Congratulations to Tesco who have been recognised as a Visibly Better Employer. The Royal National Institute of Blind People (RNIB) today as part of National Employability Day (Friday 17 June).  They have joined British Business Bank, HMRC, Vision Foundation, and County Print Finishers in becoming more inclusive employers for people with sight loss through aligning their working practices to RNIB’s Visibly Better Employer quality standard.

The Visibly Better Employer programme is the charity’s quality standard and aims to help employers see an increase in the number of blind and partially sighted people who seek opportunities with them, while retaining existing staff who develop sight loss.

Marie Clarkson, RNIB Visibly Better Employer Project Co-ordinator, said:

“We are delighted to announce that Tesco has been recognised as a Visibly Better Employer. We worked with Tesco to support them in their drive to become a more inclusive employer, looking at areas such as recruitment and increasing organisation-wide staff knowledge about sight loss.

“The employment rate of blind and partially sighted people is unacceptably low, with 11,000 currently looking for work in the UK. There are many misconceptions and poor knowledge preventing employers from seeing blind and partially sighted people as potential employees.

“The Visibly Better Employer scheme aims to show the value that a diverse workforce offers, and that blind and partially sighted people are able to do a variety of different roles in varying industries by promoting real-life experiences.”

Toni McKay, Tesco Head of Diversity & Inclusion, said:

‘We’re thrilled to have been awarded the Visibly Better Employer standard from RNIB. We’re committed to ensuring that everyone’s welcome at Tesco and that we are doing the work needed to make Tesco a truly inclusive workplace for all.  We recognise that people with sight loss face many barriers to success at work, and with the RNIB’s help are excited to change that for our existing and future colleagues.’

RNIB have specialists who can help organisations implement practices which enables them to become an inclusive employer for anyone with sight loss.

Organisations can achieve the Visibly Better Employer quality standard by making accessibility changes suggested by RNIB and prove their commitment to becoming an inclusive employer for blind and partially sighted people. To find out more, please email the RNIB Employment Team at: VisiblyBetterEmployer@rnib.org.uk or visit the webpage using this link www.rnib.org.uk/VisiblyBetterEmployer

If you have sight loss and are looking for work then you can visit the RNIB ‘Looking for Work’ pages on their website where you can find links to a number of Visibly Better Employer’s recruitment pages. Click or select the following link www.rnib.org.uk/work with a VisiblyBetterEmployer