Access to Work Information

In this section:

1. Key principles / overview

1.1 What is Access to Work and what does it cover?

Access to Work (AtW) is a government run scheme that can provide financial assistance to disabled members of staff, enabling them to continue in work. AtW produces its own guidance about its processes and procedures, and staff are encouraged to refer to the online guidance in the first instance.

What Access to Work is (gov.uk)
Online Access to Work: factsheet for customers (gov.uk)

The purpose of this webpage is to provide University of York staff with information to help bridge the gap between the Access to Work Scheme and University’s processes.

A member of staff can apply to Access to Work for funding for the following types of support:

Travel to work (which also includes travel within work)
Support worker (e.g. ongoing human support such as job coaches, BSL interpreters, lip speakers etc)
Adaptations to premises and equipment (APE)
Special aids and equipment (SAE) (High-cost bespoke equipment, very specialist tech) and related training
Disability-related awareness training for the employer and other members of staff
Tailored mental health or neurodiversity support

1.2 Timescales and delays

It is worth noting that due to the current backlog of Access to Work (AtW) applications, colleagues should expect delays in the process of securing funding.

Access to Work will only approve funding once:

eligibility conditions have been met
requested evidence and information has been supplied and considered
support levels (funding) have been agreed

With this in mind, the department that supports an individual member of staff should consider if a reasonable adjustment, whether temporary or permanent, can be put in place as soon as possible to enable the member of staff to perform their role and be supported in the workplace, even while an AtW application is being processed.

2. Roles and Responsibilities

2.1 University responsibilities

Access to Work funding does not replace the University’s legal duty to provide reasonable adjustments. Where an adjustment is clearly necessary, low-cost, and straightforward, departments should implement it without delay rather than waiting for AtW funding.

Departments should consider whether the proposed adjustment is:

Relatively low cost
Commonly used (e.g. ergonomic chair or adaptive mouse)
Clearly necessary for the individual

If so, then the department is more often than not expected to pay for the adjustment and not wait for AtW to provide funding. If equipment or support is a reasonable adjustment, the employer cannot refuse it simply because Access to Work has not yet approved funding, or because funding might not be available. It should be noted that reimbursement is not guaranteed for equipment that is purchased before AtW approval.

AtW will not provide support in situations where an employer has been giving support to an employee and then withdraws that support as a money saving strategy.

The following is a (non-exhaustive) list of example adjustments where the University would usually be expected to provide funding itself, rather than seeking AtW support:

Standard assistive software (e.g. text-to-speech software)
Ergonomic chairs or desks
Adjustments to working hours or duties
Additional devices where staff are not able to carry equipment to and from home

2.2 Line Managers

In the vast majority of cases, it is the overall responsibility of a line manager and their wider department to oversee the process of establishing support and implementing reasonable adjustments for colleagues who are disabled or who have a long term-health condition. Therefore, line managers must be proactive and prompt in their approach, not only to enable colleagues to be supported but also to ensure that the University is meeting its legal obligations under the Equality Act 2010.

Some reasonable adjustments can and should be implemented by the University without needing to apply for funding from Access to Work. Where a staff member requests a reasonable adjustment that the department is able to make easily, at low cost, and where they know the adjustment will resolve the barrier for the individual, it is recommended that the adjustment be implemented without delay.

Departments and line managers should refer to the existing Reasonable Adjustments Process for further information and complete an Individual Adjustments Plan with the disabled member of staff.

2.3 Occupational Health (OH)

As outlined in the Reasonable Adjustments Procedure, implementation of reasonable adjustments does not always need to be recommended by, or discussed with, Occupational Health (OH). Members of staff are not required to undertake an assessment via OH in order for their department to implement reasonable adjustments on their behalf.

If there are multiple and/or more complex requests for reasonable adjustments, a line manager may refer the individual member of staff to OH for advice.

Occupational Health referral

It may be the case that following an Occupational Health assessment, OH may recommend that a member of staff apply to AtW in order to seek additional support.

If individuals find submitting an AtW application difficult and require support with this, OH can assist with the process. However, it should be noted that OH is not otherwise involved in the Access to Work process or the decision-making and implementation process of adjustments recommended by Access to Work.

3. Funding Process

Once an item of support has been approved, Access to Work requires the University to pay for it upfront and then reclaim the agreed amount of funding back as a reimbursement.

3.1 Cost sharing:

The first £1,000 incurred for an adjustment will be funded by the University / department
AtW funding applies only to costs above this threshold

3.2 Process for claiming funding for a purchase:

An individual applies to Access to Work
An Access to Work assessment normally determines what support/equipment is required
Multiple quotes are provided by the individual (supported by the University/line manager) to determine the most cost effective approach
Access to Work agree to provide a specific amount of funding for a form of support
The department purchases the agreed equipment/support
The department submits invoices to Access to Work and AtW reimburses the department for an agreed portion of the overall cost.

In view of the above, the department will need to contact the University’s Finance Team and/or Accounts Payable in order to establish a process through which they can process reimbursement claims.

4. Information for individuals

4.1 The application process

As part of completing an AtW submission, individuals will be asked to provide information that enables AtW to:

understand their job role and the specific tasks they are undertaking
identify any training requirements for their role
identify any barriers they are likely to face in the workplace
identify what support needs there are, including any reasonable adjustments that may have been made
discuss and consider the effects of the individual’s disability, illness or health condition on their ability to do their job.

As part of this process AtW may suggest that an Independent Holistic Workplace Assessment be carried out as part of the application, to enable them to recommend specific support. This may require AtW to come into the individual’s place of work to carry out an in-person workplace assessment.

4.2 Evidence

Access to Work usually only request relevant information from individuals as evidence in order for them to decide if there is sufficient information for them to make a decision regarding an individual’s eligibility for funding.

As part of this process the individual is advised to send any relevant evidence or information as quickly as possible, in order to avoid any unnecessary delays.

A notable exception is where support with taxis to, from and at work is requested. Medical evidence is usually requested in such cases.

4.3 Confidentiality

There may be Access to Work grants provided for specific forms of support that do not require the involvement of their line manager / department, such as for travel to and from work, or assistive equipment that can be put in place without the University’s involvement. However, for adjustments that do require liaison between the department and teams/services across the University, line managers are expected to manage the implementation of such adjustments as part of their role.

As such, it is worth individuals being aware that for most areas of support, AtW will make contact with the University ahead of any workplace assessment. This is to validate the individual’s employment and to seek agreement from the University that it will contribute funding for any support aids or equipment.

5. Additional information

In some cases where funding is agreed for particular types of support, AtW may ask the individual and/or the employer to provide up to three separate quotes from a supplier, in order for them to assess the most cost effective option. Examples of this may include (but are not limited to), a support worker, training and awareness raising within the department, specific specialist equipment or adaptations.

Access to Work makes recommendations based on the consultation with the individual about their condition and support needs. However these recommendations do not take into account the University's requirement to meet GDPR and security standards as a whole, or specifics of certain jobs (e.g. handling sensitive data). As such, it is not always possible to install and use software recommended by AtW on University devices. With this in mind, the University has created guidance on alternative softwares that individuals may find helpful in determining whether there is an alternative software that the University can support.

Assistive Software Support for Staff

Where equipment has been provided as a one off cost, AtW expects that the individual will be allowed to take that equipment with them when leaving a job role, whether within the University or moving on to an external organisation. In the event of the member of staff leaving the University, AtW do normally meet the cost of physically moving the equipment.

Roles and responsibilities