Does anyone know anything about the Access to Work scheme?

[AlexanderHamilton]

Dh has been advised to apply for it. Apparently he may be able to get taxis or a driver to take him to work. He's been off sick for 6 months and has been cleared by Occ Health to return on a phased return but actually getting there is going to be really difficult as he has lost his driving licence.

It sort of sounds too good to be true? Its a pretty long commute.

Access to Work is for reasonable adjustments and I stress the reasonable part. If he is capable of using public transport then A2W won't fund taxis. Why did he lose his license? Is he unable to drive, but can he physically get on a bus or train? The fund may pay for a support worker to help him travel but not the taxis.

He will still need an Access to Work assessment as the OH assessment isn't enough and this may offer additional support suggestions. He is the one who needs to apply, not his employer, and the process can be lengthy. Also, his employer may be required to pay a contribution depending on the support required, job undertaken and size of employer.

As above. If he can get to work using public transport then he wouldn't get it. They will only pay the difference in what it would cost anyone else. For example, if it's a 15minute bus ride and then a 20 minute walk and he can't do the walk, they would pay the taxi for that portion.

I know someone who lost their driving licence due to eye issues, which also means they find it difficult to use buses/trains and they get a certain (high) percentage of their taxi fares paid.

Its a 45 mile commute by car. He lost his licence because he has a middle ear condition which affects his balance, perception, hearing loss, tinnitus and he has unpredictable dizzy spells.

Public transport (the train) wouldn't get him to work on time. He can't use buses as they make him very nauseous and dizzy. He can use trains but so far has only done so accompanied. Eg dd needed to go to London for a workshop. Dh went with her but he had to take his parents with him to help him once he's dropped her off.

He's attempting to use the train for the first time by himself today but not during peak times. The noise, lights, escalators and lifts affect him. He uses stairs wherever possible but where he can't avoid escalators or lifts so far he has had someone by his side in case he has a dizzy spell. His train commute involves changing trains at a large station.

He's due to go back on a 50% timetable to start with but his working hours are 9am-6pm usually. The first train arrives in at 8.45am and its then a 20 minute taxi journey to work (along a country lane with no pavements/lights). He finishes at 6pm but the only train home is at 7.35pm which would add a huge amount of extra time onto his day and he gets tired very easily.

His condition is permanent, unpredictable and likely to deteriorate over time.

So looking up the journey times.

Before he went off sick it was about an hour commute by car

Now it would be leaving home approx 7.10am

30 min walk from home to the station
1 hour train journey
15 minute taxi journey to work (he would be about 10 minutes or so late)

Coming home it would be

15 minute taxi ride to the station
1 hour 10 minute wait at the station
1 hour train journey
30 minute walk home (arriving home approx 9.00pm)

The cost would be about £30 per day.

I think he's deluding himself, those hours are not sustainable for someone with his condition.

It would make much more sense for his employer to alter his working hours in way of reasonable adjustment. Is there any reason why this wouldn't work?

The way the timetable is worked out would make that very difficult. His contact time is heavily weighted between 4pm-6pm for example.

I would think he would be very unlikely (near impossible) to get AtW to and from work in this scenario. If he's there more than 6 months, the employer will probably have to pay 50% (not sure if this applies to England, I'm NI) which they will be loathe to do if there are other options such as starting and finishing later.

The employee would be expected to pay a contribution equal to what it would cost someone without a disability to get to work (so the price of the train fare).

The hours I posted above also don't account for the times of year when he is expected to be there until past 10pm too although they would hopefully let him off that.

He has worked there for 6 years. Went off sick at the beginning of June. The only way he would be regularly able to start later and finish earlier would be to go part time with the resultant loss of salary and they would have to get someone else in to cover his other hours. To be honest, once you factor in travel costs he would be better off not working.

We had never heard of the scheme before Occ Health told us about it. It sounded like a bit of a life-line but from what you say it doesn't look promising.

The employee would be expected to pay a contribution equal to what it would cost someone without a disability to get to work (so the price of the train fare

Someone without a disability would be mad to try and make that particular journey by train. Dd attends the same college which is in a pretty rural area and when dh went off sick we had to make the decision for her to leave home and go into student accommodation or she would be late every single day.

They would simply look at how a non driver with no disabilities would get to that particular job. If it wouldn't be feasible for a non driver because it would be an excessive journey, they would take the view it isn't a reasonable journey.

The train fayre is £12 per day
The taxis to and from the station are approx £14-20 per day

A taxi from home to work would be about £80 a day though I guess maybe a regular booking discount could b enegotiated.

So basically Occ Health are leading us up the garden path.

He desperatly wants to get back to work. What he does is quite specialist and he is bloody good at it if I say so myself but he's already working at the nearest place.

The best you can hope for is the difference between the taxi cost and the public transport cost. I wouldn't even expect that, the scheme has had massive cuts in recent years so they'll look at the cheapest long term option, and that might be a few weeks with a support worker to help him learn to manage the journey.

It's crap. The govt wants to push disabled people into work but provides sod all help to do so.

Bombardier - with the best will in the world he may never learn to manage the journey. Is condition is unpredictable, fluctuates but usually gradually worsens over time.

The medication he’s on is unproven but appears to help some people.

So sorry to hear about your husband's condition. Sounds awful. Would moving nearer be an option?

But at least he is here with us, a few months ago before he got his actual diagnoses they were looking at strokes and cancer so anything is a bonus.

And we had to go privatye for that as the earliest available referral was mid January 2019 after community ENT discharged him follwing a rudementary hearing test where they told him he had permanent hearing damage and they didn't know what was causing his symptoms.

I have an autistic son in Year 10 so part way through GCSE's and all our family/support are here as is my job. We live in a very cheap area too wheras he works in a very desirable, expensive location proerty wise.

Moving isn't really an option.

It's so crap OP. I really wish I could suggest something more constructive

Could he work from home even part of the time? Is it possible he could contribute financially to a car share?

Apart from a bit of admin & planning associated with his co-ordinators role it’s pretty much a job that requires face to face contact.

None of his colleagues live anywhere near us. (They travel from all over the place to get to work)

Anyway he’s been in today to discuss his return with his head of dept. The hardest bit was the walk to the station. Dd walks it in 30 mins. It took dh 40 mins and exhausted him. It will have to be a taxi from home. But 2 months ago he needed a chaperone to even walk the dog so that’s improvement. He coped ok with the trains although the noise & atmosphere affected him a bit.

If he can't walk it because of his illness, he should be eligible for AtW for that portion so maybe that's something. Can he get headphones to cope with the noise?

His union gave him access to a custom moulded noise cancelling earplug service at a vastly reduced rate.

Just read the occ health report. He needs a buddy if there is a fire alarm/evacuation!!!

I'd give Access to Work a call and have a chat. I know the scheme (like everything else) has had cuts but I've definitely known them to fund lengthy taxi rides before. Hell, they supply 121 support for some people - that's essentially a whole other person (or two's) wage. I wouldn't get my hopes up but that IS what it's there for.

Ihave used access to work personally. Due to a long term health condition which prevented me from walking longer distances. As I was perfectly cap able of using public transport but was some distance from my local train station they would only find taxis to and from the station which was f ine. They told me straight that they wouldn't fund a taxi to go directly to work even though it was easier for me and quicker and not mean waits at freezing cold stations in the winter which worsened my condition. If it took you longer to get onto work using public transport with an illness you were expected just to leave earlier from home. A doctor's note from my doctor did support my case as it did state of would be beneficial for me to keep long walks to a minimum. I would also recommend If your dh was successful getting the taxi company to invoice access to work directly.They dont tell you at first this is an option and at first I would pay it myself and claim back which took longer and left me out of pocket.Good luck o.p