The Access to Work programme is a government funding scheme run by Jobcentre Plus. It provides financial assistance towards the extra costs of employing a deaf or disabled person. It is available to unemployed, employed and self-employed people and can apply to any job, full-time or part-time, permanent or temporary.
Support available
The type of support available includes:
-
a communicator at a job interview for people who are deaf or have a hearing impairment
-
a reader at work for someone who is blind or has a visual impairment
-
a support worker if someone needs practical help because of their impairment or disability, either at work or getting to work
-
adaptations to a vehicle or help towards taxi fares or other transport costs if someone cannot use public transport to get to work because of their impairment or disability
-
equipment (or alterations to existing equipment) necessary because of an individual's impairment or disability
-
alterations to premises or a working environment necessary because of a person's impairment or disability.
Funding available
The funding available depends on the employment status of the disabled individual at the time of application. For:
-
unemployed people starting a job who have an agreed start date and all self-employed people - the programme will pay up to 100% of all approved costs
-
people changing jobs - the programme will pay up to 100% of all approved costs
-
employed people who have been with the employer for six weeks or longer - Access to Work will not make any contribution to costs below £300. Above this sum, the programme will pay up to 80% of the costs up to £10,000 and up to 100% of the costs above £10,000
-
travel to work - the programme will sometimes pay up to 100% of all approved costs irrespective of employment status, but some people may be asked to pay a contribution depending on the circumstances
-
communicator support at interview - the programme will pay up to 100% of all approved costs irrespective of employment status.
-
a support worker - the programme will pay up to 100% of all approved costs irrespective of employment status
In some circumstances, people doing permitted work may also be eligible for Access to Work.
Access to Work funding is made available for up to three years. A review of an individual's circumstances and support needs will take place if further funding is needed after this time. However, Access to Work funding is not available retrospectively. It will not refund any payments that have already been made towards the cost of reasonable adjustments
Applications for Access to Work must be made by the deaf or disabled person concerned using an application form which is available from their nearest Access to Work Business Centre.
In some cases, Access to Work solutions may incur a business benefit, for example, if other members of staff use your specialist equipment as part of their own work. In these instances, the business benefit costs will be estimated and deducted from the Access to Work costs. The programme will pay a proportion of the remaining amount as described above.