_

Is this survey for you?

Yes, if you are deaf or deafblind, or you have hearing loss or tinnitus, and you have had contact with Access to Work over the past 12 months, after 01/11/2025.

For example, you:

Applied for Access to Work for the first time

Applied for Access to Work for a new job

Applied to renew your award

Told Access to Work about a change in your job or what you need (a change of circumstances request)

Had your award reviewed

Asked Access to Work to look at a decision again (a reconsideration request)

Made a complaint

You can take part if you are still waiting for a decision, or if Access to Work refused your application.

RNID and DeafAtW ran a survey on Access to Work last year. We would encourage everyone who has had any of the experiences above to take this survey. Anyone who took the survey last year can take this survey as well.

This survey should take around 15 minutes to complete.

_

Why is it important for you to do this survey?

The Government is still thinking about how to change Access to Work. We need evidence about what is happening now: what works well, what has improved, and what problems there are. This helps us campaign for the right changes.

People and organisations already tell Access to Work about problems, but Access to Work may think these are one-off cases, or that the problems have been resolved. Doing this survey means we can show how many people have the same problems and give them evidence.

Your answers will help us find out:

if the problems from our last survey are still happening

if changes made by Access to Work are helping

if there are new problems

how many people are affected

if the same problems happen to different people in the same way

if a problem comes from the way Access to Work works, not from one mistake in one person's case

We will share what we find with the people in Government who make decisions about Access to Work. We will also use it in our meetings with Access to Work, for example at the Access to Work Stakeholder Forum. 

_

Survey Introduction
 
RNID and DeafATW are working together to gather evidence so that we can campaign for changes to the Access to Work scheme, helping it better meet the needs of people who are deaf or have hearing loss. The survey will include questions about your experience over the last 12 months of applying for and using Access to Work, and any impact on your ability to work, as someone who is deaf or has hearing loss. 
 
RNID is the national charity supporting the 18 million adults in the UK who are deaf, have hearing loss, or tinnitus. We work to end the discrimination faced by our communities, help people hear better now, and fund world-class research to restore hearing and silence tinnitus. 
 
DeafATW is an independent, volunteer-run website that supports deaf people and the professionals who work with them in overcoming problems at any stage of the Access to Work (Access to Work) process. It provides clear, accessible information - including guides, complaint templates, and campaign resources - so that users can take informed action to get the support they need when Access to Work guidance is lacking or decisions are incorrect.

_

Completing the survey 
 
It should take around 15 minutes to complete, and everything is in English and BSL. If you would prefer to answer this survey in BSL there are two ways that you can do this: 
 
1) If you have an interpreter or translator who could complete this form with you, please ask them.  
2) If you do not have an interpreter who can do this with you, then please contact RNID via Convo. You’ll be connected to an interpreter who will relay the call through to a member of the RNID team in our Contact Centre who will be able to fill in the survey for you. You can do this by clicking this link between 8:30am to 5pm, Monday to Friday: BSL Information Service - RNID. 

_

 How will my data be collected? 
  
RNID will collect data through Forsta Surveys. Any personal information you share will be kept confidential. Once collected, your data will be anonymised for analysis and reporting purposes. 
 
How will my data be used? 
 
Your data will be used to support our campaigning and policy work to improve the way Access to Work meets your needs. As this survey uses RNID’s survey platform only anonymised data will be shared with DeafAtW or published in reports or publications. Anonymised quotes may be included in reports, but these will be selected to ensure they do not identify you.  
 
If you choose to provide your personal details and contact information so that we can contact you about your experiences, this information will be shared with DeafAtW so that RNID or DeafAtW can follow up with you. 
 
If you choose to join RNID’s Research Panel, this information will only be held by RNID and not shared with any other organisation. 
  
How will my data be stored? 
  
Your data will be stored securely in our encrypted SharePoint environment for 10 years before being deleted. Only relevant project team members will have access to this data. You can read more about how we process and store your data in our Social Research Privacy Notice. 
 

_

Do I have to take part? 
 
Your participation is entirely voluntary. You control what information you choose to share. You may choose not to answer any questions or to stop participating at any time. If you stop part-way through the survey, your data will be excluded from our analysis.
  
Any questions? 
  
Please contact RNID at panel@rnid.org.uk or DeafAtW at darren@deafatw.com if you have any questions.   
  
By clicking 'Continue' you agree that you have read the information provided, have had the opportunity to ask questions, and wish to take part in this survey.  