Adjustment grants for staff with disabilities to extend

Workers can recruit British sign language interpreters through the program

Workers with disabilities can claim up to £ 60,000 per year in payment for workplace adjustments if the government increases the access to work grant cap this spring.

Beginning April 1, those who qualify for the program can claim up to £ 59,200 annually (currently a maximum of £ 57,200) for additional assistance they need at work, such as: B. Workplace adjustments, assistive technology, transportation and interpreters, the Department of Labor and Pensions said.

More than 27,000 employees received support under the Access To Work program last year and were able to use devices such as adjustable desks, IT equipment and speech recognition software to assist them in their roles.

Funding levels for people with mental illness increased by 34%, while access to work for people with learning disabilities increased by 22%.

The government increased the maximum grant available under the program last year by more than a third – as of March 31, 2018, eligible workers could only claim a maximum of £ 42,100. The amount of funds available is reviewed every year.

Minister for Disabled People, Health and Labor, Sarah Newton, said, “Access to Work provides tailored assistance to thousands across the country to ensure that a disability or health condition is not an obstacle to an individual’s career goals.

“By extending this grant, more people can benefit from this personalized system and more disabled people can thrive in the workplace.”

According to the National Statistics Office, around 3.8 million people with disabilities are employed. This corresponds to 50.7% of the disabled working-age population compared to 80.1% of the employed non-disabled working-age population.

In November, the government released a voluntary framework to help employers report how many of their employees have a health condition or disability. The government believes this will help increase transparency about the roles and organizations in which people with disabilities are involved.