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Deaf awareness week 2026 and what it means for hospitality teams

Deaf Awareness Week is an important calendar event for the Deaf and hard of hearing community and this week, it runs from the 4th to the 10th of May. This year’s theme, Right to Understand, is a direct challenge to every industry that serves the public, with hospitality being no exception. 

In the UK, there are an estimated 11 million people who are Deaf or hard of hearing. And many of them regularly have negative experiences that might have been avoided, when eating out, visiting a pub or checking in to a hotel. Research from RNID found that 77% of Deaf BSL users reported experiencing negative attitudes or behaviours in hospitality settings in the past year. That figure should give every operator pause for thought.  

Posted 04/05/2026

The good news is that training your team does not need to be expensive, time-consuming or disruptive. CPL Learning has made its BSL Phrases for Hospitality course completely free to all hospitality professionals, and it can be completed in a single sitting. In this article, we explain why deaf awareness training matters for your team and how to get started before Deaf Awareness Week is over. H2: Why deaf awareness training matters in hospitality right now 

Think about how much a shift depends on verbal communication; greeting guests, taking orders, explaining the menu, handling a complaint. Now think about how that works for a guest who is Deaf or hard of hearing, and whether your team would know what to do.  

How many of your guests could be Deaf or hard of hearing 

Around 1 in 6 people in the UK experience some degree of hearing loss. In a restaurant serving 200 covers on a Saturday night, that is roughly 33 guests who may find certain interactions difficult. Some will lip-read. Some will use British Sign Language. Some will use a combination of both, along with written notes or smartphone apps. 

The challenge for hospitality operators is that hearing loss is largely invisible. Staff cannot always tell when a guest is struggling to follow a conversation, and guests do not always feel comfortable flagging it. The result is that many Deaf and hard-of-hearing customers leave without saying anything and do not come back. 

And this isn’t just about inclusion; there’s a commercial impact as well. Businesses that are not deaf-aware risk alienating a significant customer base and losing repeat trade. 

What happens when staff are not equipped to help 

When a Deaf guest encounters a team member who does not know how to adapt their communication, the experience can quickly become uncomfortable for both parties. Staff may speak too fast, turn away while talking or give up and point at a menu rather than take a moment to try another approach. 

RNID research found that 77% of Deaf BSL users experienced negative attitudes in hospitality settings in the past year. That figure covers everything from being ignored to being spoken to via a companion rather than directly. Most of these incidents we’re not dramatic, but small moments that add up to a clear message that a venue was not designed with them in mind. 

The fix does not require every member of staff to become fluent in BSL, but an increasing in awareness combined with some practical phrases and the confidence to try. 

What the BSL Act 2022 means for hospitality operators 

In April 2022, British Sign Language was given legal recognition as a language of Great Britain through the BSL Act 2022. This was an important defining moment for the Deaf community, marking a shift in how BSL is understood in public life.  

BSL is now a recognised language in the UK 

The BSL Act does not place a direct training obligation on hospitality businesses. However, the Equality Act 2010 does require employers and service providers to make reasonable adjustments for disabled people, including those who are Deaf or hard of hearing. Providing staff with basic awareness training and communication tools is widely considered a reasonable step. 

Guests notice when a business has thought about accessibility, and they notice when it has not. Deaf Awareness Week is a useful prompt, but operators who take this seriously tend to treat it as a year-round standard rather than a one-week campaign. 

For further guidance on the BSL Act and what it means for employers, the Government's official guidance is available at gov.uk. 

CPL Learning's free BSL Phrases for Hospitality course 

CPL Learning, part of Access Hospitality, has developed a free online course specifically designed to help hospitality teams communicate more confidently with Deaf and hard-of-hearing guests.  

What’s covered on the course? 

The BSL Phrases for Hospitality course covers the practical, everyday scenarios your team encounters every shift in an easy-to-understand way that requires no prior knowledge of British Sign Language. That includes welcoming guests at the door, taking food and drink orders, navigating dietary requirements and handling common service interactions. 

Our course is designed to be engaging and simple for learners to digest, delivered in easy-to-follow bite-size chunks. It can be completed in a single sitting, making it well suited to team briefings, induction programmes or individual CPD. There is no formal assessment, and learners receive a digital completion certificate valid for up to a year. The course is endorsed by the Institute of Hospitality, giving it additional credibility for operators who want to log it as part of a wider training programme. 

Meet Sam Egerton-Kemp, the Deaf Chef 

Sam Egerton-Kemp has worked in hospitality kitchens his whole career. He was born Deaf, grew up navigating hearing environments with aids and a cochlear implant, and went on to build a following of over 223,000 people across TikTok, Instagram and Facebook by teaching BSL to anyone who wants to learn. He knows this industry from both sides of the pass. 

In the course, Sam walks your team through the signs they are actually most likely to need on a busy service; welcoming a guest; taking a drinks order; checking on dietary requirements. Not a theoretical introduction to BSL. The specific moments where knowing one sign instead of pointing at a menu makes a guest feel like they were expected. 

"Hospitality is for everyone," Sam says, "and for Deaf guests, simply being acknowledged in BSL can transform their entire experience. This course gives teams the confidence to take that first step, and it's free, so there's no barrier to getting started." 

How to use the course with your team 

The course works well as a standalone piece of CPD, but it lands better when you make a moment of it with your team. Here are a few ways operators have built it into their workflow:  

  • Run it as part of your next team briefing, either as a group watch or as individual pre-shift learning 

  • Add it to your induction programme alongside allergen awareness and licensing training 

  • Encourage team members to share one phrase they have learned at the start of a shift 

  • Use Deaf Awareness Week as the moment to introduce it, then keep it available year-round 

 

The course is free, so there is genuinely no barrier to getting every customer-facing member of your team through it before the end of the week. 

Simple steps your team can take during deaf awareness week 

The course is the most structured step you can take this week, but there are also some immediate, low-effort changes truly make a difference for Deaf and hard-of-hearing guests. 

Communication basics every front of house team should know 

Most of these cost nothing and take seconds to adopt. Pass them on in your next pre-shift briefing:  

  • Always face the person you are speaking to, especially if they lip-read 

  • Speak clearly and at a normal pace, not loudly or in an exaggerated way 

  • If you are not understood, rephrase rather than repeat the same words 

  • Never say "it doesn't matter" or give up mid-conversation 

  • Have a notepad or use your till screen to write things down if needed 

  • Address the Deaf person directly, not their companion 

 

These are small adjustments, but for a guest who encounters these barriers regularly, they signal immediately that your team is more aware of their needs.  

Making your venue or site more accessible beyond signing 

Basic communication training is the starting point, but there are broader steps worth considering for operators who want to go further: 

  • Visual menus and allergen cards that guests can point to reduce reliance on spoken exchange 

  • Checking whether your site has a hearing loop installed and that staff know where it is 

  • Ensuring any audio announcements (last orders, table calls) are also communicated visually where possible 

  • Reviewing whether your booking confirmation emails or menus include an accessibility note so Deaf guests know what to expect before they arrive 

 

None of these require significant investment. Most can be put in place within a week. 

Start with the free course this Deaf Awareness Week 

Deaf Awareness Week is a moment in which we can raise an important and common barrier to a great guest experience, but also provides a foundation to build from, making inclusivity part of the everyday. CPL Learning's free BSL Phrases for Hospitality course is one of the most practical things your team can do right now to start breaking down communication barriers for Deaf and hard-of-hearing guests. 

 

CPL Learning is part of Access Hospitality, who offer a comprehensive e-learning library covering everything from allergen awareness and licensing to food safety and management skills. 

 

Make your guests feel more welcome with this free course from Access Hospitality.