When you are looking for a job as a disabled person, you require some extra assistance. Often this assistance needs to be financial and often it is supportive in nature. It can be difficult to know where to find the assistance you need, particularly as there are many different options out there with different criteria.

  • There are several different programmes and grants available from the government to help you look for work, secure a job and remain in employment. And this is a great thing. It is great to know there is lots of support and assistance out there. 

    To help you manage to find the right kind of support when it comes to employment, we have created this short guide. This guide will help you get started with knowing where to look and what is available for you as a disabled jobseeker. 

    We hope that you find the support you need and if you have any more queries about this, don’t hesitate to reach out to us at Careers with Disabilities directly. 

    Here are some options for disability support: 

    Access to Work Scheme

    This government scheme is available to those who already have a paid job, are about to start a new job or are returning to an old job. The scheme provides financial support for any changes or modifications you need to your work due to your disability. The money comes as a refund when your employer pays for the things you need. You can claim up to around £60,000 per year with this scheme, depending on your needs and the severity level of your disability. 


    An Access to Work grant can help pay for:

    • Any special equipment adaptations or services that can help you to carry out tasks like answering the phone or attending meetings
    • Help travelling to and from work
    • Transport for external training and course
    • Changes to your workplace building such as ramps and other accessibility equipment

    It is important to acknowledge that eligibility for this grant will depend on what benefits you may already be receiving but to find out more you can visit the Access to Work scheme page on the gov.uk website.

    The Access to Work scheme is an amazing resource for disabled people and their employers. It can really bridge the gap between inaccessibility and accessibility. So, it is well worth looking into.

    Intensive Personalised Employment Support

    This scheme provides one-to-one support and training from a dedicated support worker, to help you if you have a disability or health condition. Your support worker can:

    • identify what work you are able to do
    • match your skills to available jobs
    • find training to help you find work
    • build a personal support network
    • manage work around your disability or condition
    • support you throughout your first 6 months of work

    To find out more about this scheme, visit the Intensive Personalised Employment Support page on the gov.uk website.

    As a disabled person, you will have a lot of challenges and hurdles to overcome in comparison to non-disabled people. Having your own personalised support can help break down these hurdles to employment. Everyone deserves the same chance to work and keep a job, and so you deserve to get the extra support you need from schemes just like this. 

    Specialist Employability Support

    The Specialist Employability Support service consists of intensive support and training to help you find work. It is available for individuals who find other schemes such as the Access to Work unsuitable for them. It is good to know the backups to have when other schemes don’t suit, so this is a great one to keep in your back pocket. 


    The U.K. Government work with a number of organisations such as your local Jobcentre Plus, the Shaw Trust, Remploy and Kennedy Scott to provide assistance that is most suitable for you. When you aren’t approved for schemes such as Access to Work, you can consult Specialist Employability Support to consult what your next options will be. Always keep going until you get the support you need. As we said, you deserve it.

    To find out more about this scheme visit the gov.uk website here.

    Work and Health Programme

    The Work and Health Programme helps you to find and keep a job if you are out of work. This programme is voluntary unless you have been out of work and claiming unemployment benefits for 24 months. It caters for a wide variety of individuals, including those with disabilities. It is a great opportunity to get more support in the job search process, which can be more difficult when you are disabled. 

    Through the programme, you will receive personal support to:

    • identify your employment needs
    • find suitable work available to you
    • put you in contact with employers
    • help find long-term employment
    • help find training
    • help manage health problems to reduce their impact on work

    For more, check out the  Work and Health Programme page on the gov.uk website. 

    Scope

    Scope offer online and offline employment support services for working-age disabled people in England and Wales. They offer multiple avenues of support, including advice and disability training programmes. 

    They aim to help people with disabilities enter employment and be happy while they are there. If you are in either of these areas, this is a worthwhile avenue of support to check out. 

    No One Left Behind (Scotland)

    Scotland has a range of fair employment schemes in place to help people enter work. No One Left Behind is a post-pandemic scheme launched to help a variety of people enter the job market. The scheme offers individual support that includes:

    • Support from an Employability Key Worker
    • An individual plan to help the individual to reach their goals.
    • Activities specifically designed to prepare participants for progression, such as taster sessions at college, time with training providers, mentoring, peer mentoring opportunities and innovative group projects

    For more information on how to get involved with this scheme, take a peek at the Employability in Scotland site. 

    Mencap

    Mencap is a leading source of disability support in the U.K. They work with training, research, and more to help the cause of inclusion and accessibility in the country. They also have a programme called Employ Me which helps disabled people in London get the support they need to move into paid work.

    Read more about this interesting scheme right here. 

    Careers with Disabilities 

    As the world moves and changes so quickly, this list will never be complete. At Careers with Disabilities, we keep up to date with everything disability and employment related. So, to keep yourself up to date, stick around on our site and see what we have to say.

    We release blogs and guides regularly to help support and advise both disabled people and employers of disabled people. We believe in a more inclusive future for everyone and we believe that awareness and education are key pillars in this process. 

    Take a look at our services for disabled job seekers and see what we have to help you in your job search. 

    Any questions? Let us know.Â