// Benefits

Department for Work and Pensions

  • Disability and Carers service – part of the Pension, Disability and Carers Service (PDCS): provides financial support for customers claiming disability benefits and their carers.

Direct Gov – Disabled People – Financial Support

Disability Living Allowance

  • “a tax-free benefit for children and adults who need someone to help look after them, have walking difficulties because they are physically or mentally disabled.”

    • You may be eligible for DLA if you have a physical disability (including a sensory disability, such as blindness) or mental disability (including learning disabilities), or both; If you are under 65 if you claim; If your disability is severe enough for you to need help caring for yourself or someone to supervise you, for your own or someone else’s safety, or you have walking difficulties, or both

    • In most cases, you must have had this disability for at least 3 months, and they are likely to continue for at least another 6 months.

    • There are special conditions for claiming for those people who are terminally ill: If the claimant has a progressive disease and is not expected to live for more than 6 months, there is a different application process to make sure benefits are received more quickly.

    • People over the age of 65 may be eligible for Attendance Allowance (see later).

    • Claiming for DLA is not affected by any savings or income, or by your employment situation.

  • The benefit comprises two separate parts, called ‘components’

    • The ‘care’ component: if you need help looking after yourself or supervision to keep you safe

    • The ‘mobility’ component: if you can’t walk or find it very hard to walk, or you need help getting around

    • Some people are eligible for both components, others just one form.

  • Disability Living Allowance can be paid into an account of your choice, as long as it accepts Direct Payment of benefits. This can be a bank, building society or other account provider. Alternatively, you may be able to get someone else to collect your Disability Living Allowance if you wish.  For help with this please contact your bank, building society or other account provider.

  • Claiming DLA may increase the amount of money you are entitled to through other benefits, for example Income Support, Child Tax Credit or Council Tax Benefit. DLA is usually ignored as income when assessing other income-related benefits.

  • Claims can be made online or through ordering a claim pack. Claim packs can be obtained by phoning the Benefit Enquiry Line or downloading the form from www.direct.gov.uk

  • Changing circumstances can affect the amount of Disability Living Allowance you receive, or whether you get it.

Blind Person’s Allowance

  • If you’re certified blind and are on a local authority register of blind persons, or if you live in Scotland or Northern Ireland and are unable to perform any work for which eyesight is essential, you can claim Blind Person’s Allowance. If you can’t use up some or all of your allowance you may be able to transfer it.

  • Blind Person’s Allowance is added to your tax-free Personal Allowance – so is an extra amount of income you can get each year without paying tax. If you are on a low income or even if you don’t pay any tax you may be able to transfer your Blind Person’s Allowance to your spouse or civil partner – see the section on transferring below.

  • Blind Person’s Allowance for the tax year 2010-11 is £1,890 – there are no age or income restrictions. So if, for example, you’re 58, registered blind with your local authority and have:

    • an annual salary of £10,000

    • a Personal Allowance of £6,475
    • Blind Person’s Allowance of £1,890
    • You only need to pay tax on £1,635 (£10,000 less the sum of £6,475 and £1,890).

If both you and your spouse or civil partner qualify for Blind Person’s Allowance you can each get an allowance.

  • If you think you may be able to claim Blind Person’s Allowance contact HM Revenue & Customs (HMRC) on their priority telephone number 0845 366 7887. Lines are open from 8.00 am to 8.00 pm, Monday to Friday and 8.00 am to 4.00 pm, Saturday.

Job Grant

  • Job Grant is a one-off tax-free payment when you or your partner or civil partner start work and stop getting benefits.

  • You can claim Job Grant if you take up full-time work (at least 16 hours a week) and you expect the work to last for at least five weeks. You must also have been claiming one of the following benefits for at least 26 weeks before starting your new job:

    • Jobseeker’s Allowance

    • Income Support
    • Employment and Support Allowance
    • Incapacity Benefit
    • Severe Disablement Allowance
    • Jobcentre Plus/New Deal Allowance payments where the allowance is based on Jobseeker’s Allowance, Income Support, Incapacity Benefit, or Severe Disablement Allowance
    • Employment Zone payments where the allowance is based on Jobseeker’s Allowance
  • You may also get Job Grant if your partner or civil partner starts working at least 24 hours a week, and as a result – your benefit stops.

Direct Gov – Disabled People – Caring for someone while working

  • You may be working when you start your caring role. It may be helpful to tell your employer about your situation. There are several things that you and your employer can do to help you combine your caring role with employment.

  • Talking to your employer

  • Caring for a disabled relative is often unpredictable and care arrangements can be complex, so you will need to talk to your employer about your concerns and commitments.

  • Think about how your employer could best help you and talk to them about your needs.

  • If you want to work, it is in your employer’s best interest to consider making reasonable changes to your work pattern to help you work and continue caring.

  • Many employers offer help to carers. This could include:

  • talking to a welfare officer or occupational health adviser who knows about carers

  • in-house information and advice or counselling
  • a subscription to a carers’ organisation, or employee services

Flexible working arrangements: There are many different ways of working flexibly. You could work from home or have flexible starting or finishing times.

    • Other working arrangements might be:

  • compressed working hours (where you work your normal number of hours in a shorter time - typically fitting five days working time into four days)
  • working during school terms
  • job-sharing
  • part-time working
  • flexible holidays to fit in with alternative care arrangements

  • The Employment Act (2002) gives working parents of disabled children under 18 the right to request flexible working arrangements. You also have the legal right to ask your employer for flexible working if you are caring for an adult who is a relative or lives at the same address as you.

Direct Gov – Disabled People – Employment Support

  • Jobcentre Plus is responsible for the national network of Jobcentres. These give skilled advice at every stage of your search for a job and make sure you know which benefits or allowances you’re entitled to claim. They can also support you if you’re concerned about the impact of your disability on your existing job. Your local Jobcentre can help and advise you regardless of your situation – even if you don’t have any work experience or if you haven’t worked for a long time.

Disability Employment Advisers

    • Provide specially tailored advice suited to your individual employment situation.

    • DEAs can provide services such as:

  • an employment assessment to identify what type of work or training suits you best

  • a referral, where appropriate, to Work Preparation, an individually tailored program designed to help some disabled people

  • a referral, where appropriate, to a Pathways to Work personal adviser

  • a referral, where appropriate, to a work program for disabled people, like the Job Introduction Scheme, WORKSTEP or Access to Work

  • a referral, if needed, to an Work Psychologist for a more detailed employment assessment to identify the best work or training for you

  • a job-matching and referral service – the DEA can let you know about jobs that match your experience and skills

  • information on employers in your area who have adopted the ‘two ticks’ disability symbol

  • An employment assessment can help you identify your abilities and strengths. At the end of it, you and your DEA will have created an action plan of steps you can take towards achieving your employment goals.

  • What happens at the assessment: Your employment assessment will usually take place at your local Jobcentre. You will have an interview with your DEA, which is an opportunity for the two of you to talk about your skills and abilities; discuss any previous work experience you may have; agree what might be the most suitable job for you

  • As part of the assessment, you may be asked to carry out some practical tasks and written work. These tasks will be similar to common tasks involved in various types of work.

  • The assessment may take half a day or longer, depending on your individual needs. The DEA will discuss the length of your assessment with you beforehand.

  • After the assessment: You and your DEA will talk about your assessment and agree on an action plan to help you achieve your job goals. Your action plan may include training or taking part in the ‘Work Preparation’ programme. An employment assessment does not affect your benefits. You can claim travel expenses for attending an assessment.

Pathways to Work

If you are claiming incapacity benefits for the first time, or are claiming again after a break in receiving benefit, you will automatically be considered for Pathways to Work as a condition of getting benefit. Incapacity benefits mean:

Employment and Support Allowance

    • Incapacity Benefit
    • Income Support on the grounds of incapacity
    • Income Support while you are appealing against a decision that you are not incapable of work
    • Severe Disablement Allowance

  • Pathways to Work can help people who are claiming incapacity benefits to start or return to paid work. The service offers individual support and access to a wide range of help.

  • Pathways to Work is a programme run by Jobcentre Plus to help people who are claiming Employment and Support Allowance or incapacity benefits to get work.

  • You will be expected to take steps to find work or prepare for work unless you have a health condition or disability that severely affects your ability to do so.

  • As well as help from Jobcentre Plus, you may get extra support from one of its partner organisations from the private and voluntary sectors. Those organisations are called ‘providers’.

  • You may be entitled to extra money when you start or stay in work.

  • When you make a claim for Employment and Support Allowance or incapacity benefits, you will automatically be considered for Pathways to Work. Only people aged between 18 and the age when you are eligible to receive Pension Credit will automatically be considered. This applies if you are claiming for the first time, or are claiming again after a break in receiving benefit. Incapacity benefits include:

    • Incapacity Benefit

    • Income Support on the grounds of incapacity

    • Income Support while you are appealing against a decision that you are not incapable of work.
    • Severe Disablement Allowance
  • Even if you are not automatically considered, you can still apply for help from Pathways to Work if you are entitled to certain benefits because of your health condition or a disability.

  • Work-focused interviews: You will usually be invited to a series of up to six Work Focused Interviews. Your needs will be assessed and the approach taken will be based on this assessment. This helps you receive a more personalised service. If you receive Employment Support Allowance the second Work Focused Interview will not normally be conducted until the outcome of your Work Capability Assessment is known. Your interviews will be with a personal adviser who will:

  • help you to remain focused on your ability to work
  • help you develop a personal action plan to help you get the job you want
  • discuss work opportunities with you
  • explain the support that may be available to address key health and non-health related obstacles – for example, managing debt
  • tell you about any financial benefits you may be entitled to once you start work
  • work out how much better off financially you would be in work

  • Attending and taking part in the interviews is a condition for receiving the full amount of benefit.

The Condition Management Programme: This can help you better understand and manage your condition or disability. It uses the principles and approach of Cognitive Behavioural Therapy. The programme does not replicate current NHS treatment.

    • Health professionals deliver the programme and tailor it to meet your needs.

    • In the Jobcentre Plus-led version of Pathways to Work, the Condition Management Programme is run for Jobcentre Plus by the NHS and the Department of Health.

    • Provider-led Pathways to Work has a similar Condition Management Programme. It is either delivered by the provider or by another specialist.

Access to Work

  • Access to Work can help you if your health or disability affects the way you do your job. It gives you and your employer advice and support with extra costs which may arise because of your needs.

  • Access to Work might pay towards the equipment you need at work, adapting premises to meet your needs, or a support worker. It can also pay towards the cost of getting to work if you cannot use public transport.

  • If you need a communicator at job interviews, Access to Work may be available, too.

  • You may be able to get Access to Work if you are:

  • in a paid job
  • unemployed and about to start a job
  • unemployed and about to start a Work Trial
  • self-employed

and your disability or health condition stops you from being able to do parts of your job.

  • Your disability or health condition may not have a big effect on what you do each day, but may have a long-term effect on how well you can do your job.

How to contact Access to Work: If you feel that the type of work you do is affected by a disability or health condition that is likely to last for 12 months or more, contact your regional Access to Work contact centre to check whether you can get help. Alternatively, ask the Disability Employment Adviser (DEA) at your local Jobcentre about Access to Work.

  • Getting help – the process: If you are likely to be eligible for Access to Work, you will be sent an application form to fill in and send back. When the completed form has arrived back, an Access to Work adviser will contact you. The adviser will usually speak to you and your employer to reach a decision about the best support for you. In most cases, this can be done over the telephone, but a visit can be arranged if necessary.

  • Sometimes specialist advice may be needed, which the Access to Work adviser will help to arrange. For example, your adviser may arrange for a specialist organisation to complete an assessment and recommend appropriate support. In this case, a confidential written report will be sent to the Access to Work adviser, who will use this information to help them decide on the right level of support.

  • Your employer’s responsibilities: Once your adviser has decided on the package of support they feel is appropriate, they will seek formal approval of their recommendations from Jobcentre Plus. You and your employer will then receive a letter informing you of the approved level of support and the grant available. It is the responsibility of your employer - or you, if you are self-employed - to arrange the agreed support and buy the necessary equipment. Your employer can then claim repayment of the approved costs from Access to Work.

  • Your Access to Work Grant: The amount of help which you may receive from Access to Work will vary depending on how long you have been employed, what support you need and whether you are self-employed. Access to Work can pay up to 100 per cent of the approved costs if you are:

  • unemployed and starting a new job
  • self-employed
  • working for an employer and have been in the job for less than six weeks

  • Whatever your employment status, Access to Work will also pay up to 100 per cent of the approved costs of help with:

  • support workers
  • fares to work
  • communicator support at interview

  • Access to Work pays a proportion of the costs of support if all of the following apply to you:

  • you’re working for an employer
  • you’ve been in the job for six weeks or more
  • you need special equipment or adaptations to premises

  • The precise level of cost sharing is determined as follows:

  • employers with 1 to 9 employees will not be expected to share costs
  • employers with 10 to 49 employees will pay the first £300 and 20 per cent of costs up to £10,000
  • employers with 50 to 249 employees will pay the first £500 and 20 per cent of costs up to £10,000
  • large employers with 250 or more employees will pay the first £1,000 and 20 per cent of costs up to £10,000
  • After between one and three years, Access to Work will review your circumstances and the support you’re receiving.

New Deal for Disabled People

  • New Deal for Disabled People is a programme of advice and practical support, which helps people move from disability and health-related benefits into paid employment.

  • The programme is delivered through a network of ‘Job Brokers’ from a range of organisations. Each Job Broker offers different services, which can be tailored to your individual needs.

  • Your Job Broker will talk with you about your situation and the sort of work you want. They will help you decide on the best route into employment for you and work with you to achieve your goals.

  • New Deal for Disabled People is not available everywhere. It is available in the following areas:

    • Ayrshire, Dumfries, Galloway and Inverclyde
    • Cumbria
    • Derbyshire
    • Dorset and Somerset
    • Essex
    • Glasgow
    • Greater Manchester Central
    • Greater Mersey
    • Highlands, Islands, Clyde Coast and Grampian
    • Lanarkshire
    • Lancashire
    • Liverpool and Wirral
    • Northumbria
    • South Tyne and Wear
    • South Wales Valleys
    • South West Wales
    • South Yorkshire
    • Staffordshire
    • Tees Valley

  • In all other areas of Britain, similar help and advice is provided by Pathways to Work providers.

  • You can join the programme if you receive one or more of the following benefits:

    • Employment and Support Allowance
    • Incapacity Benefit
    • Severe Disablement Allowance
    • Income Support including a disability premium
    • Income Support because your Incapacity Benefit has been stopped and you are appealing against the decision
    • National Insurance credits because of incapacity
    • Disability Living Allowance, provided that you do not get Jobseeker’s Allowance and are not in paid work for 16 hours or more a week
    • Housing Benefit with a disability premium, provided that you do not get Jobseeker’s Allowance and are not in paid work for 16 hours or more a week
    • Council Tax Benefit, provided that you do not get Jobseeker’s Allowance and are not in paid work for 16 hours or more a week
    • War Pension with an Unemployability Supplement
    • Industrial Injuries Disablement Benefit with an Unemployability Supplement
    • a benefit equivalent to Incapacity Benefit from an European Union (EU) member country

  • New Deal for Disabled People Job Brokers can offer you a wide range of support, including:

  • helping you to look at your skills and abilities and identify suitable job opportunities
  • advice about writing CVs
  • helping you through the process of applying for jobs, including help with filling in application forms
  • help with preparing for interviews
  • identifying any training needs you may have and then working with local training providers to get the training you need
  • information about local job vacancies
  • supporting you during your first six months in work

  • They also work closely with local employers to help make sure things go well for you at work. They can arrange extra support in the workplace – like special equipment, for example - if you need it.

  • Some Job Brokers may be able to help you with travel costs to interviews or even pay for some of your costs while you are looking for work. They will also advise you about help like the travel-to-interview scheme.

  • You can only register with one Job Broker at a time so you may want to talk to each one in your area about what they can offer before you choose one.

  • When you have chosen a Job Broker, ask to register with them. They will ask you for brief information about yourself and will arrange an appointment with you to begin helping you to find a job.

WORKSTEP

  • The WORKSTEP employment programme provides support to disabled people facing complex barriers to getting and keeping a job. It also offers practical assistance to employers.

  • You may benefit from WORKSTEP if you have a disability and wish to have a job where you can:

  • develop and improve your job skills
  • have the opportunity to develop and progress through training and support
  • have the right kind of support and encouragement when you need it

  • Contact your Jobcentre and ask to be put in touch with a Disability Employment Adviser (DEA). Your Disability Employment Adviser will tell you whether you’re eligible for the programme and help you decide whether it is right for you.

  • WORKSTEP can provide support to you and your employer:

  • in almost any type of job
  • that will be tailored to your individual needs

  • WORKSTEP gives you the opportunity to work in a variety of different jobs through a wide range of organisations from small high street shops to national companies. You will get the same wage as non-disabled colleagues doing the same or similar work

  • If you’re starting a new job, the WORKSTEP provider will introduce you to your manager and colleagues at work and keep in touch to make sure everything is going smoothly.

  • You will be able to agree a development plan with your WORKSTEP provider and your employer which makes sure you get the necessary training and support to learn to do your job, and develop in it.

Work Preparation Programme

  • If you are thinking about returning to work after a long period of sickness or unemployment, the Work Preparation programme offered by Jobcentre Plus may provide the support you need.

  • Work Preparation is a flexible, individually-tailored programme that can help you prepare for the return to work.

  • Work Preparation can help you to:

    • identify the type of work most suitable for you
    • gain work experience in a work environment
    • learn new skills or update old ones
    • build your confidence

  • Taking Part: The programme does not last for a specific length of time. Most people who take part use it for between six and thirteen weeks. Programmes are normally available locally, either at the premises of a programme provider or a local workplace. Sometimes Work Preparation can be held at a residential centre.

  • At the end of a programme, the provider will complete a final report and give a copy to you and to your Disability Employment Adviser (DEA). You will then have an appointment with your DEA so that you can discuss the report. The two of you will agree an action plan for the future, which may include looking for work, training or further education.

  • Contact your Jobcentre to make an appointment with the DEA. They will be able to discuss whether the Work Preparation programme is likely to give you the help you are looking for.

Equality and Human Rights Commission – Disability in Employment

The Disability Discrimination Act

  • Under the DDA, it is unlawful for employers to discriminate against disabled people for a reason related to their disability, in all aspects of employment, unless this can be justified. The Act covers things like:

  • application forms
  • interview arrangements
  • proficiency tests
  • job offers
  • terms of employment
  • promotion, transfer or training opportunities
  • work-related benefits such as access to recreation or refreshment facilities
  • dismissal or redundancy
  • deciding pay
  • training and development
  • discipline and grievances

  • countering bullying and harrassment

Performance, Training and Development

  • Appraisals and regular reviews can give you the chance to talk to your manager about specific new tasks or responsibilities and any adjustments or support you may need. You might also want to training or promotion. It can be a good time to talk about how your disability or health condition is being managed more generally at work, and to mention any ways in which they may have contributed to your achievements.

  • Your line manager should ensure that the paperwork and meeting are accessible to you and that you have enough time and information to prepare.

  • Training

    • Training and development needs are usually identified as part of your appraisal/line management. One of the most important ways your employer can support your development is through training, and they should make sure you are able to access all training on offer to other employees. They should do this by consulting you about the best ways to make the training inclusive, such as sending you handouts before the day, providing follow-up mentoring, using more frequent rest breaks or providing training over a longer period of time.

    • Your employer is responsible for making sure that training providers comply with the requirements of the DDA.

    • Training can be adjusted in the following ways:

      • one-to-one training for particular tasks;

      • adjustments to physical access to training locations;

      • improved lighting;

      • better signage;

      • adjustments to residential accommodation;

      • different timing for courses;

      • changes in style of presentation; or

      • allowing a trainee to bring a personal care attendant.

    • It is also important that you are able to take part fully in all work events, team meetings, email briefings and away days. Again, you may be able to advise how best to do this. Some adjustments include ‘mind mapped’ information, team meetings with sign language interpreters, and accessible venues and transport for away days.

    • You may also need to have training set up just for you: for example, to use any adaptations or special equipment provided, or retraining to help you stay in your current role or adapt to a new role.

  • Health and Safety at Work

  • If you have a disability or health condition, you are protected by both the Health and Safety at Work Act 1974 and the DDA. There will be times when a particular job or task puts your health or safety at such risk that it is not reasonable for an employer to allow you to perform it. However, such examples are rare, and health and safety should never be used as a false excuse for not employing, or not continuing to employ, you.

  • Under the Health and Safety at Work Act, employers must ‘ensure so far as is reasonably practicable the health, safety and welfare at work of all employees’. All employers must carry out a risk assessment of the activities carried out by workers. The risk assessment model considers the additional risks to certain groups of workers. You may, as a disabled person, fall into this category. If your employer thinks there is a specific health and safety risk involved in recruiting or retaining you, then under the DDA they need to consider reasonable adjustments.

  • The quality of the risk assessment is critical. Your employer may need to use specialist staff and the person doing the assessment must:

  • focus on you as an individual, not people with your condition in general;
  • consider the facts;
  • not make assumptions;
  • get individual specific medical advice; and
  • talk to you about how reasonable adjustments can be made.

  • The risk assessment should also consider the essential elements of the job; the length of time and frequency of any hazardous situations; and any reasonable adjustments that can be made to reduce the risk.

  • If there is still an unacceptable risk, even with adjustments, then the employer could lawfully dismiss or not employ you. The question is what is ‘unacceptable’: this can only be tested in the courts. Increasing case law precedent is being set, which gives further guidance to employers.

  • The employer is the person who must take the decision about whether to employ or retain you in a job. If they seek expert advice from medical services or health and safety specialists, these are agents of the employer, and the employer has a duty to ensure that the specialists have considered all the facts.

  • If you or your employer have concerns about health and safety, contact your local health and safety advisor, the Health and Safety Executive or the Employers’ Forum on Disability.

  • Fire Hazards and Lifts: One thing that employers often worry about when thinking about employing a disabled person is what would happen in the event of a fire. This is often based on lack of information, with employers wrongly believing that wheelchair users should not be employed because they would not be able to escape from a building on fire where lifts were out of use. Deaf, hearing impaired blind people may also be discriminated against because people wrongly believe they won’t know there is a fire alarm or may ‘get in the way’ of colleagues trying to escape.

  • If you have a disability that may present a difficulty during a fire at your workplace, you need to have a discussion and draw up an agreed plan with your line manager and/or premises manager about this. There may be very simple changes that can be made to stop this from ever being a problem:

    • providing flashing lights as alarms, as well as things that make a noise;
    • making sure that colleagues working with deaf people have a basic awareness of sign language and deaf issues;
    • the establishment of a ‘buddy’ system to ensure wheelchair users are helped in an emergency;
    • providing a visually impaired person with named guides in case of fire;
    • providing temporary places of refuge for wheelchair users protected by fire resistant doors and from which there is a safe route to a final exit (the refuge may also have a means of communication to a central control point); or
    • training for staff in evacuation plans.

  • These plans should be made known to all staff concerned and tested at regular intervals. A well thought through evacuation plan should take into account the needs of every individual in the building, including, for example, women in the later stages of pregnancy. Very often, this can help to improve procedures and safety overall.

  • You may wish to discuss your needs in confidence, in which case only certain key individuals need know about your unique plan.

Equal Opportunity Employers