Braille transcription, do you need it?
June 3, 2009
The Disability Discrimination Act (DDA) of 1995, legally obliges companies to provide auxiliary aids or services to make it easier for people with a disability to make use of any services that it offers to the public.Through the work of charity, Vision Support, VST has had contact with a number of individuals who have been unclear as to their rights and been unsure as to the process of obtaining alternative formats.
VST’s services assist companies in making alternative formats more available to the Visually Impaired. This is not just a legal requirement but is of a real help to the end user who may have to go to unreasonable or uncomfortable lengths to be able to access the information that is sent to them. It provides a barrier to accepting and using new services. If a Visually Impaired person feels wrongly excluded from provision of goods or services they have recourse to the courts and can claim damages, not only for financial loss, but also for injury to feelings, and there is no limit to damages that can be awarded for the latter.
David Scott, Managing Director of VST says:
In our work with companies two of the more common questions are:
”What are the limits on the materials that we have to produce?” and
“What is a reasonable adjustment?”
The answer to the first is that service providers are required, by the DDA, to be proactive rather than reactive. There is a duty to consider all the ways in which you provide information and make sure that is accessible to everyone. In short any materials that you produce and send out to customers existing or potential must include those with a Visual Impairment. Special offers, adverts, or general update materials must be available and sent out in the format of the customer’s choice. The Act does not limit the communication spectrum.
In terms of reasonable adjustment there are no hard and fast rules, no single solution. However, the production and availability of materials in the format selected by the customer and available across all communications is a good start.
As a general rule the more important the information the more vital that it is available quickly in alternative formats. For example:
- A change to an existing service which some or all customers will need to be aware of in order to take action.
- Essential information such a labeling, safety notices, evacuation procedures.
- Information from which important decisions will be made.
Contracts.- Confidential of personal information.
If the information concerns a product, offer or service that is only available for a limited period, and customers must respond quickly to take advantage of it, you will need to ensure that Visually Impaired customers are not disadvantaged by delays in the production of alternative formats.
However, since the DDA became law additional legislation and regulatory guidelines have come into effect.
In December 2007 the Disability Equality Duty became law. The main aim of the Disability Equality Duty is to get public authorities to think and act proactively on disability equality issues from the start. This will help them to identify from the beginning, where and how, unnecessary barriers are created to the equal participation of disabled users of their services as well as current and potential employees. This is not just about physical/sensory barriers but also barriers which are created by the way services, policies or practices are designed. Understanding these barriers will help ensure the public sector plays its full roll in enabling disabled people to participate in all aspects of society as equal citizens.
This duty is therefore aimed at ensuring, for the first time ever, that public authorities take responsibility for tackling institutional disability-related discrimination. This is a really exciting step-change compared to the individual rights focus of the Disability Discrimination Act (DDA). It is not about more individual rights; instead it is about improving public authorities’ policies and services as a whole for all disabled people.
The general duty applies to all public authorities (with a handful of specialised exceptions). This includes government departments, local authorities and schools. Voluntary and private sector organisations are also subject to the general duty where they are delivering services commissioned by public authorities.
This includes access to alternative formats.
The Financial Services Authority published guidelines under the heading “treating customers fairly.” Outcome 3 of this guidance was to ensure that “Consumers are provided with clear information and are kept appropriately informed before, during and after the point of sale.” The FSA argue the clear information is crucial to ensuring that consumers are treated fairly. In particular where consumers do not take advice and must rely on the clarity of information when making decisions. It states that “a firm must pay due regard to the information needs of its clients, and communicate information to them in a way which is clear, fair and not misleading.
This incorporates the provision of accessible formats.
When considering your current and future policies, procedures and practices, seeking merely to comply with the letter of the law is a high risk approach as the DDA is difficult to interpret. For example, working practices may be challenged in the courts and, until a body of case law is established, it would be imprudent to quibble over whether a customer is covered by the Act. Best practice is not only the most prudent option but it serves all of your customers to the best possible standard and does not discriminate between them. To work within the spirit of the Act is not only the best option for an individual company but for the end user who will remain loyal to you and recommend you to family and friends. The argument for adopting a best policy approach is not limited to the obeying the law but has its roots in commercial benefits and social responsibility.
Contact VST if you would like to know more about transcribing your documents into Braille or alternative formats.
Thinking of becoming an author?
January 19, 2009
After our success in helping Andy Bounds produce his number 1 best selling business book on Amazon, The Jelly Effect, I’m being asked by budding authors how to get started. Well I’m not the expert - just the typist - so I’ve spoken to Fiona Shaw who is a publisher. Here’s what she has to say on the matter …
People may well have the ability to write - or dictate - a book, but getting it down on paper’s the easy part. Thousands of new titles are published every week, and a good percentage of those books have tiny print runs, or end up being pulped, as they’re just not what the public are looking for. There’s no point in putting hours and hours of work into something that noboby else is interested in reading - that’s just vanity publishing. But if you’ve established a strong marketing base, and are clear about why you want to write a book, then we can help. Non-fiction’s a good starting point, especially in the business field - these questions might help you clarify a few things first:
- Why do you want to write a book? Do you want to establish yourself as an ‘expert’ in your field, or have people asked you for information or advice you’ve given them in written form? Do you want to make lots of money from it, or do you want to use it as a tool to promote your business or skills?
- Who’s your audience? Where’s the market for it? There are thousands and thousands of books on sale in every bookshop - let alone online - so the chances of the average customer finding you there are pretty slim. But - if you’re aiming for a specific market that can be targeted by a mailing list, or through an event - the chance of producing a good quality, in-demand book increases rapidly.
- What’s the competition? What else is out there in the field you want to enter, and how successful are they? Why is your idea or product unique?
- Have you thought about structure? Before you try and get everything down on paper, come up with a synopsis, and a chapter by chapter breakdown of what you want to cover, and what will fall in each category. Where are the gaps? Do you homework, and fill in as much detail as possible.
- How will your book work? Pages and pages of text aren’t going to appeal. Can you supply images to illustrate it? It’s by no means compulsory, but you need to give some thought as to the sort of illustrations that might bring it to life, and whether you’ll have to pay royalties to use or commission an illustrator or photographer.
Is your subject matter broad enough to make a book? You might have a very specific skill or interest, but how useful is it to anyone else? Is there a big enough audience to make it worth doing?
If you would like more information about publishing then contact Fiona Shaw at www.3662008.co.uk
Do you have a book or a blog that needs writing?
June 30, 2008
Interacting with your clients and customers on the internet is the latest technique employed in internet marketing. There’s many ways to communicate with readers: newsletters, voting polls, and now the most often used, blogs.
There are barriers (for some people) to writing blogs. People can be scared of technology and don’t know how to set one up, don’t have enough time, can’t type and think it will take forever, or just don’t know where to start.
There are a number of resources to help you get started with blogging. First and foremost, just give up on the typing aspect. Let Document Direct transcribe your blog articles using digital dictation. And while we’re at it, if you need help setting up and posting onto your blog site, why not let us do that for you too. Contact us now to ask us to help you.
- To find out more about blogging click here to visit Better Business Blogging
- If you ever suffer from writer’s block then coaching from Lonely Furrow Company can help you
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