What is Access to Work?

Firstly, let's talk about Access to Work. Access to Work is a grant that funds practical support in work if you have a disability, or physical or mental health condition. The aim of the scheme is to help someone start work, stay in work, or help move to self-employment or start a business.

Coming from someone with an Access to Work grant, I can confirm that it truly can be life-changing.

By providing financial assistance to those who are neurodivergent or disabled, it gives people the opportunity to perform their job effectively, ensuring that they can not just work in the first place, but really thrive.

While Access to Work can provide a number of incredible things, they make it very clear that they do not fund reasonable adjustments. But...

What Are Reasonable Adjustments?

Quite simply, reasonable adjustments are changes an employer makes to remove a disadvantage someone may be facing in work. They are not 'perks' designed to give disabled employees an 'easier time' in work, and are completely reasonable to request, hence the name.

Adjustments can be made to employee’s workplace, their working arrangements, the provision of equipment, services, or support, and/or finding a different way to do something.

For example:

• Changing someone's start and finish time to work around their availability. If they struggle to get up in the morning, then a later start and end time may be relevant to them.

• Presenting information in a different way. If someone struggles to read sheets of text, giving it to them in a different, perhaps visual, way could make things all the more easier.

• Giving people a comfortable space to work; if someone has anxiety and finds it incredibly difficult to hot-desk, providing a permanent desk would help significantly.

Reasonable adjustments like these are small and don't take much effort on the employer's part, but can really allow someone to reach their full potential in work.

When do you turn to Access to Work?

When the adjustments required are more than small changes, such as travel into work or equipment to deal with long-lasting pain, Access to Work is your next option.

If you need any help applying, you can always contact us via our contact page here.