“What about my job?” is one of the most common questions we get asked by working professionals when they experience a change to their vision.
Vision Australia Advocacy Advisor, Sarah Hartley regularly meets people in this position and has six key pieces of advice to help people understand their options and the opportunities that can be explored.
Understand your vision loss
“We recommend that people learn everything they can about the changes to their sight. Get your eye specialist to clearly explain what has happened and how you might expect your everyday life to be affected,” Sarah advises.
“Just as importantly, come away knowing if further changes to your vision might happen in the future.”
With this information, you can identify what things need to be actioned in the short and long term to support you to keep performing in your job.
For example, an electronic magnifier and specialist software may immediately support you to read work documentation and emails.
Your eye specialist has however told you that due to the expected deterioration of your sight you will need to stop driving at some point in the future.
You will therefore need to plan how you will travel to meetings that happen outside of your workplace.
When to tell your employer about your vision loss
“It’s important to know that you have no legal obligation to disclose your vision condition. However, if you think it is likely to affect your job performance or health and safety in the workplace think about how and when to have this discussion,” Sarah says.
Telling your employer about your vision loss can be stressful, and you may feel more confident going to this meeting with a support person such as a friend who is a colleague or someone from your human resources team.
If your employer provides an employee assistance program you might want to get in touch with them to talk about your situation.
Investigate new ways of working
“Managers like their staff to come to them with solutions. We generally find that when a person comes to their manager with ideas about how they can work well with their remaining vision, the outcomes are more likely to be positive,” Sarah counsels.
Sarah recommends that people get informed about the supports and options that can help them to continue working in their current role.
“There is a range of equipment that can support a person in the workplace including magnifiers, screen reading software and adaptive technology . Most of the time, these are available at no cost through the government program, Job Access.
“There are also specialist organisations, like Vision Australia that can visit you at work to provide advice on modifying your work station and making adaptations in the workplace. These can be small things like applying tactile markers to a photocopier or sourcing specialised safety equipment,” Sarah says.
It can also be a good idea to talk to your employer and human resources team about redesigning parts of your job or investigating if there are other jobs where your skills might be a good fit.
“Job redesign can actually be as simple as swapping some of your duties with another person’s duties,’ Sarah says.
“For example, if you need to file paperwork as part of your role, but this is challenging for you and there is no equipment to support you to do it, you could arrange with your manager for someone else to do it. You could then pick up one of the other person’s responsibilities such as taking meeting minutes, which you can do with the support of adaptive technology."
With some training you might also be suitable for a new position in which you can continue to make a valuable contribution in your workplace.
Win-win or win-lose situations
Sarah has worked with many people whose employers have supported them to remain working.
“A person, who works as a cleaner at a public transport station, began to lose his vision and his employer was concerned that he could be injured by passing bus traffic,” she says.
“They both agreed to a new working solution where the employee would continue in his role as a cleaner but in an area in the station where there was no traffic. This was a win-win situation for both parties.”
Sometimes, the solution can be as simple as repositioning a workstation, or a change in lighting.
Generally, a manager’s concerns about an employee’s vision loss relate to workplace health and safety, the cost of workplace modifications and insurance claims. They may also worry that a person’s performance may drop.
Sarah advises that if you believe your employer is not going to behave in a reasonable way to accommodate your vision loss or you are concerned about being dismissed then you should investigate the following options:
- contact your union or staff representative
- ·obtain legal advice from a community legal centre or solicitor to better understand your rights and obligations
- contact the Fair Work Commission, an independent workplace relations tribunal which provides resources and supports to people during workplace disputes and in cases of unfair dismissal
- apply for Jobs in Jeopardy Assistance, a free government program that will work with your current employer to support you to stay with them. Assistance is available through direct registration with a Disability Employment Service, including Vision Australia.
- contact Vision Australia for specialist blindness and low vision advocacy and employment advice and support
A possible case for discrimination
Sarah says that sometimes an employer may give a warning or notice to an employee who has experienced vision loss. They may even begin to performance manage them.
“If you feel you are being treated less favourably than other employees and you are concerned about your future with your employer, you might benefit from employment or advocacy support, or even have a case for discrimination," Sarah advises.
You can lodge a complaint against your employer with the Australian Human Rights Commission, or the Anti-Discrimination Commission in the state or territory you live in.
When preparing a complaint consider whether you are able to continue to do the essential duties or ‘inherent requirements’ of your job.
Also consider if some changes or ‘reasonable adjustments’ could be made in the workplace so that you can continue to do these duties.
In some circumstances, an employer may claim that making modifications to your job, workstation or workplace may cause them hardship, either financially or due to another reason.
The complaints process involves mediation with your employer prior to any court or tribunal proceeding and can take several months to progress.
Moving forward
Sarah has supported many people through their employment journey after vision loss and wants people to know that a positive outcome is possible.
“But, if it doesn’t work out the way you anticipated, don’t give up. I’ve worked with some people who use their change in circumstances to try a new business idea or retrain for another career they have always wanted to do,” she says.
“It’s not the end of the road and there are supports available to help people get working again.”
If you are or have been affected by any of the matters raised in this article please call us or email the Vision Australia advocacy team.