FUNDING SOURCES

Access To Work

The Access To Work programme is run by the Employment Service and provides financial assistance towards the extra costs of employing someone with a disability. It is available to unemployed, employed and self-employed people and can apply to any job, full-time or part-time, permanent or temporary.

• The type of support available includes:

• A communicator, such as a Palantypist, sign language interpreter or lipspeaker, at a job interview for people who are deaf or have a hearing impairment.

• A communicator for an employee to have meetings in work.

• Special equipment (or alterations to existing equipment) necessary because of an individual’s disability, such as a textphone.

• Unemployed people starting a job – the programme will pay 100% of all approved costs.

• People changing jobs – the programme will pay 100% of all approved costs.

• Employed people who have been with the employer for six weeks or longer – Access To Work does not make any contribution to costs below £300. Above this sum, the programme will pay 80% of the costs up to £10,000 and 100% of the costs above £10,000.

• Self-employed people who have been self-employed for six weeks or longer – Access To Work does not make any contribution to costs below £100. Above this sum, the programme will pay 90% of the costs up to £10,000 and 100% of the costs above £10,000.

• Communicator support at interview – the programme will pay 100% of all approved costs irrespective of employment status.

On 19 June 1997 the government announced that in future, where an employer specifically wants to employ a disabled person, the programme, which has been restricted in the past, will now be able to help. Also, the thresholds below which Access To Work funds are not payable will only apply once in the three year support period.

Applications for Access To Work must be made by the person with the disability on an application form. Forms are obtainable from the Employment Service Disability Service Team (DST), formerly known as the Placing, Assessment and Counselling Teams (PACT).

In some cases Access To Work solutions may incur a business benefit, for example, if other members of staff use any 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.

Further Information

The Access To Work programme is administered by the Employment Service’s Disability Service Team. To find out more about the programme and how to apply for support, contact your Disability Employment Advisor (DEA) through your local Job Centre or visit the Department for Work and Pensions (DWP) website at www.disability.gov.uk or visit your local Job Centre Plus and ask for information on the Access To Work sceme.

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