Genius Within

Access to Work could give you a grant to help pay for things like:

•   specialist equipment and assistive software.
•   support workers, such as a BSL interpreter, a workplace coach.
•   mental health or communications support. 
•   costs of travelling to work if you cannot use public transport.
•   adaptations to your vehicle so you can get to work.
•   physical changes to your workplace.

Your workplace can include your home if you work from there some or all the time. Be sure to discuss this with the assessor. 

It does not matter how much you earn. If you get an Access to Work grant, it will not affect any other benefits you get and you will not have to pay it back.

You or your employer will need to pay some costs up front and claim them back later.

Access to Work does not pay for reasonable adjustments. These are the changes your employer must legally make to support you to do your job. Access to Work will advise your employer if changes should be made as reasonable adjustments.

Access to Work is a grant scheme provided by the Department for Work & Pensions, which can help you to find or stay in work if you have any challenges that may be related to any disability, or any physical health or mental health conditions. The support you can get will depend on your needs. Through Access to Work, you can apply for:

• a grant to help pay for practical support with your workplace
• support with managing your disability or mental health at work.

To be eligible, you need to be in work and have something that makes it difficult for you to work efficiently. This doesn’t mean you need to have a formal diagnosis. Anxiety, back pain, problems with your memory or organisational skills can all be reasons to ask for help. You can be working in an apprenticeship, an internship or even a work trial. Providing it is paid work, you can apply.

Access to Work will need someone from your company to be on board with your application. If your company has more than 50 employees, it may need to contribute to the cost of your support. Talk with your line manager and/or your human resources about the things you feel would help you to work at your best.

You can make your application online. All you need to start is the name of your company, its address and a contact in the company who can confirm that the company supports your application. You will then have a series of short questions about what condition is leading you to make the application, how you get to work and what it is that is making it difficult to work efficiently. The questions are usually easy to follow.

Speak with your manager, HR, or call us. We know that some assessors are less proactive than others and want you to figure out for yourself what you need. We can help you with this. We can supply you with quotes and give you contact information for some of our partner companies who also help Access to Work clients.

You can call us between 9 and 5 on 01273 890502

Or send us an email at clientservices@geniuswithin.org. 

We are here to help.

If you receive Universal Credit, Jobseeker’s Allowance or Income Support, you can still get help from Access to Work as long as you work more than one hour a week. If you are receiving Employment and Support Allowance, you can only get help from Access to Work if you’re doing ‘permitted work’. It’s permitted work if all the following apply:

• You earn up to £140.00 a week.
• You work less than 16 hours a week.
• It has been agreed with your work coach.

Your company may be liable for some of the support, depending on its size and how long you have been working there. If your company has between 50 and 249 employees, it will be liable for the first £500 of support and then 20% of the support up to £10,000. If your company has 250 employees or more, it will be liable for the first £1000 of the support and then 20% of the support up to £10,000. Access to Work will pay 100% of the support over £10,000.

Good news! Access to Work will fund your support completely if any one of the following conditions is true: 

• you have been working for your company for less than six weeks.
• your company has fewer than 50 employees.
• you are self-employed.
• you work in Mental Health Support Service.
• you are a support worker.

Regardless of the size of your company, Access to Work will always cover 100% of your grant for coaching and training. Your company will only have to share the cost for special aids and equipment, travel, and adaptations to premises or equipment.

Your grant will usually be agreed for 6 or 12 months and should be spent within that duration. In some cases, they may agree your grant for the maximum 3 years. If you have a series of coaching or training services that will go beyond the end date, you should contact Access to Work and ask them to extend your grant.

If you change roles, ordinarily your company can help you transfer any equipment. If you leave your employer, you will need to discuss with them as they may have contributed to the costs of equipment. You cannot automatically transfer awards for support workers or travel. You would need to contact the Access to Work team to discuss your new arrangements and update your grant.

You can renew your application up to 12 weeks before it ends. This can be done online or by phone and an assessor will get in touch to find out if anything has changed in your situation and what you would like to receive. Access to Work will support you for up to three years in total.

If you are self-employed or not involving any employer in your support, we can arrange a payment plan, where you can pay for a few sessions at a time and then claim the monies back, before paying for the next set of sessions.

Access to Work can pay for some services directly, however, you should be aware that it adds some delay to the process as they will not pay the value of the grant in full. We will work with you to manage the administration of this where possible.

Process:

1. Share a copy of your grant paperwork with us. We will use this to set up billing for Access to Work and ensure that the prices match your grant.
2. We will set you up with an account in our Portal.
3. We will send you a proforma invoice for the first two sessions of any series of services, e.g., any coaching services. You will need to submit this to Access to Work via the online claim portal or by post.
4. Access to Work will pay this invoice and we will then allocate you a coach, or one you have chosen, and you will start your sessions.
5. When you have finished session two, send a quick email to the Genius Within office team, clientservices@geniuswithin.org, and ask them to invoice your next two sessions.
6. Access to Work will then pay the next invoice and we will add another two sessions onto your account. Your coach will contact you to book you in.
7. Once again, message clientservices@geniuswithin.org when you’ve completed the next two sessions and we will arrange the next invoice, and so on until the sessions detailed on your grant are completed.

Booking a session with a coach is straightforward.

Go to the “Our Coaches” page , and follow the steps outlined.

https://geniuswithin.org/our-coaches/