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Employers Hiring a Blind or Vision Impaired Employee

 

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People who are blind or vision impaired are excellent employees who can undertake the vast majority of tasks with any workplace and have proven their values in a wide range of occupations in industries such as:

• Business and administration
• Call Centres/ Customer Service
• Education/ Teaching
• Fast Food
• Financial Services
• Health/ Aged Care
• Horticulture
• Hospitality
• I.T.
• Industrial
• Law
• Local Government
• Maintenance and cleaning
• Manufacturing
• Retail
• Warehousing

Most employees achieve full productivity in their placements and are extremely loyal and honest. They are observed by their fellow colleagues and those that come in contact with them as a motivating force to what can be achieved by hiring a blind or vision impaired employee. Technology today further enable then to undertake more jobs then ever thought possible.

 

FAQS

 

What does a blind person see?	Most legally blind people do have functional vision which can be assisted. Only around 2% of vision impaired people are totally blind.
What if they are unable to operate a computer?	Screen magnification and screen reader software allows those with reduced or total vision loss to effectively operate computers.
What if they are unable to read books, letters, etc?	Electronic magnifiers can enlarge printed material. Portable devices built into a mobile phone can even scan and read printed text aloud.
How do I ensure the safety of a blind person in my workplace?	Ensure they receive the same OH&S training as for other staff. Take advantage of the free services available from support agencies should any further assistance be required.
How can a blind person maintain productivity levels?	Blind and vision impaired people are experts at managing their loss of sight, and adapt readily given initial supports and training. Should they be unable to maintain productivity levels, then as with any other person with a disability, the supported wage system is available.
How will employing a blind person affect my staff?	Existing employees may benefit from an awareness session at a staff meeting, which can be delivered by your local support agency. Your staff need only treat them as they would all other employees.   Further assistance for your staff can be found here.
Aside from gaining a good employee - how will my company benefit from employing a blind or vision impaired person?	Demonstrated corporate social responsibility (CSR) and possibility of wage subsidies being negotiated to support the probationary period.
How do I know they will be able to do the job?	A pre-employment trail in many cases provides insurance to the employer regarding OH&S concerns and productivity levels.
What should I expect from my blind or vision impaired employees in general?	Given the opportunity for employment, you will receive in most case an extremely loyal and honest employee who is proud of the job they have. Their only desire is to be treated like any other employee.
What Is Workplace Modification Scheme?	The Workplace Modification Scheme – Employment Pathway Fund (EPF) – is designed to purchase specialist equipment, such as Adaptive Technology hardware/software, to assist the blind or vision impaired employee in undertaking their duties in the workplace at no cost to the employer or employee.
What Is Support Wage Scheme?	The Support Wage Scheme is designed to assist those employees who are not able to reach full productivity and they can be assessed against accepted productivity standards and paid a wage based on the assessed productivity levels achieved.

 

You can also find very useful information about employing people with a disability here.

 

Working Examples

 

Dean Rossiter’s Story

Dean Rossiter, owner of Rossi Boots, has employed two Royal Society for the Blind SA (‘RSB’) clients, through he admits that he hadn’t thought of taking employees with vision impairment until the RSB’s Peter Hall approached him. However, Dean says he was willing to help once the skills of clients and support mechanisms available from the RSB were explained. “There really were not many adjustments at all required at their work site,” says Dean. “They are the same to employ as anyone else. In Fact, I admire their work ethic more. I’ve had a good experience, which is why the company offered other jobs to RSB clients.”

 

Dean Rossiter remembers that one of his sighted workers complained that a worker who was blind received the same wage. “They performed that same tasks and did the same amount of work, so the reality got spelled out to that worker very quickly,” says Dean. “If anything, the blind employee was more diligent and deserved this wage more.”

 

Jim Stanbury’s Story

Routley and Wigzell, a metal tooling company specialising in mass repetition production, was also approached by RSB Employment Coordinator Peter Hall in his quest to find suitable employment for more RSB clients.

 

Manager Jim Stanbury has since employed three clients who are vision impaired and been impressed by their diligence and dedication to the job. “We have some jobs that involve a lot of repetition and we find it hard to find people prepared to do them without a lot of whinging or complaining. The workers that came to us through the RSB are happy to do the work and they’re a pleasure to have on board. I’m glad now that we have them a go.”

 

 

 

 

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