Information
Help for disabled people from
Jobcentre Plus
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Skill: National Bureau for Students with Disabilities
Chief Executive: Benet Middleton
Unit 3, Floor 3, Radisson Court, 219 Long Lane, London SE1 4PR
Email: skill@skill.org.uk
Website: www.skill.org.uk
Tel: 020 7450 0620
Fax: 020 7450 0650
Information Service:
Open Tuesdays 11.30am-1.30pm and Thursdays 1.30pm-3.30pm
Tel: 0800 328 5050 or Textphone: 0800 068 2422
Email: info@skill.org.uk
Skill is a company limited by guarantee (2397897) and a
registered charity (801971), also registered in Scotland
(SC039212)
Help for disabled people from Jobcentre Plus
Contents
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Introduction
Jobcentre Plus Advisers
Jobcentre Plus schemes
Your legal rights
Other information
Useful contacts
Useful leaflets and publications
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Introduction
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The Jobcentre Plus Network was formed out of a merger
between the Benefits Agency and the Employment Service. It is
part of the government Department for Work and Pensions and
runs Jobcentres and related schemes around the UK for people
looking for work.
Jobcentres also administer working age benefits. These are
covered in other Skill booklets.
To find your local Jobcentre, look in the telephone directory or on
the Jobcentre Plus website www.jobcentreplus.gov.uk.
You can also call Jobcentre Plus who can help search for
vacancies and, in some cases, send job application forms and
arrange interviews for you. Telephone: 0845 606 0234.
Textphone: 0845 605 5255. Monday to Friday 8am - 6pm,
Saturday 9am - 1.00pm.
For help and information on CVs, application forms or interviews,
go to the Job Hunting Help page. Jobcentre job adverts are also
displayed on the worktrain website at www.worktrain.gov.uk.
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As a disabled person you can use all the usual facilities that are
available to anyone looking for a job, such as Jobcentres and
personal advisers. However, if you need specialised help
because you are disabled, it should be available to you through
the services listed in this booklet.
For further information about agencies and other organisations
that offer information and advice to disabled people looking for
work, see Skill’s information booklets: Careers and work for
disabled people and Using recruitment agencies as a
disabled jobseeker. You can also read Telling people about
your disability, which discusses whether and how to let a
potential employer or education provider know about your
disability.
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Jobcentre Plus Advisers
Pathways to Work Advisers
If you get Incapacity Benefit or Employment and Support
Allowance (ESA), a Pathways to Work Adviser will be your first
point of contact. They help people with a disability or health
condition to move towards or into work. The support on offer
includes interviews, financial incentives and condition
management programmes. Jobcentre Plus run Pathways to Work
in some areas and external providers work in partnership with
Jobcentre Plus in others.
Disability Employment Advisers
Disability Employment Advisers work with people who need more
extensive support because of their health condition, including
people in employment who may need support to keep their jobs.
DEAs should be able to help you draw up an action plan for
finding or staying in work. They can tell you about suitable jobs,
further assessments and what ongoing support is available. They
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work closely with you and your employers to help you do your job
efficiently and with support. DEAs can help find solutions to
practical issues such as accessibility and adapting the workplace
environment.
DEAs can also refer you to Work Preparation schemes, to an
occupational psychologist for an Employment Assessment and to
Jobcentre schemes designed for disabled people.
Graduates and undergraduates
If you are a disabled graduate (or are about to graduate), you
may find that DEAs do not have much experience of advising
people with your level of qualifications. However, you are still
entitled to general help and advice from them. You may wish to
make use of their knowledge of general disability employment
issues, as well as going to your college or university careers
service for specialist graduate advice.
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Jobcentre Plus schemes
Contact your local Jobcentre adviser or your Disability
Employment Adviser to find out whether you qualify for help
through any of the following schemes,
Access to Work (AtW)
Access to Work (AtW) provides practical help to disabled
employees and their employers. It is a flexible scheme which
offers grants towards any additional costs in the workplace that
you might have because of your impairment. It can pay towards
equipment, human support or extra travel costs that will help you
to find or stay in work.
Examples of the kind of help available through Access to
Work are:
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• a communicator, advocate or BSL interpreter for a job
interview, if you are D/deaf or have communication difficulties
• a support worker, such as a reader for somebody with a visual
impairment; communicator for a D/deaf person; a specialist job
coach for a person with a learning difficulty; or a helper for
personal care needs at work
• specialist equipment (or alterations to existing equipment) to
suit your particular needs
• alterations to premises or a working environment to make it
more accessible
• help towards the additional costs of taxi fares if you cannot use
public transport to get to work.
Who can get help through Access to Work?
Help from AtW is available if you have a disability or health
condition that has lasted (or will last) for over twelve months and
affects you at work. You can be already in work, or just starting
and you can be employed or self-employed. If you are doing an
apprenticeship you can also apply to Access to Work to pay for
any additional costs in the workplace.
How much help is available through Access to Work?
If you apply for AtW within six weeks of starting your job,
including changing to a new job, AtW will cover all of the
approved costs.
If you have been in work for more than six weeks, your employer
will be expected to contribute towards any equipment or
adaptation to premises. In this case, AtW will pay up to 80% of
any approved costs above £300 and below £10,000, and 100% of
the cost above £10,000.
If you are self-employed, Access to Work will meet 100% of
approved costs for support workers, help towards travel costs
and contribute towards all other help. However, you may have to
contribute a ‘business benefit’ towards any specialist equipment.
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How do I apply for Access to Work?
If you are unemployed and need help at interview, your first point
of contact should be the DEA at your local Jobcentre. They can
refer you to an AtW adviser if necessary. If you are already
working you can contact your local AtW Business Centre directly.
You can find their details on the Access to Work page of the
Jobcentre Plus website.
The AtW Adviser can take your application by telephone but may
need to visit you at work to carry out an assessment of your
needs. The adviser will arrange for AtW to provide the support.
Your employer will be expected to order and pay for any
equipment and support that you need, and then claim the grant
back from AtW.
Graduates and undergraduates
If you are a graduate or are about to graduate, you can get help
through AtW in the same way as any disabled employee. If you
need communication help for a job interview before your
graduation, you should be able to access this service, even
though you are still studying. Contact your local AtW Business
Centre if you have any problems getting the help you need.
Employers and Access to Work
When you are applying for jobs, remember that AtW may be
available to you. You should mention it to your potential
employer, either at the application stage or in your interview. The
jobcentre has an AtW information leaflet for employers and also
has publications on employing disabled people.
Disability Symbol
The Disability Symbol is a voluntary scheme through which
employers make five commitments about the employment,
retention, training and career development of disabled people.
These commitments are to:
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 interview all disabled applicants who meet the minimum criteria
for a job vacancy and consider them on their abilities
 ensure there is a mechanism in place to discuss, at any time,
(but at least once a year) with disabled employees what can be
done to make sure they can develop and use their abilities
 make every effort to keep an employee in work if they become
disabled
 take action to make sure that all employees develop the
appropriate level of disability awareness needed to make these
commitments work
 each year review the five commitments and what has been
achieved, plan ways to improve on them and let employees and
Jobcentre Plus know about progress and future plans.
You will see the symbol, which is two ticks and the wording
‘positive about disabled people’, displayed on job adverts and
application forms.
Job Introduction Scheme (JIS)
If you have found a job but you or your employer are not sure
how you will deal with it or the work environment, the Job
Introduction Scheme may help. It can give you time to adjust, to
see what your capabilities are in the job and help you decide if
you will continue. JIS can help pay towards your wages or other
employment costs during the first few weeks of employment. The
DEA can also help with any difficulties or issues you or your
employer have.
New Deal
People looking for work can join the New Deal if they have been
unemployed and claiming Jobseeker’s Allowance (JSA) for over
six months. If you are disabled, you can join straight away. New
Deal personal advisers in the Jobcentre should be aware of the
additional needs of disabled people and make use of the flexibility
of the initial ‘Gateway’ stage to provide a suitable programme for
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you. Here are some features of the New Deal for jobseekers with
disabilities.
• Specialist advice and support.
• ‘Taster’ options of work lasting for a trial period without any
effect on your benefits.
• Possibility of having part-time hours once on a New Deal
option.
• Guaranteed training opportunities once on a New Deal
scheme.
• If you are forced to give up the scheme due to disability, this
should be seen as ‘good cause’ and you should be able to
keep your benefits until a suitable placement can be found.
• Development of mentoring schemes.
The four New Deal options for 18-24 year olds
You enter the New Deal through the ‘Gateway’, where you will be
allocated an adviser who will spend up to 16 weeks providing
individual support, advice and guidance. At the end of this period,
you will be offered one of four options.
1 Employment: A job with a private sector employer for six
months. You will get a wage of no less than the national minimum
amount and you will no longer be able to claim JSA. The
employer has to provide training for you. You may be able to
claim Housing Benefit, Council Tax Benefit and Working Families’
Tax Credit.
2 Voluntary Sector: If you work for a voluntary organisation they
have the same training obligations as private employers.
However, you will receive an allowance payment that is
equivalent to your JSA payment plus a top-up payment of £15.38
per week.
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3 Environmental Task Force: You may be offered a place on an
Environmental Task Force helping to meet government targets
for energy conservation. You should get a similar deal to
employees in the voluntary sector scheme and training will be
available as part of the placement.
4 Full-time education and training: If you have no qualifications
above NVQ level 2, you could qualify for full-time study on an
approved course for up to 12 months. You will receive an
Allowance Payment. The sum is your JSA, plus a top-up premium
of £15.38 per week and an access grant for books and fares. The
Social Security Amendment (New Deal) Regulations 1997 says
that young people involved in this option will not be treated as
being in ‘relevant education’ for benefits purposes.
Benefit entitlement for New Deal participants
If you are on New Deal and you continue to get benefits, top-up
payments and childcare expenses are not counted as income for
Jobseeker’s Allowance (JSA), Housing Benefit and Council Tax
Benefit.
If you are on Jobseeker’s Allowance, you cannot opt out of the
New Deal. If you refuse all the options that you are offered
without ‘good cause’, your benefits will stop. This is initially for
two weeks for the first refusal and four weeks for each refusal
after that.
Similar sanctions are imposed on people who leave schemes
early. However, if you are forced to leave a scheme because of
your disability, this will be seen as a ‘good cause’ and you will
keep your benefits until a suitable placement can be found.
If you return to JSA after completing an option, you will continue
to get support from your Personal Adviser and from a range of
programmes and initiatives aimed at creating employment
opportunities for disabled people.
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New Deal for Disabled People – The Personal Adviser
Service
This scheme is to help people who have a long-term illness or
disability and who are on benefits but want to return to work.
Personal advisers give advice and practical support to help you
choose the right type of work and get into and keep your job.
If you are on the New Deal for Disabled People you have access
to a network of Job Brokers who come from the private, public
and voluntary sectors. Job Brokers operate in some areas of
England, Scotland and Wales. They help employers to fill
vacancies by matching suitable applicants and developing the
skills of disabled people to meet the needs of employers.
Ask at your local Jobcentre if New Deal for Disabled People
operates in your area.
Other New Deals
New Deals are also available for over 25s, lone parents and over
50s.
Pathways to Work
Pathways to Work is a programme for people claiming Incapacity
Benefit or Income Support on health grounds, or Employment
and Support Allowance from 27 October 2008. The programme
runs across the UK and is delivered by Jobcentre Plus or private
and voluntary sector organisations. You attend an initial workfocused interview with a personal adviser, followed by up to
another five more interviews at monthly intervals. The aim is to
help you identify your future life and work goals and any barriers
to achieving them, and to support you in overcoming those
barriers. An action plan is agreed with you and this is reviewed at
each meeting. You still have access to other Jobcentre Plus
support – such as New Deal for Disabled People – plus some
extra support developed specially for Pathways to Work.
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As part of the Pathways to Work programme, there is a £40 a
week payment for people starting work of at least 16 hours a
week and earning no more than £15,000 per year. This is known
as Return to Work Credit. To apply you have to have been getting
an incapacity benefit (statutory sick pay may count) for 13 weeks
immediately before starting work. Return to Work Credit is
payable for up to 52 weeks.
See your DEA or Jobcentre adviser who will be able to tell you
how Pathways to Work is operating in your area.
Programme centres
This programme is for people who are considered to be ‘job
ready’. It includes different modules to help jobseekers look for
work. Your Jobcentre adviser can suggest modules that are
appropriate for you. As part of the scheme, you will have access
to a resource centre, where you can use stamps, telephones,
computers and other office equipment. Contact your Jobcentre
Plus adviser to see whether you are eligible for help from this
scheme.
Work-Based Learning for Adults (WBLA)
Work-Based Learning – Skill Build
Skill Build is one of a range of National Assembly Work-Based
Learning (WBL) training programmes for people who live in
Wales. To find out more about the programme speak to your
Jobcentre Plus Adviser
Training for Work
Training for Work (TfW) is Skills Development Scotland’s training
programme for people who live in Scotland. To find out more
about the programme speak to your Jobcentre Plus Adviser
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Work preparation
Work preparation aims to help people with a disability go back to
work after a long period of sickness or unemployment. This is an
individually-tailored programme to help you find suitable work,
provide you with work experience opportunities, improve your
skills and build up your confidence. The programme usually lasts
six weeks but can be extended to 13 weeks or more. After this,
you may be able to go into further education, training or work,
depending on your individual situation. You can usually join this
programme locally, either at a programme provider or with a local
employer. Some residential programmes are also available.
WORKSTEP
If you have a disability that makes it difficult for you to find or
keep a job, WORKSTEP may be able to help you. WORKSTEP
provides individual support to you and your employer and helps
you develop and improve your skills. It offers a variety of job
opportunities with a wide range of organisations from small high
street shops to national companies. The Jobcentre runs
WORKSTEP in partnership with local authorities, training
providers and voluntary bodies.
Residential training
Residential training for disabled adults is a programme for longterm unemployed disabled people. It is provided when there are
no suitable programmes available locally. The training takes
place in a residential setting in accessible buildings. Example
courses include: administration, construction trades, catering,
horticulture, IT, leisure and tourism, electronics and retail. Many
lead to National Vocational Qualifications (NVQs). You will
receive an allowance during your training. Residential costs are
paid for by the Residential Training Unit. To apply, contact your
DEA or Jobcentre adviser.
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Your legal rights
The Disability Discrimination Act (DDA) 1995 has given disabled
people rights in a number of areas including employment and
access to goods and services.
Under the DDA it is unlawful for an employer to discriminate
against a disabled person by treating them less favourably than
anyone else for a reason connected to their disability (unless this
can be justified), or by failing to make reasonable adjustments.
An employer cannot treat you unfairly for a reason related to your
disability. This applies to all areas of employment, including:
•
recruitment
•
training
•
promotion
•
dismissal, and
•
general treatment.
An employer must also make reasonable adjustments for
disabled employees or applicants if needed. This may include
making physical changes to their premises. If you think that you
have been unlawfully discriminated against when applying for a
job or during your employment, you may have the right to take
the case to an employment tribunal. See Skill’s information
booklets The Disability Discrimination Act: Information for
Disabled Students and Making a complaint for further advice.
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Other information
The Jobseeker’s Charter
This sets out what you can expect when dealing with the
Jobcentre. It includes information on what services the
Jobcentres provide, their customer care policy and your
responsibilities as a jobseeker. It explains how to make a
complaint. You can do this by filling in a leaflet available at
Jobcentres or by email through the Jobcentre Plus website.
A Jobcentre will not display a vacancy if it thinks the
employer is trying to discriminate unlawfully on grounds of
disability, race, sex or age.
See Skill’s information booklet Making a complaint for more
information about what to do if you are getting a poor service.
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Useful contacts
Department for Work and Pensions
Disability Unit, Department for Work and Pensions, Level 6, The
Adelphi, 1-11 John Adam Street, London WC2N 6HT
Equality and Human Rights Commission
www.equalityhumanrights.com
Government disability website
www.disability.gov.uk
Jobcentre Plus
Helpline: 0845 606 0234 Textphone: 0845 605 5255
www.jobcentreplus.gov.uk
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Jobcentre Plus services for disabled people and carers
www.jobcentreplus.gov.uk/JCP/Customers/Disabled_People_and
_Carers/index.html
Find your local Jobcentre Plus office
www.jobcentreplus.gov.uk/JCP/Aboutus/Ouroffices/index.html
New Deal
Helpline: 0845 606 2626 Textphone: 0845 606 0680
Remploy
18c Meridian East
Meridian Business Park, Leicester, LE19 1WZ
Jobseekers Telephone: 0845 601 5878
Email: info@remploy.co.uk
Range of employment services for people with a disability or
health condition who want to start or return to work. Remploy
Employment Advisors can help with careers advice, writing your
CV, interview tips, advice about disclosing your disability and
benefits advice.
Worktrain
This is an online job bank at www.worktrain.gov.uk. It includes
information on vacancies advertised by the jobcentre. You can
get specific job details from the Jobcentre Plus helpline or
individual jobcentres.
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Useful leaflets and publications
Disability Alliance - Moving into work
A guide covering the support available from the benefits system
and government schemes for disabled people wanting to move
into work. Includes information on self-employment.
Available from the Disability Alliance, 88-94 Wentworth Street,
London E1 7SA.
Website: www.disabilityalliance.org/list8.htm
Tel: 020 7247 8776 Fax: 020 7247 8765
Jobcentre Plus leaflets
Contact your local jobcentre for copies of the following:
A guide for disabled people, those with health conditions
and carers
General information leaflet.
Access to Work
Information for disabled people.
Access to Work
Information for employers of disabled people.
Make it Work
Video for hearing-impaired people in British Sign Language with
subtitles and voice-over about Jobcentre services and practical
support. Information on the standards of service you can expect
to receive when dealing with the jobcentre is available on tape.
Also available as a leaflet.
Becoming a Disability Symbol User
Information for employers.
Employing Disabled People
How the jobcentre can help.
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Employing Disabled People
Sources of information and advice.
Job Introduction Scheme
Further information on the JIS scheme.
Help to Work through WORKSTEP
Further information on the WORKSTEP scheme.
Jobcentre Services: Advice, Training, Learning and Work
Details of help available from jobcentres.
The Disability Symbol: what it means for you
General information leaflet
All the above leaflets are available in Braille, large print or tape,
as well as in Welsh and several other languages. If your local
jobcentre does not have copies, they should be able to order
them for you.
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Skill information booklets
Skill produces a range of information booklets covering disability
issues in post-16 education and employment. The following are
particularly relevant to jobseekers:
•
•
•
•
•
•
•
•
Careers and work for disabled people
Housing Benefit and Council Tax Benefit for Disabled Students
Income Support for Disabled Students
Making a complaint
Studying and Claiming Benefits as 'Incapable of Work'
Tax Credits
Telling people about your disability
Understanding the Disability Discrimination Act: Information for
disabled students
• Using recruitment agencies as a disabled jobseeker
Contact the Information Service for further details. As a disabled
student or jobseeker, you can request up to five booklets free of
charge. There is a charge of £2.50 for additional booklets and for
professionals. You can download all our information booklets free
as A4 sheets from the Skill website. Click on Information, then
Information Sheets or go direct to:
www.skill.org.uk/page.aspx?c=10&p=106.
Skill publications
Get that job
An online resource for disabled jobseekers available on the Skill
website. Click on Information, then Information for Students or go
direct to: www.skill.org.uk/page.aspx?c=144&p=238
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Skill’s Into Series
Aspirational careers guides published by Skill for disabled people.
They include information about qualifications, entry routes and
fitness to practise regulations, as well as profiles written by
disabled people already training or working in these professions.
Available from Skill. £2.50 for students, £6.50 for professionals
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Into Architecture
Into Art
Into Law
Into Medicine
Into Nursing and Midwifery
Into Science and Engineering
Into Sport
Into Teaching
Into Volunteering
Into Work Experience
Updated March 2009
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