Access to Work can provide you with the advice and practical support you need to make the most of your opportunities.
The scheme could help if you have a disability and are about to start work, including self employment, or are already in a job.
Access to Work provides flexible packages of help and support that can be tailored to meet your individual needs – from adapting work premises to having a support worker.
If you have a disability, you may find that the practical obstacles you meet at work are getting in the way of you making the most of your opportunities. Access to Work is designed to help you and your employer find practical solutions to remove any obstacles.
Contacting your local Disability Employment Adviser
If you feel that the type of work you do is affected by a disability or health condition that is likely to last for 12 months or longer, ask the Disability Employment Adviser (DEA) at your local Jobcentre Plus office about Access to Work.
They can put you in touch with your closest Access to Work Business Centre to check whether you are eligible for help.
Access to Work can provide you with the help you need at work, whether you are working full-time or part-time or in permanent or temporary employment. It can also provide help to you if you are about to start work or becoming self-employed.
Both unemployed or employed disabled people needing help with a communicator at a job interview can get help through Access to Work.
Types of help
There are a variety of ways in which Access to Work can help. For example, it can help pay for:
- a communicator, if you are deaf or have a hearing impairment and need support at an interview
- a reader at work, if you are blind or have a visual impairment
- special equipment (or alterations to existing equipment) to suit your particular work needs arising from a disability
- a support worker, if you require practical help because of your disability either at work or getting to work. The type of support on offer might include someone to read to you if you are visually impaired, someone to help you communicate if you have a hearing impairment, or a specialist coach for a person with learning difficulties
- help with the additional costs of travel to, or in, work for people who are unable to use public transport
