Employment of Blind and Partially Sighted People and My Voice Catherine Dennison RNIB Background to the survey? Who were surveyed? My Voice findings New version of the Sight Loss Data tool Discussion re using the data...

Background Aim to better understand the circumstances, views and experiences of blind and partially sighted people. Previous UK survey in 2005/6 Need for new evidence to understand current position: digital, transport, social attitude, employment

Employment Areas of the survey: Early support Housing Relationships Wellbeing Practical & emotional support Finance & benefits Education Employment Technology Transport Good match with Seeing it My Way Outcomes!

Who were surveyed? My Voice findings are representative of around 340,000 registerd as blind or partially sighted. So who were surveyed?

How did we find people 22 local areas gave access to the register they hold Our organization contacts A random selection of people from all over UK were invited to take part Over 1,200 registered blind and partially sighted people opted in; 45 minute telephone interview Youngest participant was 18, the oldest 97 years. Involvement and co-production with blind and partially sighted people

My Voice: Headline finding Low employment level among people of working age: B&PS: one in four Paid employment: 22% Self-employed: 4% Long-term sick or disabled: 25% Retired: 16% Student: 3% Looking after family or home: 4% Employed – 26 per cent (of whom 22 per cent are in paid employment and 4 per cent are self-employed) Unemployed – 22 per cent Long-term sick or disabled – 25 per cent Retired – 16 per cent Student – 3 per cent Looking after family or home – 4 per cent "Something else" – 4 per cent. The disability employment gap is therefore considerable.

Disability employment gap Low employment level compared to general population: B&PS: one in four General pop (LFS): three in four The Labour Force Survey’s

Lower that 10 years previously 2015: one in four 2005: one in three Employment levels Lower that 10 years previously 2015: one in four 2005: one in three

Additional disabilities Health Educational qualification Employment related to Age Extent of sight loss Additional disabilities Health Educational qualification After controlling for other factors in the My Voice survey data [1], age was a significant factor in determining employment status. People aged 30–49 years were more likely to be in employment when compared to people aged 50–64 years. amount of functional vision and likelihood of being in employment. People who cannot see well enough to recognise a friend who is at arm’s length away are less likely to be in paid employment compared to those who are able to see well enough to recognise a friend across the road. a significant relationship between the number of additional impairments and likelihood of being in employment. The greater the number of other impairments someone has in addition to their sight loss, the less likely they are to be in employment. People who described their overall health as good or very good were more likely to be in employment compared to those with bad or very bad health. The higher the level of qualification, the greater the probability of being in employment compared to people with no qualifications

Registered blind and partially sighted people with a degree: same chance of being in a job as someone with no qualifications in the general public Working age sighted people with no qualifications: more than six times as likely to be in employment than registered blind and partially sighted people with no qualifications

48% special aids or equipment Support in work Over three-quarters of people said that they received some type of support: 48% special aids or equipment 32% adaptations to the working environment, 29% per cent had been allowed time off work 33% had been given flexibility in working hours. 23% no adjustments My Voice participants who were in employment (n=190) were asked what, if any, additional support their employment had provided.   Over three-quarters of people said that they received some type of support. In total, 48 per cent had been provided with special aids or equipment, 32 per cent said their employers had identified adaptations to the working environment, 29 per cent had been allowed time off work and 33 per cent had been given flexibility in working hours. However, 23 per cent of people in employment said that their employer had made no adjustments [1]. People were generally satisfied with support received. Network 1000 30 per cent of registered BPS not in work, who had worked in the past said that they could have continued given the right support.

Support from Access to Work 2016 (DWP) 5,270 VI people were helped by Access to Work 870 VI people new to the scheme My Voice 51% who were in employment had received support under ATW. A key source of funded support for blind and partially sighted people in the workplace is through the government’s Access to Work (ATW) scheme. Amongst My Voice participants, more than half (51 per cent) of registered blind and partially sighted people who were in employment had received support under ATW [1]. The funds can pay for practical support to help people with a disability, health or mental health condition start working, stay in work, move into self-employment or start a business [7].   According to DWP's administrative data, in the period from April 2015 to March 2016: 5,270 visually impaired people were helped by Access to Work 870 visually impaired people were new to the scheme [10] more than half (51 per cent) of registered blind and partially sighted people who were in employment had received support under ATW [1]. The funds can pay for practical support to help people with a disability, health or mental health condition start working, stay in work, move into self-employment or start a business [7].

People not in employment 22% of My Voice participants said that they were unemployed Only around one-quarter said that they were actively seeking work. 52% were economically inactive (long term sick or disabled, retired, looking after the family or home, in education or ‘doing something else’) No change since 2005. So what do we know about people not in employment: Of the unemployed people who wanted to work, over one-quarter were not receiving any support to find a job. In addition, one-third of people looking for work were dissatisfied with the support they had received.

Barriers Finances Travel Emotional wellbeing Obstacles on the street Discrimination almost half of 30–49 year olds and just over one third of 50–64 year olds struggling financially. Nearly half of people of working age cannot afford to pay for a week’s holiday away from home, or a necessary but unexpected expense of £500. More than one-quarter of blind and partially sighted people of all ages said that the disability benefits they received were rarely or never enough to meet the extra costs incurred as a result of their sight loss.

Key messages The disability employment gap for blind and partially people is widening. Government policy and support needs to significantly increase the proportion of blind and partially sighted people of working age in paid employment. Support through new Work and Health Programme Specialised, individual assessment Specialist support Improvements to Access to Work

Further info: My Voice www.rnib.org.uk/myvoice