Month: October 2024

On Monday the 14th of October Paula Holland and Calum Carson attended the launch event at the Houses of Parliament of a report from the All-Party Parliamentary Group on Eye Health and Visual Impairment’s entitled “Changing Attitudes, Changing Lives – Employer Attitudes and the Employment of Blind and Partially Sighted People.”  The event was attended by a varied audience of contributors to the report, and speakers including Jamie Ward (Head of Talent & Learning at Channel 4) and the Minister for Employment Alison McGovern spoke about the need for the employment landscape to be accessible for blind and visually impaired workers.

The report sets out 22 recommendations for the UK government  and employers to implement in order to break down barriers for blind and partially sighted people to better access the labour market, and improve their everyday working life within their current roles. These recommendations were based on the testimony received during evidence sessions earlier this year from employers, disability organisations and academic researchers, including Paula and Calum who presented evidence to APPG members in March on the working experiences of blind and visually impaired people derived from the findings of the Inclusive Remote and Hybrid Working Study. The report can be read in full here (large print and accessible versions are also available at the bottom of the page).

The 7th to the 12th of October 2024 played host to Dutch Accessibility Week, which saw researchers, campaigners, employers, policymakers and practitioners across the Netherlands highlight  the importance of an accessible workplace. What is needed to be able to work comfortably if you are in a wheelchair, for example, or cannot see well, cannot hear well, are sensitive to crowds or have an energy limitation? This week is dedicated to starting (and continuing) conversations on making work a ((more) accessible workplace where everyone can work well, regardless of disability and/or long-term health condition. In the same week  for the UK it is  also National Work-Life Week, part of an annual campaign to get both employers and employees talking about wellbeing at work and work-life balance.

As a contribution to these conversations across both the Dutch and the English employment landscapes, on the first day of the Week project analyst Rebecca Florisson presented (in fluent Dutch)  preliminary findings from both the quantitative and qualitative findings  of the Inclusive Remote and Hybrid Study at a webinar in collaboration with academic researchers at the Amsterdam University of Applied Sciences. These continue the Study’s efforts in collaborating across national boundaries on the implications of remote and hybrid working for people with disabilities and long-term health conditions, and engaging with non-academic partners and stakeholders working on how to make working life more inclusive (and accessible) for all members of the workforce.