Back to Work Grants: What You Can Claim

There is no single government scheme called a back to work grant, whatever the search results suggest. Type the phrase in and you get pages that talk as though there is one form, one payment and one decision. What actually exists is a handful of separate schemes: some grants, some loans, some run by the Jobcentre, some by your council, and several of them discretionary, which means a person decides case by case and can say no.

That matters because the useful ones are mostly not advertised. You have to ask for them, by name, from the right person.

Start with the Flexible Support Fund

The Flexible Support Fund is the closest thing to a back to work grant in England, Scotland and Wales. It is money held by Jobcentre Plus and paid out at the discretion of work coaches. It does not have to be paid back and it is not treated as income for your benefit claim. Northern Ireland is outside this system: support there runs through the Department for Communities, so ask your adviser what is available locally.

The fund covers the sort of costs that stop people taking a job: travel to an interview, travel to work in the weeks before your first wage, interview clothes, a uniform, tools, a licence or certificate your trade requires, short training courses, and sometimes the deposit a nursery wants before your first Universal Credit childcare payment lands.

There is no online application and no published form. It will not appear in your Universal Credit journal unless you raise it. Each Jobcentre has a limited budget, so two people in similar circumstances can get different answers. Name the fund when you speak to your work coach, be specific about the cost, and explain what it is blocking. If you have an interview date, a job offer or a start date, say so. Concrete costs get a better hearing than general requests.

Ask early. Once you have already bought the boots, the fund is unlikely to pay you back.

Back to Work Grant Checker

Find out what help you can get with the costs of getting back into work, from travel and clothing to training and childcare.

Try our Back to Work Grant Checker free, here on this site →

Access to Work if you are disabled or have a health condition

Access to Work is a grant, not a loan, and it is not means tested. It pays for practical support that helps a disabled person, or someone with a physical or mental health condition, do their job: specialist equipment, workplace adaptations, a support worker, a British Sign Language interpreter, or taxi fares where public transport does not work for you.

You can apply once you have a job, a job offer or a confirmed start date, and in some cases when you have an interview lined up. Self-employed people can apply too, which is often missed. Larger employers are usually expected to contribute towards equipment and adaptations, with the grant covering costs above that. There is a separate mental health support service delivered through the scheme. Apply on GOV.UK, and start as soon as you have a date, because waiting times have been long.

Your situation may be slightly different. ask a question below ↓ and our editorial team will reply with our advice.

What you can get through Universal Credit

Some help sits inside the benefits system rather than alongside it:

• Universal Credit advance. Money up front while you wait for a first payment, or after a change of circumstances. It is a loan, repaid out of later payments, so your monthly amount drops until it is cleared.
• Budgeting Advance. For one off costs such as work clothing or travel. You normally need to have been claiming for a minimum period first, though that condition can be relaxed where the money is to help you start or stay in work. There are also limits on earnings and savings, and you cannot usually have another advance outstanding. Again, a loan repaid from your award.
• Childcare costs element. If you are working or starting a job, Universal Credit can refund part of registered childcare costs. It is normally paid after you have paid the provider, which is exactly the gap the Flexible Support Fund sometimes fills.
• Budgeting Loan. The equivalent for people still on older benefits such as income based Jobseeker's Allowance or Pension Credit. Interest free, repaid from benefit.

Rules and amounts are on GOV.UK. Check there rather than relying on any figure you read elsewhere, including here, as they are subject to change.

Councils, training and the devolved nations

Most councils in England run some form of local welfare assistance, and many also hand out help from the Household Support Fund, which is aimed at essentials like energy, food and household goods. Names, budgets and criteria vary, some councils run very little, and everything is discretionary. Search your council's website for "local welfare assistance" or "Household Support Fund" and read what they actually fund before applying.

On training, adults in England without a full Level 3 qualification can often study for one free of charge under the Lifetime Skills Guarantee. Skills Bootcamps are shorter, with a job interview guaranteed at the end. Your Jobcentre can also refer you to a sector based work academy programme, which pairs training with a work placement.

Scotland and Wales run their own employability support. In Scotland that means No One Left Behind delivered through councils, Individual Training Accounts towards course fees, crisis grants from the Scottish Welfare Fund, and Job Start Payment from Social Security Scotland for some young people taking up work. In Wales, ReAct+ helps people made redundant with training and travel costs, and the Discretionary Assistance Fund covers emergencies. Northern Ireland has Discretionary Support.

Of all of these, the Flexible Support Fund is the one least likely to be mentioned to you unprompted, so it is worth naming yourself.

The Next Step

Now that you have read through the advice above, you might want to put it into practice. Our Back to Work Grant Checker lets you find out what help you can get with the costs of getting back into work, from travel and clothing to training and childcare. Try it now →