, configuration and scripting of assistive technology software
• Additional services, such as a functional sight impaired assessment.
• Referral to social services, charities for the blind and guidance toward other useful sight loss links and resources.
• Requirements for a visual support worker, where all other reasonable adjustments have been considered
• Rehabilitation options, or work-related training requirements
• Companywide provisions, such as visual impairment awareness training for work colleagues
• Support that may be required at home which may impact on performance in the workplace
• Emotional support and coping strategies the employee may benefit from

Why and When Should I Commission a Workplace Assessment?

Ideally, a vision impairment workplace assessment would take place before new employees start in their roles. However, current employees may require visual assessment due to existing eye conditions. This may include illness, infection, injury or hereditary eye conditions. As a responsible employer, you will be keen to comply with The Equality Act 2010, which may involve making reasonable adjustments in the workplace to fully accommodate your staff member with visual impairment. The result is an employee who feels supported, valued and fully able to maximise their working productivity.

We can also offer private Access to Work funded workplace assessments. If you are self-employed, or simply want to have an assessment, we can assist with this. Please get in touch to find out more.

Our Visual Impairment Workplace Assessments are carried out in a similar way to the RNIB work-based assessments.

Workplace Adjustment Procedure

Please download and return the workplace assessment referral form at the bottom of this page. On receipt of the completed form, a face-to-face or online Visual Impairment Workplace Assessment will be arranged directly with the employee. The procedure is as follows:

• One of our specialist visual impairment consultants will be assigned the referral.
• A workplace assessment appointment will be arranged within three working days of initial receipt of the referral.
• Upon agreeing a convenient date with yourself and the employee, the consultant will conduct the appraisal.
• Upon completion of the sight loss assessment, a detailed report will be submitted within 14 days to the employer, insurer and/or occupational health provider

Testimonials

“I am visually impaired and have undergone corneal transplant surgery which has not, unfortunately, been a great experience. Following this, I had a workplace assessment conducted by another provider which only lasted around 15 minutes and severely lacked the expertise needed to successfully help me return to work.

However, on a more positive note, Dan conducted a workplace adjustments assessment for me and my employer. I cannot begin to stress how necessary and invaluable his input was during my return to work journey. The 2 hour assessment conducted by Dan was immensely thorough and his expertise and knowledge within this particular area has proved to be very useful and resourceful to me personally, and our business.

I encourage anyone involved in supporting employees with visual impairments to contact Dan as he provides a wealth of information and can help to ensure that managers deliver the correct support to enable employees to retain and develop their roles.

A return to work journey encompasses a labyrinth of stumbling blocks which can be avoided with the appropriate knowledge, adjustments and support. I now look forward to developing my career thanks to Dan’s recommendations which have given me renewed confidence.”

HA – Assistant Manager at a leading UK bank

“I have advanced proliferative diabetic retinopathy in both eyes and was referred to Visualise Training and Consultancy for a visual impairment Workplace Assessment. I found the whole process very helpful.

Dan had already familiarised himself with my condition, was incredibly knowledgeable about the benefits, support and services available to me and was refreshingly open about sharing his personal experience of dealing with his own visual impairment journey. He made a number of recommendations about how my employer could help me and he followed up on each of these very promptly.

The necessary software and equipment has now been ordered and following a referral from Dan, my sensory support social worker has referred me for mobility training on long guide cane use.”

Company Director

Dan recently completed my workplace assessment. He was absolutely brilliant from start to finish. The most incredible thing was that he understood from the inside out the difficulties I was experiencing at work with sight loss, and proposed simple solutions to enable me to succeed. He signposted me to RNIB services and a local charity who could guide me through the process as well as suggesting assistive technology solutions that are to be honest life savers, as well as recommending a support worker.

She has been a Godsend, and now instead of working flat out in order to keep up, she takes the admin tasks from me on a weekly basis, and I can just concentrate now on performing in my job more effectively. I would thoroughly recommend Dan for a workplace assessment because his commitment, understanding and meticulous attention to detail about my individual needs and bespoke solutions was second to none.

Susie, Hampshire

In all honesty I did not have particularly high expectations for the Visualise assessment, maybe due to scepticism from previous experiences with other organisations. However, from the get-go, you and your team made me feel comfortable, supported and more than just another client.

Not only did you do this along with providing some useful resources in the visually impaired world including your extensive knowledge but then continued to support me well after your responsibility ended. I was getting little to no support from other organisations and you went (and continue to go) truly above and beyond to support me at a difficult time in my life, being new to sight loss.

I cannot thank you enough.

George, Customer Service Adviser

“I was really anxious about having a Workplace Assessment but you put me at ease and your consultant was very knowledgeable. Thank you for the adjustments you have recommended, they are making my working life so much easier!”

Costs and Booking Information

We cover the whole of the UK and Ireland.

The cost of a workplace assessment and recommended actions report is £795 +vat, plus travel and accommodation expenses if applicable.

For more information, advice or to book a virtual or face to face Visual Impairment Workplace Assessment, please email Daniel Williams at daniel@visualisetrainingandconsultancy.co.uk or call on 07472305268.

You can also make a referral online by using this form – here’s the download link:

Our Testimonials

Very knowledgeable. Very professional. it was a very satisfactory experience.

The workplace assessment was very good thank you. I showed it to my optician, and he said it was the most comprehensive report he’d seen.

It was lovely to have a personalised email from Dan, the Founding Director of Visualise. This is the fifth occupational health assessment I have had since 2019 (4 being from another occupational health provider) and this, by far, was the best assessment I have had.

My assessor was a passionate and warm person to talk to. She heard about all my conditions and how they affect me in my life and how they impact my role. We proceeded with adjustments and recommendations, and I informed her there were some adjustments I have/want which I know will help me. She took this information in and then suggested further recommendations which may be better and more efficient for my role specifically.

I wouldn’t hesitate to recommend Visualise to another user or be assessed again by Visualise. I am waiting for my report, which will be delivered in 10 working days. So, just a big thank you to you, your company and the assessor for all the easiness in the assessment.

There was a conversation about ZoomText which undoubtedly is a beneficial element for a lot of people, but I do not like my screen to be zoomed in as much. My assessor heard me out and did not judge me on this which allowed me to be open about what my preferences were, and we worked around this.

I did not at all feel like I was being questioned, judged or felt uneasy. The process was excellent, the advisor was an absolute star, and the total time of assessment (1 hour 10 minutes) was generous in covering all areas in detail.

I thought the assessor was perfectly competent and knowledgeable, totally professional and understanding and made some very helpful and practical suggestions to help me.