your condition.

In order to qualify for the support, your ability to perform to your full potential in the job must be affected by your condition, or it must incur costs for that work, for at least 12 months. As an example, a job aide is required around the office or you have to take a taxi as you are unable to use public transport.

If you have a mental health condition or a specific learning difficulty, this must be impacting you in your job. The support can be used to help in a variety of ways, including starting a job, staying in employment and reducing absence from work.

exceptions.

Not everyone is eligible for this support, and if you receive any of the following benefits then you can’t receive Access to Work support.

incapacity benefit
employment and Support allowance
severe disablement allowance
income support
national Insurance credits

changing jobs.

If you change employers, you are free to move the support to your new employer.

starting a new business.

If you are looking at setting your own business up, you can utilise Access to Work at the same time. This can be used alongside the New Enterprise Allowance support that is provided by the government to help in setting up a business.

how to claim.

If you wish to apply for this support, you need to contact the Access to Work centre via www.gov.uk/access-to-work.

You can also apply by calling Jobcentre Plus on:

Telephone: 0800 121 7479

Textphone: 0800 121 7579

On some occasions, you may require specialist advice when the Adviser is assessing your needs. If this is required, your adviser will help setting this up. Once this has been done, the specialist will send a confidential written report to your adviser, who then uses this information to recommend the appropriate support for you.

Once your support has been approved, a letter will be sent out to you and your employer with details of what support has been agreed for you to access. Your employer and you are responsible for arranging any specialist support, and any assistive technology the employer will need to buy and claim reimbursement from Access to Work.

next steps.

Having read this, if you feel you are eligible for the support and wish to start receiving support, here are the steps you need to follow:

contact either the Access to Work website or call the above Jobcentre Plus number.
make a list of the difficulties you have in the workplace so when you are contacted by an adviser, you can be sure you cover everything with them.

information required.

In order for Access to Work to be able to provide support, they will need some information from you, including:

your National Insurance number
your workplace address, including your postcode
the name, email address and work phone number of a workplace contact, for example your manager
your unique tax reference number (if you’re self-employed)
the name of your New Enterprise Allowance mentor (if you have one)

source: https://www.gov.uk/access-to-work

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