Deaf Awareness Week: from awareness to adjustment
May 06, 2026Posted by:
Around 12 million people in the UK are deaf or have hearing loss. Of those, roughly 900,000 are severely or profoundly deaf, and approximately 100,000 use British Sign Language as their primary language. Employment outcomes for this group remain lower than average. Closing that gap is within reach for most organisations, and it starts in a more practical place than many expect.
Deaf Awareness Week gives this a wider audience than it might otherwise reach. But the conversation it draws on was already underway.
The session
Through SRAG, we recently hosted a Lunch and Learn with Action Deafness, led by Tanvir Ahmed, himself Deaf, with his interpreter Alicia alongside him. Tanvir's opening reframe set the tone: the interpreter wasn't there just for him. "You're hearing the interpreter... but actually you all need the interpreter as well... it's for both of us so that we can communicate."
That shift, from support for an individual to shared access, changes where responsibility sits and opens up how employers think about adjustment.
Starting with understanding
Hearing loss exists on a spectrum, and communication preferences differ significantly between individuals. The employers who make the most progress are those who ask first rather than assume. Tanvir was clear that Deaf and Hard of Hearing people are skilled professionals, and that hearing loss is a separate issue to the role they perform. Background noise, intercom systems, meeting formats: these are design questions, and they have practical answers.
Interpreter availability is one area worth planning carefully. There are only around 2,000 registered BSL interpreters in the UK. Building this into recruitment and interview planning in advance makes a significant difference to candidates and to the quality of the process itself.
Access to Work
Many employers are surprised by how much the government's Access to Work scheme can cover: interpreters, assistive technology, live captioning, hearing loops, and a range of workplace adjustments. The cost to the employer is often far lower than anticipated, and sometimes nothing at all. Knowing this earlier in the process changes the conversation considerably.
Small adjustments, real difference
The example that stayed with the room was a mirror attached to a desk or monitor. In hot-desking environments, Deaf and Hard of Hearing employees often can't control where they sit, affecting their ability to notice when someone is approaching or when something in the room has changed. As Tanvir put it: "People think you just want to look at your face... but it's to see what's going on behind."
A small adjustment. A meaningful difference in how natural and accessible a working environment feels. And a reminder that the most effective changes are often the least complicated.
The opportunity
The distance between current outcomes and genuinely inclusive employment is not as large as it might appear. It isn't a capability question. It is a question of awareness, design, and access, and each of those is actionable.
Through SRAG, PeoplePlus brings together employers, partners, and specialist organisations to work through exactly this kind of practical, tested insight. Not awareness campaigns. Concrete changes grounded in lived experience.
The programme continues
The next SRAG Lunch and Learn takes place on Tuesday 19 May, 1–2pm, with Angela Halliday, Director of Social Value at Sodexo UK and Ireland.
A SRAG Ambassador, Sodexo UK & Ireland was named Employer of the Year at the British Business Awards 2026, recognised for its leadership in creating meaningful opportunities, careers and training within and outside of its business. It is an acknowledgement of what happens when social value is embedded in practice rather than declared in policy, and it is precisely that question, how to embed social value across delivery, recruitment and partnerships at scale, that Angela will be exploring with us.
To join the conversation, email [email protected]
May 06, 2026Posted by:
