Work and Access Funding Scheme

Introduction

Work and Access is a comprehensive initiative designed to assist people with disabilities in securing and maintaining employment. This scheme replaces the Reasonable Accommodation Fund and the Disability Awareness Support Scheme, following a review that identified areas for improvement. Work and Access aims to broaden the range of supports available and make them more accessible to both employees and employers.

Work and Access is available to people with one or more physical disabilities, intellectual disabilities or people with mental health difficulties.

Key Goals

Remove or significantly reduce barriers faced by people with disabilities in the workplace.
Provide targeted support to help individuals with disabilities secure employment and succeed in their roles.
Assist employers in accommodating the needs of employees with disabilities, fostering a more inclusive work environment.

Support Categories

Work and Access offers seven categories of support:

Supports for Jobseekers, Employees, and the Self-Employed

Applicants can receive one or more forms of support at the same time, depending on their needs.

Workplace Needs Assessment - funding of up to €2,500 for the employer towards hiring a specialist to conduct an assessment, and communication support to help with the assessment for up to 10 hours, if required
Communication Support/ISL - funding for language access for a job interview, job induction, and for ongoing workplace communication support/ISL. This is for people who are d/Deaf or hard of hearing and need an Irish Sign Language interpreter, lip-speaker, or other deaf interpreter, or who have a disability or health condition that requires communication support.
In-Work Support - funding of up to €12,500 is available per year towards hiring a specialist support worker to help the disabled person to carry out their job or to re-train. Applicants must have a Workplace Needs Assessment before they can access this support. Funding is also available for In-Work communication support.
Personal Reader - funding is available for up to €12,500 per year for support to assist with work-related reading.
Work Equipment - funding is available for the cost of assistive equipment or technology, up to €12,000 for the business premises, and for the remote-working or self-employed premises (which can be a person’s home), and for training if specialist training for the equipment is required.
Workplace Adaptation - employers and self-employed people can apply for funding of up to €25,000 towards the cost of adapting the business premises (which is not a person’s home), remote business premises or self-employed working premises, equipment and/or technology. A Workplace Needs Assessment is needed to support claims.
Disability Equality and Inclusion Training - employers can apply for funding for training costs of up to €20,000 a year. The level of available funding ranges from 80% to 90%.

Eligibility Criteria

Individuals:

Age: Over 18 and within legal working age (or under age 70 and not in receipt of a state pension)
Employment Status: Have the right to work in Ireland.
Location: Working or seeking work in the Republic of Ireland, excluding the public sector.
Disability or Long-Term Health Condition: Must have a disability or health condition lasting longer than 12 months and provide professional evidence or be receiving a long-term disability payment

Note: A person can apply for Work and Access supports if they have a letter confirming a job interview, a job offer letter or a job start date. Jobseekers can receive Communication Support/ISL for interviews.

Deaf people do not have to prove they are deaf when applying for Communication Support/ISL.

Employers and the Self-Employed:

Sector: Private sector, community, not-for-profit, voluntary sectors, commercial semi-state sector or self-employed.
Work and Access supports cannot be availed of by third parties, such as recruitment agencies or other agents who may be engaged by a company/organisation to source employees, provide support and payroll services in respect of these employees.
the employer or self-employed person must be a legal entity and/or a charity (with a CHY number) that is recognised by the Revenue Commissioners
An employer must supply a Tax Clearance Access Number (TCAN) at the time of application. Before a payment is made, an employer’s TCAN is automatically checked. A payment will not be issued if it cannot be validated. Employers can obtain their TCAN by downloading it from www.ros.ie or through their accountant