Access to Work

What is Access to Work?

Access to Work is a government funded scheme which support employees to start or stay in work where an employee requires support and adaptations beyond the reasonable adjustments which an employer is legally bound to provide under the Equality Act.

It does not fund for the type of items that you would normally need to do your job whether you have a disability or not.

The type of support that helps to remove barriers in the workplace offered through Access to Work can cover different aspects which currently include:

• Support Worker
• Travel to work
• Adaptation to premises
• Special aids and equipment
• Communication support
• Mental Health support services
• Practical support such as a job coach, mentor

Disability

An employer is required to make reasonable adjustments for individuals covered by the Equality Act (2010).

You must have a disability, illness or health condition that means you need support to do your job. You do not need to be diagnosed with a condition to apply.

Signposting to Access to Work

Occupational Health referral received with advice sought on reasonable adjustments to support disability;

OR

Pre-placement health assessment reasonable adjustments sought at start of employment;

OR

An individual makes a self-referral to Access to work and receives direct contact from the service;

Occupational Health will signpost the employee to the Access to Work eligibility process:

Applying for support from Access to Work is initiated by the employee themselves. The individual makes contact with Access to Work telephone online or post

The application for support can be made at any stage of employment, including at recruitment, the start of a new job, a change of a job, on developing a new disability or where there has been a change of a pre-existing condition.

Access to Work Assessment

Someone from Access to Work will assess the effects of the condition in the workplace. This can include a workplace visit carried out by a specialist – currently Access to Work call this a “holistic workplace assessment”

Access to Work will request details of the named employer representative which will be your line manager.

A letter is issued to the employee by the assessor,  with a decision and explanation of the outcome, and the eligible funding grant awarded.

Access to Work then send the recommendations of adjustments to the employer representative directly with the employee’s consent.

Employee and Manager Actions

On receipt of the Access to Work report the employee and the manager work together to explore the recommendations. It would be useful at this point to for the employee and line manager to consider starting a Tailored Adjustment Plan or reviewing a pre-existing one.

If the employee is still within their first 6 weeks of employment with the University, currently Access to Work will fully reimburse the cost of adjustments.

Otherwise there is a cost sharing arrangement where Access to Work will reimburse a proportion of the cost to the employer.

Generally an employer of the size of the University is expected to pay the first £1000 and then 20% of the remaining balance. There are certain grants which are reimbursed at 100% for Mental Health Support Services, Travel to Work, Communication Support (at interviews) and Support Workers.

It is important to note that Access to Work is a government initiative that may be subject to regular change. It is best to refer to the most up to date information directly from the Access to Work website.

Further ways to arrange for the purchase of equipment or any recommended 1:1 job coaching/training may need to be discussed with the Procurement team and the process for your School or Department’s process for claiming back the funds.

The Procurement Team can be contacted here: procurement@reading.ac.uk