Back to Work Help if You Are Disabled or Long Term Sick

Going back to work after a long period of illness, or with a disability, is rarely a single decision. It is usually a series of smaller ones: how many hours you could manage, what would need to change about the job itself, and what happens to the money coming in while you find out. Help exists for most of that. It comes from different places, and you generally have to ask for it.

Worth knowing at the outset: the biggest scheme, Access to Work, is claimed by you, not by your employer. Plenty of employers have never heard of it. You do not need their permission to apply.

Access to Work

Access to Work is a government scheme that pays for practical support so a disability or health condition does not stop you doing a job. It is not a benefit and it is not means tested. It does not affect your other benefits, and it sits on top of any reasonable adjustments your employer is already required to make.

A grant can cover things like:

• Specialist equipment or adapted software, for example screen reading software, a braille display, or a specialist chair or desk setup
• A support worker, such as a British Sign Language interpreter, a note taker, a job coach or a reader
• Help getting to work if you cannot use public transport, including taxi fares or support with a vehicle adaptation
• Mental health support, delivered through a provider, which can include a plan for staying in work and help with workload and with talking to your employer
• Support with disability related costs when you are working from home

You can apply if you are in paid work, about to start a job, self employed, or starting a work trial or apprenticeship. There is normally a time limit for applying after you start a role, so get the application in early rather than waiting to see how things go.

Applications go through GOV.UK. You will be asked about your condition, your job and what you think would help. An adviser then contacts you, and in some cases arranges an assessment with a specialist who recommends what support would work. The grant may not cover everything you ask for, and larger employers are expected to pay a share of some costs. Access to Work is discretionary: an award is a decision made on your circumstances, not something you can count on in advance. Waiting times have been long at points.

Rates, the annual cap on awards and the application steps all change, so check the current position on GOV.UK rather than relying on second hand figures.

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 →

Reasonable adjustments are a right, not a grant

Separately from any funding, the Equality Act 2010 requires employers to make reasonable adjustments for disabled employees and job applicants. This is a legal duty. The employer pays, and cannot pass the cost to you.

Adjustments might be changes to hours, a phased return, working from home some of the time, moving your desk, changing how tasks are allocated, or adjusting how you are assessed at interview. What counts as reasonable depends on the size and resources of the organisation and how practical the change is, so there is no fixed list.

Ask in writing, say what the difficulty is and what would help, and keep a note of the reply. Most of the time this gets sorted informally. If it does not, raise it as a grievance, then take advice: ACAS can talk you through the options, Citizens Advice can help you work out where you stand, and the Equality and Human Rights Commission publishes guidance on what the duty actually requires. Employment tribunal claims have short time limits, which is a reason not to let things drift.

Some employers sign up to the government's Disability Confident scheme. It is a voluntary commitment rather than a guarantee of anything, but it can mean an interview if you meet the essential criteria for a job, and it usually means the people you are talking to already know the vocabulary.

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

Working while claiming ESA or Universal Credit

Check before you start, not after.

If you claim Employment and Support Allowance, permitted work rules let you do a limited amount of paid work without losing the claim. There are limits on both hours and weekly earnings, and going over either can end the claim. Current limits are on GOV.UK. You have to tell the DWP you are starting work.

Universal Credit works differently. There is no cap on hours. If you have been assessed as having limited capability for work and work related activity, you normally keep that element when you start work, and earnings are tapered rather than cut off at a cliff edge. You may also qualify for a work allowance, meaning some earnings are ignored before the taper starts.

The interaction with housing costs, council tax support and carer's arrangements can be awkward, and moving from ESA to Universal Credit is usually a one way door. Get a better off calculation from Citizens Advice or a local welfare rights service first.

Jobcentre Plus work coaches can also help, and some have specialist disability employment training. Support varies a lot between offices and between individual coaches, so it is worth asking what is available locally rather than assuming.

Going self employed

Self employment suits some people better because of the control over hours and pace. The New Enterprise Allowance, which used to provide mentoring and a weekly allowance for new businesses, closed in 2022 and has no direct replacement.

What remains is still worth using. Access to Work applies to self employed people as well as employees, and can fund equipment or support in your own business. Your local growth hub or council economic development team may run free business support, and some offer small discretionary start up grants, though these vary by area and come and go with funding rounds. On Universal Credit, the minimum income floor does not normally apply during what the DWP calls a start up period, which is time limited and depends on your work capability status. Ask your work coach how the rules apply to you.

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 →