Catherine Alexander, careers adviser and specialist in disability and employment, shares guidance on the government’s Access to Work fund
If you already receive a Disabled Students Allowance for University, don’t think twice about applying for Access to Work funding to enable you to work.
“Of the estimated 4.2 million disabled people who were in employment, only 32,010 people applied for Access to Work in 2018-19. This means a mere 0.76% of disabled people in the workforce are applying for Access to Work.” – blog by Raphaele von Koettlitz, the Director of Communications at Diversity and Ability
Access to Work grants can cover the cost of any reasonable adjustments you need for work purposes. Examples include cost of travel to enable you to get to and from work, a support worker, computers to enable you to work flexibly from home, or other technical software or equipment. The grants can also cover some costs if you are setting up your own business, so long as you can demonstrate that they are additional costs related to your disability, and not just the usual set-up costs of a start-up.
Key points:
- You can apply if you have a disability, neurodiversity, health or mental health condition that affects your ability to work on a day-to-day basis.
- You’ll need to include your employer in the application. Once the Access to Work grant is agreed, your employer will pay for what you need and then claim it back from Access to Work.
- Approach applying for an Access to Work grant like applying for a job. Research the eligibility criteria and match your application to these as closely as you can.
For more information, read Raphaele von Koettlitz’s blog – Tackling the disability employment gap, which includes a short video by Diversity and Ability: Your Guide to Access to Work (5 min video).