Visual impairment is no barrier for UK-based Contracts Manager Iain De

Portrait of Iain Dean wearing a grey shirt with a white background behind him

Visual impairment is no barrier for UK-based Contracts Manager Iain Dean

Day-to-day work with a disability

Iain Dean has worked as a Contract Manager for G4S Secure Solutions UK in the Midlands North region since 2010. His role involves ensuring G4S meets its contractual obligations, while managing a large team of employees.

He said: “One of the most important things I do, especially on an operational level, is I make sure that my Operations Managers and myself check in with all of the 230 staff in my region at least once every three months, via email, phone, videocall or in person, as logistics and personal preferences allow.”

What many of the people outside his team might not know is that Iain has a visual impairment. Iain has retinitis pigmentosa, a progressive condition that can cause eyesight to deteriorate. “Unfortunately, my eyesight deteriorated more quickly than expected and dropped off a cliff in mid-2011. This meant I had to stop driving and give up my licence,” he explained.

“It was a shock. I was 38 and had been driving since I was 17. I was the Contract Manager for a 2500sq mile area and did a lot of driving for site visits.”

Rather than just giving up, Iain worked with G4S to implement the reasonable adjustments he needed to keep doing his job.

G4S supports him by enabling him to go completely paperless and making sure he has a phone and laptop with the size of screen he needs for magnification. “If my phone dies, or the model needs upgrading, they sort it out for me within a week”, he says adding, “I can’t thank the business enough. They’ve been brilliant.”

Iain’s visual impairment doesn’t impede his ability to complete site visits. In addition to using taxis, buses and trains, Iain also arranges his diary so that he can car share with a colleague. While supporting his visual impairment, this approach also helps limit the carbon footprint of their shared journeys.

Iain is keen to encourage anyone with a disability to consider a career with G4S. Based on his own experience, he actively recruits people with disabilities and has just supported one of his team to get Access to Work assistance. “The company has been brilliant in helping me find and use the tools and approach to be effective in my job and to value what I can do rather than worry about what I can't.”