0141 332 4632The Equality Act 2010: A guide for people with vision impairment
The Equality Act 2010 is a UK law that protects people from discrimination and helps create fairer opportunities in work, education, and daily life.
This guide explains what the Equality Act 2010 means for you as someone with vision impairment and how it can support your rights.
What is the Equality Act 2010?
The Equality Act 2010 combines many older laws to create one clear set of rules against discrimination. It applies to everyone in the UK and covers areas like employment, education, and accessing services (e.g., shops, transport, healthcare). It helps ensure that people are treated fairly, regardless of characteristics like disability, gender, race, or age.
How does the Act define disability?
Under the Act, you are considered to have a disability if you have a physical or mental impairment that has a “substantial” and “long-term” effect on your ability to do day-to-day activities.
If you have been registered as blind, severely sight impaired, partially sighted, sight impaired by an ophthalmologist, you are automatically considered a disabled person under the Act.
However, even if you have not been registered, your vision impairment could still be considered a disability under the Act, as it may affect daily activities like reading, travelling, or navigating spaces.
Protection against discrimination
The Act protects against different types of discrimination, including:
Direct Discrimination
This happens if you are treated unfairly because of your vision impairment. For example, a company refusing to hire you solely because you are vision-impaired is direct discrimination.
Indirect Discrimination
This happens when rules or policies disadvantage people with disabilities, even if they apply to everyone.
For example, if a workplace has meetings in small font or low-contrast documents, this might disadvantage someone with a vision impairment.
Harassment
The Act protects you from harassment based on your disability, such as offensive comments or bullying about your vision impairment.
Victimisation
If you complain about discrimination and are mistreated because of it, this is called victimisation.
For example, if you report an accessibility issue at work and are ignored or mistreated afterwards, this is victimisation.
Reasonable adjustments
One of the Act’s most helpful parts for people with vision impairment is the right to “reasonable adjustments.”
Reasonable adjustments are changes an employer, school, or service provider must make to help you access the same opportunities as others. To learn more about reasonable adjustments, please visit our dedicated topic page.
Reasonable adjustments for employees with vision impairment in the workplace
Public spaces and transport
The Equality Act requires transport providers (e.g., buses, trains) and public spaces (e.g., libraries, shops) to make reasonable adjustments for people with disabilities. This could mean:
- Installing audio announcements on public transport.
- Providing tactile paving at train stations.
- Ensuring public spaces have accessible signage and lighting.
If a public place or mode of transport is inaccessible to you due to your vision impairment, you can ask for adjustments. Service providers are legally required to consider reasonable ways to support you.
Education and employment
In both work and education, the Equality Act ensures that people with disabilities have fair access and support.
Reasonable adjustments for education could include accessible learning materials or seating arrangements to support vision.
The Act also supports your right to reasonable adjustments in employment to help you perform your role effectively. These adjustments could be funded through the Access to Work programme.
Department for Work and Pensions Access to Work Scheme
How to raise concerns
You can raise a concern or complaint if you believe you’ve been discriminated against because of your vision impairment. Here are some steps you could consider:
Speak Up
Explain the issue to the service provider, employer, or education provider. They may be unaware of the problem.
Request Adjustments
Ask for reasonable adjustments that could help improve access.
Seek Advice
Organisations like the Equality and Human Rights Commission (EHRC) and charities like Visibility Scotland can offer support and help you understand your rights.
Consider Legal Action
If discrimination continues, you have the right to take legal action.
Examples of good practice
- Organisations should ensure that documents, websites, and digital resources are accessible. This includes using sans-serif fonts, structuring documents and webpages, providing alt text and image descriptions, and ensuring good contrast. There are many simple steps organisations can take to become more accessible. Please find out more by taking part in our CPD-certified Inclusive Communications training.
- Offer assistive tools such as screen magnifiers, screen readers, or specialised software (e.g., SuperNova or JAWS) to support employees with vision impairment, helping them work effectively and comfortably in their roles. Visibility Scotland has a dedicated project, Tech Works, that supports individuals and organisations in this area.
- Install clear, tactile, and high-contrast signage and audio announcements in public spaces and buildings. This will help vision-impaired individuals navigate independently and safely in public areas.
- Make events or meetings accessible by providing materials in large print, braille, or digital formats in advance and provide clear audio for presentations. Allowing time for people to orient themselves to the space beforehand and offering guided assistance is also helpful. Take part in Visibility Scotland’s CPD-certified Visual Impairment Awareness training to learn more about how to provide the best support.
