Access to Work Scheme: What It Is and How Disabled Young Adults Can Use It

Access to Work is one of the most valuable and most underused disability employment grants in the UK. It is available to any disabled person in paid work or about to start work—including young adults with SEND who are entering employment from post-16 education, supported internships, or apprenticeships. The scheme can fund job coaches, specialist workplace equipment, travel costs to work, and support workers, at no cost to the employer and with no cap on the number of hours worked. Yet the DWP's own research consistently shows that large numbers of eligible people have never heard of it.

During post-16 transition planning, Access to Work should be on every family's radar. It is not an education funding mechanism—it sits outside the EHCP and local authority framework entirely—but it can be the critical enabler that makes competitive employment viable where it might otherwise seem impossible.

Who Can Apply

Access to Work is available to anyone who:

• Has a disability, health condition, or learning difference (including autism, ADHD, learning disabilities, mental health conditions, sensory impairments, or physical disabilities)
• Is aged 16 or over
• Lives in Great Britain (a separate scheme, Workable NI, operates in Northern Ireland)
• Is in paid work, self-employment, or about to start paid work (including an apprenticeship)

Critically, applicants do not need to be receiving any other benefits or to have a formal SEND diagnosis on record with an education body. The DWP conducts its own assessment. A young person who left school without a diagnosis but who is now struggling in a job because of an undiagnosed condition can still apply.

The scheme does not apply to unpaid internships in the traditional sense—but it can apply to supported internships once the young person reaches age 19, where the job coach element is funded through Access to Work rather than DfE-funded EHCP provision.

What Access to Work Can Pay For

The grant is flexible and covers a wide range of work-related support costs. Common awards include:

Job coaching and in-work support. A job coach who works alongside the young adult during their initial months of employment, providing on-the-job guidance, helping with task learning, and supporting workplace relationships. For young adults with autism or learning disabilities starting their first jobs, this is often the single most important form of support—the presence of a coach who understands the young person's profile can determine whether a placement succeeds or fails.

Workplace adaptations and specialist equipment. Ergonomic furniture, screen-reading software, dictation software, noise-cancelling headphones, specialist keyboards, or any other equipment that removes a workplace barrier. The grant buys equipment that the employer would not otherwise be required to fund (since reasonable adjustments under the Equality Act 2010 are separately required of employers, Access to Work focuses on costs beyond that baseline).

Travel to work. If the young person cannot use public transport due to their disability, Access to Work can fund taxis or other specialist transport to and from work. This is significant for young adults in areas where post-16 transport support has been withdrawn—the grant is not limited to those in employment.

Support workers and communicators. British Sign Language interpreters, lip speakers, and communication support workers for Deaf employees or those with communication needs.

Mental health support. Funded sessions with a mental health professional linked to work challenges, for employees experiencing difficulty managing their condition in a workplace context.

How to Apply

Applications are made online at gov.uk, or by phone through the Access to Work helpline (0800 121 7479). The application should be submitted as soon as a job offer has been made—or, if the young person is starting a supported internship at age 19 or over, as soon as the placement is confirmed.

The DWP will schedule an assessment, which is typically conducted over the phone. The assessor asks about the young person's job role, their disability, and the specific barriers they face at work. The outcome is a grant offer specifying which costs will be covered and the level of funding. The grant is then paid to the employer (if they are organising the support) or directly to the young person.

If the award seems lower than expected—or if a specific type of support that was requested was not included—this can be challenged through a review process. DWP Access to Work decisions are not final on first assessment, and families who push back with additional evidence of need often receive revised awards.

Access to Work and Supported Internships

For supported interns under 19, the job coaching element of a supported internship is typically funded through DfE/EHCP mechanisms. When the intern turns 19, or when the supported internship transitions into paid employment, Access to Work becomes the primary mechanism for continuing job coaching support.

This is a transition point that many families and young adults miss. If an intern turns 19 during their placement, the funding model for their job coach changes—and if an Access to Work application has not been submitted and approved before the DfE funding runs out, there can be a gap in support. Families should initiate the Access to Work application at least three months before the intern's 19th birthday if the placement spans that age boundary.

Northern Ireland: Workable NI

In Northern Ireland, Access to Work as a scheme does not operate. The equivalent programme is Workable NI, administered through the Department for the Economy. Workable NI provides funded in-work support for disabled employees who need intensive, ongoing workplace assistance. The programme provides a support worker who helps the employee manage job tasks and workplace challenges, and covers up to five years of support—a significantly longer timeframe than standard Access to Work grants.

Applications are made through the Disability Employment Service (DES) at the local Jobs and Benefits office. Eligibility criteria are broadly similar to Access to Work: the person must be in paid employment (or about to start) and have a disability that creates a barrier to maintaining that employment.

The United Kingdom Preparing for Adulthood Roadmap covers the full employment support landscape—including how Access to Work, supported internships, and Workable NI interact with EHCP provision and the post-19 social care transition—in a single cross-nation reference framework.

See more United Kingdom guides →