Access to Work

Conference

2015 National Disabled Members' Conference

Date

2 July 2015

Decision

Carried as Amended

This Conference recognises the importance of the Access To Work Scheme which enables disabled people in employment to have support including specialist equipment, a support worker or sign language interpreter or taxis to and from work, for example. This support is vital to ensure disabled people can continue to attend work and make a valuable contribution to the work of their employer and the services provided.

However, the Department of Work and Pensions, who administer the scheme, are now starting to ration the support provided and are lowering the cap on the amount a person can receive each year. This may mean, for example, that some disabled people will have to struggle into work on public transport when they have extreme difficulties with this or pay for taxis themselves. It also means they won’t have the support whilst they are in work to undertake their role. We understand that, in particular, the DWP are considering limiting support for travel costs within work which could mean that disabled people who need to travel during work will no longer be provided with taxis. Unfortunately not all employers will be prepared or able to afford to pay for this support, putting the jobs of these disabled workers at risk.

This Conference calls upon the National Disabled Members’ Committee to encourage the National Executive Committee to work with other unions to lobby the Government with regard to the impact of Access To Work cuts and to mount a campaign making it clear that disabled people do want to work and yet the support we need to be in work is under threat.