Being deaf aware is being able to understand and recognise deafness, and knowing the right tactics to be able to communicate better with someone who is deaf or hard of hearing. With 1 in 6 people in the UK having some level of hearing loss, deaf awareness training is crucial for any group or organisation.

Deaf awareness training increases employee confidence and teaches organisations and teams how to communicate better with deaf customers and service users. Improved deaf awareness and communication can increase your customer base and income, and help you to meet the demands of the Equality Act 2010 which protects against discrimination in the workplace and wider society.

The CPD Certification Service is an assurance of quality of training materials and learning. Get Deaf Aware Online proudly exceeds the standards and benchmarks required to achieve this accreditation. Find out more about CPD here.

The Equality Act 2010 is a law which protects the rights of individuals and promotes equality of opportunity for everyone. It protects people against discrimination, harassment or victimisation in employment, and as users of private and public services.

The characteristics that are protected by the Equality Act are:

• age
• disability
• gender reassignment
• marriage or civil partnership (in employment only)
• pregnancy and maternity
• race
• religion or belief
• sex
• sexual orientation

The Equality Act protects individuals from discrimination when they:

• apply for work, are in a job and when you leave it
• use services such as shops and hospitals
• deal with organisations carrying out public functions such as tax collection and crime investigation
• are in education (including schools, colleges and universities)
• buy or rent property (click here to read Minds information on discrimination and premises)
• join some private clubs and associations

As well as the above, the Equality Act also means that public bodies, such as local authorities, hospital trusts and police authorities now have to prevent discrimination. This is called the Public Sector Equality Duty.

Further information

You can find more information about the Equality Act 2020 and your rights below. If you have any questions, please get in touch.

Government guidance - www.gov.uk/guidance/equality-act-2010-guidance

Equality and Human Rights Commission - www.equalityhumanrights.com/en/advice-and-guidance/equality-act-guidance

Citizens Advice - www.citizensadvice.org.uk

Get Deaf Aware recently carried out a survey to understand more about your deaf awareness experience in your everyday activities. The survey found:

• 88% of people said that knowing an organisation was deaf aware would influence their buyer decision
• 97% of people asked told us they believed deaf awareness training should be part of every companies training plan
• 70% of people said they would have little or no confidence in communicating with a deaf person
• 5/10 – the average rating of an organisation’s deaf awareness strategy

Share best practice and show how your organisation is Deaf Aware. The Get Deaf Aware branded awareness materials include logos, window stickers, certificates, POS and pin badges for your employees.

Get Deaf Aware have worked with a large number of organisations to improve thier deaf awareness, see our case studies below:

• Intu Group Click Here
• Iceland Click Here
• Transpennine Express Click Here
• John Lewis Click Here
• Durham Prison Click Here
• Arriva Click Here
• Hertforshire Police Click Here
• Aster Group Click Here