Is your business making the most of Access to Work?
Access to Work is DWP’s best-kept secret and can have a huge impact on employees and the organisations in which they work.
Your organisation could be saving mega money, whilst boosting retention and supporting colleagues.
Here’s everything you need to know!
What is Access to Work?
Access to Work is a publicly funded employment support grant that supports disabled people to start - and stay in - work.
Grants can be used for various things including support workers, special aids and equipment, and ‘adaptions to premises’ (more on this below), and the annual grant can be up to £66,000 in value.
Who is eligible for Access to Work?
Anyone who is disabled under the Equality Act 2010 is eligible for Access to Work.
You are disabled by the Equality Act “if you have a physical or mental impairment that has a 'substantial' and 'long-term' negative effect on your ability to do normal daily activities”.
Access to Work’s website provides a bit more detail about who can apply:
Someone with a disability or health condition that means they need an aid, adaptation or financial or human support to do their job
Someone with a mental health condition who needs support at work
The person who is being supported must also be:
Over 16
Be in, or about to start, paid employment
Normally resident in England, Scotland, or Wales
Not be claiming Incapacity Benefit or Employment Support Allowance once they are in work
Why is this a huge benefit to employers?
23% of the working-age population are disabled, and a lot of employers are already paying out of pocket to support their disabled, neurodivergent, and chronically ill colleagues.
Access to Work can substantially reduce the outlay employers are making, and can also open up conversations around best work practices, inclusion, and accessibility.
Did you know that more accessible and inclusive workplaces are also more profitable, more innovative, and have higher employee retention? By providing the support and adaptations necessary, you can help disabled people to thrive at work.
How much does Access to Work cost?
Access to Work will usually pay grants of up to 100% for:
Self-employed people
People who have been working for less than 6 weeks when they first apply for Access to Work
The Mental Health Support Service
Support workers
Additional travel to work and travel in work costs
Communication support at interviews
For anything else, employers are expected to make a small contribution, depending on their size.
As the employer, you will contribute 100% of costs up to the threshold level and 20% of the costs between the threshold and £10,000.
The amount of the threshold is determined by the number of employees you have.
Number of employees / Amount of threshold
0 to 49 employees nil
50 to 249 employees £500
Over 250 employees £1,000
Any balance above £10,000 will normally be met by Access to Work.
Say for example you are an organisation with over 250 employees and someone has been awarded the full award, £66,000.
In this instance, you will pay £1,000 (your threshold) and £1,800 (20% of £1,000 -£10,000) while Access to Work will pay £63,200. It’s a very good deal indeed!
What does Access to Work pay for?
Honestly, it’s really hard to create an extensive list, but we’re going to give it a good go!
Access to Work can pay for:
Support worker - this is effectively a personal assistant or virtual assistant, but always ask for a “support worker”; Access to Work loves to use very specific phrases.
Team awareness training - yep, you can actually access our training and support if someone feels that some training for their colleagues or managers could help them at work. This could include understanding hidden disabilities, an introduction to disability in the workplace, and an introduction to neurodivergence.
Disability impact training - this is a type of mentoring that is particularly useful for people either just entering the workplace, just entering their specific role, or having recently acquired a disability. This focuses on adjustments, adaptations, and a bunch of tips and tricks. This is something we can also help with - drop us an email to discuss!
Coaching - having a coach who specialises in disability or neurodivergence can be a game-changer for professionals at any stage in their careers.
Special aids and equipment - this can be anything from a specialist screen, a new office chair, an adapted desk, a writing tablet, blue light-filtered glasses… Honestly, the list is endless.
Adaptions to premises or equipment - if your lift or ramp needs an upgrade, or if a remote worker needs a widened door to access a home office - these things and more can be covered!
Tech - there are so many tech adaptations available including dictation software like Dragon, project management tools, proofreading tools, and anything else that could help someone to do their day-to-day work. Even things like FLOWN for your remote employees, which helps them co-work and increase their productivity. A lot of these you might already be paying for!
Travel - if your office is next to a tube station that isn’t wheelchair accessible, or you’re out in the sticks, transport costs such as taxis can be covered.
How to apply for Access to Work
Applications are led by the individuals who need the support. They can apply online here or apply by phone.
Ahead of applying they will need:
Their contact details
Their workplace address and postcode
Information about how their condition affects their work and what support they think might be needed
Details of a workplace contact who can confirm where they work, if they’re employed
Their Unique Taxpayer Reference (UTR) number, if they’re self-employed
Someone from Access to Work will then be in touch to discuss the application (often this is a phone call out of the blue around 12 weeks after applying). If, as an employer, you’re helping someone with their application, they can nominate you as the person to talk to (someone in HR for instance) or ask for a time to be arranged where you’re both present.
Usually, a decision will be made soon after the assessment. If there’s anything that needs to be reconsidered (such as the cost of a specific service) then you can either call the helpline or respond to the email from the person managing the account.
The money is then claimed via either paper forms or an online portal.
Other things you need to know about Access to Work
Know the cost of things first
Access to Work tends to pull information from a variety of sources so the pricing is not always accurate. For example, I’ve known support worker estimates of £10 - 12 an hour, when in reality they’re much more likely to be between £20-40 an hour, and sometimes subject to VAT too.
Know what to prioritise
£66k may feel like loads, as it did to me, but as soon as you consider that some specialised support workers are £40 per hour that award can disappear quite quickly. Make sure that someone knows what will help them the most so that if they’re going to max out the award that money is being spent in the best way possible.
Keep re-applying
Most people’s first awards only last 12 months (sometimes a bit less), so it’s worth putting time aside each year to apply. We’d suggest applying again at least 12 weeks before the award finishes.
Ask the experts
It can be a very worthwhile investment to get some training and support up-front to ensure that you and your team are really making the most of Access to Work!
We can help you as part of our retainer offering, find out more here, to work through what Access to Work can look like in your organisation.
If you’re supporting neurodivergent colleagues, our friends at Send it to Alex are experts in support workers for neurodivergent professionals.
Need to know more about Access to Work?
This is a very organic blog that we hope will support employers well into the future. If there’s anything that we haven’t covered, get in touch via hello@sicofficial.co.uk and we’ll be happy to answer your questions and update this article where necessary.
Written by Alice Hargreaves
