What is the Access to Work Scheme?

The Landscape for Employees with Disabilities

People with disabilities face a range of barriers to employment. So, let’s first share some stats to illustrate the problem:

• The Office for National Statistics (ONS) revealed that people with disabilities are around 30% less likely to be employed than their non-disabled peers.
• A further ONS study suggests digital exclusion is preventing around 15% of adults with disabilities from using the internet.
• The government’s report, ‘Shaping Future Support: The Health and Disability Green Paper’, revealed how 30% of 16-64 year-olds have a long-term health condition and 20% experience disability.
• The Access to Work Scheme has low take-up. Reports show 4.4 million people with disabilities were in employment in the second quarter of 2021.
• The government reached its target of getting another 1 million disabled people into work in 2022. This was five years ahead of its 2027 target.
• The WHO suggests that 2.5 billion people around the globe need at least one assistive technology product.

Access to Work Definition

Access to Work is a government-based grant-making scheme that funds practical workplace support for people with disabilities or those with physical and mental health conditions. It gives people with disabilities the chance to work more effectively through funded interventions.

What Type of Support is Available?

Grants of up to £62,900 per year are available to new employees with a disability who’ve been in their role for up to 6 weeks. They can access support in two ways:

• Assessments: This strand reviews potential workplace barriers and makes recommendations to overcome them.
• Elements: This strand offers supplementary provisions that meet specific individual needs. Elements go beyond the employer’s mandatory requirement to provide ‘reasonable adjustments’.

Examples of available support include the following:

• Equipment: Assistive technology to help people with dyslexia, noise-cancelling headphones for people with ADHD, screen-readers, specialized chairs, digital filters that improve concentration.
• Adaptations: Alterations to working environments or premises, workplace awareness training.
• Job aids: Digital flowcharts, Kanban planners, checklists, or step-by-step guides.
• Support workers: One-on-one coaches, personal assistants, workplace mental health support, BSL interpreters.
• Transportation costs: Taxis or fares if there’s no public transport available.
• Pre-employment and in-work support: Internships, apprenticeships, and work experience for up to 8 weeks per year.

Access to Work can also pay for a workplace needs assessment. Assessors review the possible changes your employer could make to offer applicants better access or support in the workplace.

Who Can Apply for Support From Access to Work?

Anyone over the age of 16 who identifies with the Equality Act 2010 definition of disability and lives in England, Scotland, or Wales should be eligible for support. The scheme applies to employed people but it’s also available to self-employed and Directors of businesses. It isn’t means-tested and getting a grant won’t affect other benefits. You can claim if you work from home and won’t need to repay it. However employers may need to pay some costs, depending on their company size.

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It’s also worth noting that applicants do not need an official diagnosis to apply for AtW funding. You will need to disclose your disability to your employers and present detailed information about how your condition affects your work. However, gaining funding doesn’t depend on proving a medical diagnosis. You will need to explain how you’re restricted from carrying out your job and what you think you might need to do it.

What’s the Process for Application?

The Access to Work customer journey falls into roughly eight stages:

1. Application: You can apply online or by contacting the Access to Work helpline on 0800 121 7479 between 9 am and 5 pm.
2. Approval or Rejection: It’s important to be clear on your support requirements. If you’re not sure, the DWP may ask you to undergo an assessment.
3. Decision: DWP will notify you of any grant they’ll offer and the areas your funding will support.
4. Commissioning: Applicants or employers can use the grant to deploy the agreed intervention and submit the relevant invoices to the DWP.
5. Receipt: The applicant receives notification of any approved funding. 
6. Payment: The DWP pays invoices.
7. Review: DWP may review the effectiveness of the intervention to ensure it meets your needs.
8. Renewal: Once the process is complete, applicants can apply to renew their support.

To help you understand more about the process, this video by disabled Vlogger Estellosaurs highlights her personal experience in claiming Access to Work support.

Carescribe Offers Assistive Technology Through the Access to Work Scheme

Assistive technology can be used to support and enhance communication for people at workplaces and universities. CareScribe is at the forefront of assistive technology and our products address a wide range of needs.

Featuring a set of custom dictionaries with live captioning and note-taking functions, Caption.Ed can add captions instantly to your meetings, lectures or seminars, either in-person or online. You can also add timestamped notes, synced to your transcript, and highlight key information so you never miss out on the important stuff.

TalkType is highly accurate dictation software built for Windows, Mac, and mobile devices. Dictation software like TalkType can transform the way you work and study. As well as boosting productivity and efficiency, dictation software can provide autonomy to anyone who cannot type using traditional keyboards.

Caption.Ed and TalkType are dynamic AT tools that are transforming outcomes across many workplaces and universities.