Local MP Luke Hall has joined the campaign by Action on Hearing Loss on Parliament, aiming to break down the barriers that people with a hearing loss face when trying to find employment.
This follows the launching of the charities new employment report, Working for change, improving attitudes to hearing loss in the workplace, which urges businesses and the Government to work closer together to help people with a hearing loss to find and stay in work.
This report has been delivered at an important time as there are currently 11 million people in the UK suffering from hearing loss, with almost five million who are working age. The amount of people suffering from hearing loss at working age is set to rise in the near future, as the amount of time people spend in work increases.
Luke Hall stated that: “It is great to support Action on Hearing Loss’ campaign to help people who are deaf or have hearing loss to have equality in finding work. The charity’s myth-busting report is really useful for guiding businesses and organisations to the support that is available to them in employing people with difficulties.”
In a statement, Paul Breckell, Action on Hearing Loss Chief Executive, said: “We are delighted that Luke Hall MP attended the launch of our new employment report which will help businesses to support people with hearing loss to maximise their valuable skills as it makes no sense that people have to retire or give up work due to their hearing loss owing to an unsupportive working environment. This is costly to employers as they lose highly-skilled staff and will need to spend to recruit again.”