Access to work

Access to Work is a government funded programme which provides practical advice to help overcome work-related obstacles, and provides grants towards extra costs, including:

• Special aids or equipment for employment;
• Adaptations to premises and existing equipment;
• Help with travel to work where public transport can't be used;
• A support worker, e.g. a reader, to provide help in the workplace;
• A communicator for support at interviews.

It is administered by Disability Service Teams (DSTs). If your RSI means you need equipment, adaptations or communication support to do a job, AtW will pay all or part of the cost.

AtW does the following:

• Supports disabled people so that they can overcome problems that stop them from working.
• Enables people to compete on equal terms for jobs.
• Aims to encourage employers to give disabled people jobs or keep people on if they become disabled.
• Pays all or part of any extra cost of equipment or training you need.