The Government’s recent consultation on its plans to reform social security and employment support for disabled people included many controversial and some very worrying proposals. Among the areas being consulted on was the Access to Work scheme, by which the Government funds ‘reasonable adjustments’ to workplaces for disabled employees. We asked people who had experience of Access to Work, both as clients and as Individual Placement and Support (IPS) employment specialists, about their views and experiences of Access to Work. Here’s what they told us.
Many businesses are unaware of the types of reasonable adjustments, aids and adaptations that could assist people with mental health difficulties (or combinations of mental and physical health needs) to get or stay in work. Access to Work helps to fill that gap, and by funding those adjustments it helps employers to take on or retain disabled people.
Access to Work remains an incredibly important source of support for those who benefit from it. For people with mental health needs, Access to Work complements Individual Placement and Support successfully, providing extra security and support when they’re trying out a new job.
At its best, Access to Work is quick, responsive and flexible. It’s used for a wide variety of adaptations, including taxi costs for people who cannot cope with public transport or who live in rural areas and do not have other means of getting to work. It can fund coaching for people who struggle with work environments, or adaptive technology for people with neurodiverse needs. Some people may require a mixture of adaptations, for example if they have both mental and physical health needs. Access to Work helps people not just to get or keep jobs but to have fewer absences and to be more productive. It helps people and their employers feel more confident knowing that the support and adaptations are in place.
As one employment specialist told us: “One of my clients, who experiences severe anxiety, started a part-time admin role. We applied for Access to Work to cover taxi fares (as public transport was a big barrier), noise-cancelling headphones, and some regular check-ins with a mental health support worker. Everything came through quite quickly and made a huge difference. She felt supported, her attendance stayed consistent, and it gave her real confidence that work was doable.”
When it misses the mark, however, Access to Work can stop someone getting the job they want. Delays or refusals of support can cost people their jobs. The complex application form can be offputtingly long and complex, and unexpected phone calls about an application can cause anxiety for some people with mental health difficulties, meaning they miss out on vital support. Inconsistent decisions about Access to Work support can also be a major challenge for IPS services, often creating extra bureaucracy as well as being disappointing and potentially damaging for clients.
One employment specialist told us: “There are some amazing advisors within the Access to Work team but there are also some who simply don’t appear to understand the system and how to apply it. There are huge inconsistencies as to how the rules are applied and regularly the providers described advisors who were unable to explain their own policy guidelines. This can lead to us spending hours on the phone trying to manage claims, chasing paperwork and often receive no communication back at all.”
We would like to see Access to Work funding ‘passported’ for people with mental health difficulties to take to future employers to demonstrate that they will have additional support should they need it in-work. Or if decisions are needed when a job offer is made, that it happens at least two weeks beforehand to give both the individual and their employer the confidence they need.
Access to Work needs to be responsive and flexible. It should be able to support people with whatever adaptations they need, accepting that there is no one-size-fits-all. It should be quick and easy to apply. If a decision takes longer, it should provide temporary support so that a person’s job (start) is not put at risk. And the Access to Work programme should have a dedicated mental health team which can make decisions quickly on mental health-related requests, with anyone who is being supported by an IPS team guaranteed ‘fast-track’ decisions.
In summary, Access to Work continues to be a boost to the people it helps, and at its best it can be life-changing. We hope the Government will keep the positive aspects of the scheme as it stands, while also finding ways to make it work better by being quicker and more consistent. Without it, or if it loses its ability to be flexible to people’s individual needs, we’ll lose a valuable public asset just when we need it most.
