How Access to Work Can Help Deaf People

The “Access to Work” scheme is a program run by the UK government to support disabled people in finding and keeping employment. The scheme provides financial assistance to cover the extra costs of workplace adjustments and other support that a disabled person may need to perform their job.

To be eligible for the scheme, an individual must have a disability or health condition that affects their ability to do their job, be over the age of 16, and live and work in England, Scotland, or Wales. The scheme does not cover Northern Ireland, where a similar scheme called “Workable” is available.

One group that can greatly benefit from this scheme are Deaf and hard of hearing workers, who may require specific support to communicate and work effectively in their job.

Communication Support

Deaf people may require communication support in the workplace to help them understand what is being said, participate in meetings and training, and communicate with colleagues and customers. Access to Work can provide funding for a range of communication support, including British Sign Language (BSL) interpreters, notetakers, lip speakers, and speech-to-text reporters.

All of these forms of communication support can make a huge difference to the working lives of Deaf people, allowing them to participate fully in their jobs and feel included in their workplace.

Assistive Technology

Assistive technology can also be incredibly helpful for those with hearing difficulty. Access to Work can provide funding for a range of equipment and software that can improve communication and accessibility, including textphones, amplified telephones, and video conferencing systems.

In addition to these devices, there is a wide range of software available that can help people to communicate and work more effectively. For example, live captioning software can display captions of spoken language in real-time, allowing deaf people to follow conversations more easily. Speech recognition software can also be used to transcribe spoken language into text, which can be useful for note-taking and communication.

All of these assistive technologies are available through the Access to Work Scheme and can help deaf and hard of hearing people to not only work more effectively, but feel more included in their workplace.

Training and Support

Access to Work can also provide funding for training and support to help deaf people develop their skills and confidence in the workplace. This might include training in BSL or other forms of communication, as well as support from a job coach or mentor.

Job coaches can help deaf people to develop their skills and confidence, provide guidance on how to communicate with colleagues and customers, and offer advice on workplace adjustments and support. Mentors can provide additional support and guidance, drawing on their own experiences to offer practical advice and encouragement.

By providing training and support, Access to Work can help deaf people to overcome the barriers they may face in the workplace, along with developing their skills and confidence to succeed in their job.

Learn more about the Access to Work Scheme

The Access to Work programme is an important but often overlooked scheme which as many deaf people as possible should be taking advantage of.

Check out our helpsheet on applying for funding from Access to Work.

If you need help with challenging Access to Work decisions, contact Darren at Deaf ATW.

If you need help working with your disability, regardless of Access to Work funding, then we can help.

Our founder and director Tina Lannin discovered how hard it was to get good communication support while at university and during her career, and so founded 121 Captions with the aim of making life easier for Deaf and hard of hearing people.

121 Captions provide live captioning (Speech to Text, CART, palantypists, stenographers, electronic notetaking), offline captions, and sign language interpreters.

We are owned and operated by deaf people, so we know first-hand how difficult life can be for those with a hearing loss.

Contact us today if you have any questions about how we can help.