AtW Glossary
Explore key terms, guidance and resources related to Access to Work, including reports, helpful videos and links to further information.
A
Access to work
Access to Work is a Department for Work and Pensions (DWP) fund which can help cover some of the extra costs to overcome barriers that disabled people face in doing their jobs, or travelling to, from, and during work. It is available for both employed and self-employed people. It can complement, but does not replace or subsidise, an employer’s legal duty to make reasonable adjustments for their employees.
B
Business Plan
Access to Work may request a business plan if the applicant is starting self-employment or returning to self-employment after a break. It might also be requested if they don’t already have at least a year’s worth of accounts or a tax return which proves they earn over the lower earnings limit, which is £6,396 until April 2025. Find out the current rate on the gov.uk website.
A business plan can be a relatively simple document that outlines your expected income and expenses and demonstrates how you expect to earn above the lower earnings limit. For example, it could include details of expected work, any confirmed contracts which have not already started, and reasonable estimates for other earnings, such as being able to demonstrate you are likely to be asked to deliver at least one workshop each month over the course of a year. It could also include details of how much you charge for certain services, any past grants or commissions you’ve had, and any marketing plan you have in place to promote your work. You can see examples of Business Plans here:
C
CV
A Curriculum Vitae (CV) demonstrates someone’s experience and training in their chosen field of work. In some cases, for those who are freelancers who work on multiple PAYE contracts, Access to Work may request to see a CV that shows their skills and earning potential.
A CV is usually a one or two-page document outlining the person’s academic qualifications, relevant training, and past job history. Formats for CVs do differ, depending on which industry you work in. There are some useful guides below:
Cap
If anything changes when you are in receipt of an Access to Work grant, you need to tell Access to Work so that they can support that change and have all the information available.
Some examples of changes in circumstances are:
-
A change in work status (from self-employed to PAYE)
-
A change in condition that affects your support
-
Needing an increase or decrease in support
-
Support for a work trip (in the UK or internationally)
-
Finding out that Access to Work offers a type of support that you weren’t aware of
-
A change in support worker rates of pay
We would advise you to always call Access to Work and tell them about the change. You can also email them if using the phone is a barrier: atwosu.london@dwp.gov.uk
Access to Work will either note your change over the phone, and it will be assigned to a Case Manager to discuss with you further, or ask you to put in a new application online as a way to tell them about the change and what you need.
Be aware – change in circumstance requests can take a long time to complete. If Access to Work tells you it needs to be done through a new application, it will take at least the same amount of time as the current new application waiting time. You can find the current wait time in the latest updates section of the Disability Arts Online Access to Work Guide.
If your change in circumstance is for increased or new support, you can backdate the support from the time you applied/told them, but there is no guarantee it will be granted before that award letter is received.
E
Equality Act 2010
The Equality Act 2010 legally protects people from discrimination in the workplace and in wider society. It replaced previous anti-discrimination laws (including the 1995 Disability Discrimination Act) with a single Act, making the law easier to understand and strengthening protection in some situations. It sets out the different ways in which it’s unlawful to treat someone.
F
Flexibility Note
You can ask Access to Work to add a flexibility note to your case. This allows you to use your grant flexibly, so you can use your grant as much or as little as you need week to week. This is seen as a reasonable adjustment for people who have flexible hours, are self-employed, and/or have fluctuating conditions, for example.
Freelance or Self-Employed?
How the UKTV and HMRC use the term Freelancer, does not match how Access to Work uses the word.
It’s extremely important you know what your working status is, so that you can access the correct grant from Access to Work.
Access to Work uses the term Freelance to describe someone who works from one PAYE contract to another. If this is you, you will be able to get Access to Work, but you will most likely go on to a Workplace Adjustment Passport (see below in Glossary), so your grant will start and stop under your contract dates.
If you call yourself a Freelancer but are self-employed, you mustn't use the term freelancer with Access to Work to describe your work status. This will ensure you can access a grant that supports you all year round, for all your self-employed work tasks.
J
Job Aid-Enabler or Job Aide?
It’s really important to know the difference between these two support worker types.
Job Aid-Enabler
A Job Aide Enabler is someone who supports you with tasks so that YOU can complete the task yourself. They are not doing the job task for you.
Factors that determine whether the type of support is Job Aide Enabling are:
-
The support worker is not doing your job for you/they’re not replacing you.
-
You are performing the job role, making decisions, and instructing the support worker.
You can get Job Aide Enabling support for up to 100% of your working hours.
See the Support Worker section of the Access to Work staff guide for more information and examples.
For top tips relating to Job Aid-enabling, Click Here.
Job Aide
A Job Aide is someone who does a part of your job for you, when the barriers cannot be solved in any other way.
A few factors that determine the type of support a Job Aide is:
-
The support worker is replacing you for the job task/s.
-
You are not performing the full job, you’re not making decisions, and you’re not instructing the support worker for every action.
You can only have a Job Aide for up to 20% of your working hours.
Example: If you work 40 hours per week, you can only receive a job aide for up to a maximum of 8 hours per week.
Job Seekers Allowance (JSA)
New Style Jobseeker’s Allowance (JSA) is a benefit that can help you financially when you’re looking for work.
You can get Access to Work as long as you’re in work.
L
Lower Earning Limit (LEL)
You can see the current LEL on gov.uk
In order for self-employed applicants to be eligible for support, they must turn over at least the Lower Earnings Limit, which is currently £6,396 per year (correct as of March 2024). This figure refers to the applicant’s turnover and not their profit. So they only need to have £6,396 coming in over the year, regardless of expenses and other outgoings, to be eligible. It does not refer to profit, i.e. the amount of money earned once all expenses have been deducted.
For example, if you received a writing commission from a broadcaster of £10,000 for a script, but some of that grant went to paying other co-writers, venue hire, travel, materials, or other expenses, and you only paid yourself £1000 out of it, you would still be eligible for Access to Work.
If you are new to self-employment, you have 3 years to test out your earning potential whilst getting support from Access to Work. You must meet the lower earnings limit by the end of your second year of self-employment. If you fail to meet the lower earnings limit in one tax year, but met it the previous year, Access to Work will allow you another year to try and earn over the limit again; in effect, you get a year of grace.
M
Mental Health Support System
This confidential service, delivered by Maximus or Able Futures, funded by the Department for Work and Pensions, is available at no charge to any employees/self-employed people with depression, anxiety, stress, or other mental health issues affecting their work.
Their specialist advisers provide:
-
Tailored work-focused mental health support for nine months
-
Suitable coping strategies
-
A support plan to keep them in or return to work
-
Ideas for workplace adjustments to help them fulfil their role
-
Practical advice to support those with a mental health condition
You can access this service with or without Access to Work by going directly to their websites.
The Mental Health Support Service works a little differently from the rest of Access to Work, as it won’t give you a grant to find your mental health support. Maximus or Able Futures will work with you to offer you a package from their pool of professionals.
Mobility Scheme
The Motability Scheme provides an affordable, worry-free way for disabled people to lease a car, scooter, or powered wheelchair in exchange for their mobility allowance.
The scheme is operated by Motability Operations Ltd, under contract to Motability, a registered charity.
P
PAYE
Stands for pay-as-you-earn. It is a system whereby any income tax and national insurance due can be collected by your employer on behalf of HMRC, directly from your pay, regularly, i.e., weekly or monthly. You receive a payslip each time you are paid and an annual summary called a P60 after the end of each tax year.
Permitted Work
If you receive Employment and Support Allowance, you can only get help from Access to Work if you’re doing ‘permitted work’. It’s permitted work if all of the following apply:
-
You earn up to £183.50 a week (profit, not turnover).
-
You work less than 16 hours a week.
-
It’s been agreed with your Jobcentre Plus work coach or another representative of Jobcentre Plus, if you don’t have a work coach. Fill in a PW1 form and get this agreement in writing before you start working.
Permitted Work (Supported)
Supported permitted work is work that is supervised by someone because you have a disability, illness, or health condition, which means you can’t work for more than a few hours per week over a long period.
It’s permitted work if all of the following apply:
-
You earn up to £183.50 a week (profit, not turnover).
-
There is no limit on how many hours you can do supported permitted work.
-
You have a supervisor who is normally employed by a public or local authority, or a voluntary organisation. This could be work done in the community or a sheltered workshop. It also includes work as part of a hospital treatment programme.
-
It’s been agreed with your Jobcentre Plus work coach or another representative of Jobcentre Plus, if you don’t have a work coach. Fill in a PW1 form and get this agreement in writing before you start working.
There is more information on Permitted and Supported Permitted Work on Gov.uk.
Personal Independance Payment (PIP)
Personal Independence Payment (PIP) is a benefit that can help with extra living costs if you have both:
-
A long-term physical or mental health condition or disability
-
Difficulty doing certain everyday tasks or getting around because of your condition
You can get PIP if you’re working, have savings, or are getting most other benefits.
You can get Access to Work if you receive PIP.
For more information, please visit gov.uk.
R
Reasonable Adjustments
According to the Equality Act 2010, all employers have a legal duty to make sure their disabled employees are not ‘substantially disadvantaged’ compared to non-disabled employees.
This applies to employers’ provisions and practices, physical features of the workplace, and the lack of suitable equipment (such as a hearing loop). If a disabled employee is substantially disadvantaged due to any of these factors, the employer has to make ‘reasonable adjustments’ to mitigate that disadvantage.
Employers are only required to make adjustments that are reasonable in all the circumstances. Factors such as the cost and practicability of making an adjustment and the resources available may be taken into account in deciding what is ‘reasonable’.
In the event of a claim of alleged unlawful disability discrimination, it is ultimately for an Employment Tribunal to decide what adjustment should be made for a particular disabled employee, and whether it is correct to decline to make an adjustment based on the grounds of practicality or cost.
S
Self-Assessment Tax Return
Self-Assessment is a system HM Revenue and Customs (HMRC) uses to collect Income Tax. Tax is usually deducted automatically from wages, pensions, and savings. Self-employed people, including artists, have to report their earnings on a self-assessment tax return.
To fill in a self-assessment tax return, you must first register with HMRC as self-employed and get a Unique Taxpayer Reference (UTR). If you need to send a self-assessment tax return, you fill it in after the end of the tax year (5 April) it applies to and before the deadline: 31 October (for paper submissions) and 31 January (for online submissions).
More information about Self-Assessment tax returns is available on gov.uk.
Self-Employed
Self-employment means working for yourself, not for another organisation or employer. If you are self-employed, you will have to fill in a self-assessment tax return, rather than being paid wages, which are taxed at source like an employee. Self-employment can cover many different types of workers, including artists, actors, performers, musicians, writers, sole traders, contractors, etc.
You can do a piece of work for an organisation or even work on an ongoing basis with an organisation and still be considered self-employed – for example, delivering workshops for the same company – but if you handle your tax and don’t get holiday and sick pay, then you are considered self-employed. In the eyes of Access to Work, actors on ITC Equity Contracts are treated as if they are employed, even if they handle their own tax, and therefore are not subject to the Lower Earnings Limit.
Support Worker
Access to Work will only fund certain types of support workers, and only those deemed necessary for the applicant’s access needs in the workplace. Access to Work has specific terminology for the different types of support workers and what each of those does. Further details on each of Access to Work’s support worker categories are Available Here.
Support Worker Record of Tasks
A Support Worker Record of Tasks or SWROT form is a document that Access to Work will ask you to complete if you have asked for a Support Worker as part of your grant. Your Case Manager will send you the form to fill out.
The SWROT form is a document where you can detail the tasks that you need a support worker to do and the hours you need from them, per week.
This will help your Case Manager determine what category your support worker/s fit into, so it’s best to make sure you’ve understood the different types of Support workers that are available to you.
T
Third Party
You can get support from a third party to help with your application or talk on your behalf throughout your Access to Work journey.Some people may want or need to use an interpreter or support person as a third party to make the process more accessible.
The third party could be a friend, family member, or colleague, anyone you trust and give your permission to speak on your behalf or help you with your application.
You need to permit Access to Work for your third party to talk about your application, or permit them. They will do this after your initial application is assigned to a Case Manager and either phone you or email you to get your consent.
You can contact Access to Work and give them the details of your third party at any time.
You can also withdraw permission at any time, and you can also change who the third party is.
Travel to Work
Travel to Work is the name given by Access to Work to the grant provided to cover the costs of making travelling for your job accessible.
U
Unique Taxpayer Reference
A unique taxpayer reference is a 10-digit number that HMRC provides you when registering as self-employed. You need it to log in to your self-assessment tax account at gov.uk to fill in a tax return.
Universal Credit
Universal Credit is a payment to help with your living costs. It’s paid monthly – or twice a month for some people in Scotland. You may be able to get it if you’re on a low income, out of work, or cannot work.
Unlike with Employment Support Allowance, the term Permitted Work does not apply to Universal Credit, and there are no limits to what you can earn because you are assessed each month for how much Universal Credit you are eligible for.
If you are self-employed or a company director and on Universal Credit, it is possible to get Access to Work if you meet the eligibility criteria. If you are about to become self-employed and are on Universal Credit, read the information on gov.uk.
W
Workplace Adjustment Passports
This type of flexible award supports those who are Freelancers on PAYE contracts.
You will discuss your requirements with Access to Work to form a list of support that you can use when you are working on a contract. This is what they call a Workplace Adjustment Passport.
This type of grant means your Access to Work support only activates when you are in a contracted period of work. Your grant can stop and start depending on when a new work contract starts and ends.
You can contact Access to Work when you have a new contract starting, and your grant will again activate for that contracted period. You will not have Access to Work Support when you are not in a contracted period of work.
This type of grant can be advantageous for some workers, but we advise you to think carefully about your working status. Many UK Television professionals call themselves freelancers due to sector terminology, but are self-employed, sole traders, and could be Directors of Limited Companies – not PAYE contract workers.
This type of grant can be problematic if you are self-employed, as you won’t be able to get support that encompasses all your work activities, only when you are signed to a specific work contract from an employer/company.
If you tell Access to Work you are a ‘freelancer’, they will automatically put you on this strand, and it is very difficult to change in our experience. You can also see our Self-Employment section in this glossary for more details on work status.
AtW Resources
Downloadable tools and reports to meet your creative needs.