Access to Work scheme launched

Wednesday 11 October 2023

A £50,000 scheme to help people get into or return to work has launched, to help fund 'reasonable adjustments' that disabled people and smaller businesses may need.

The Access to Work Scheme aims to support disabled people and businesses and is related to the long awaited Prevention of Discrimination Ordinance, which came into force at the beginning of this month.

That includes a legal duty on employers in Guernsey, Herm and Jethou to make ‘reasonable adjustments’ for disabled employees.

A 'reasonable adjustment' can be something as simple as a mobility aid, a larger monitor, a standing desk, or other practical equipment to enable someone to do a job they may otherwise not be able to do.

While the new law is about removing discrimination from the workplace and community, it also works by ensuring disabled people are treated differently from other people where it is necessary for them to have equal opportunities. That is where the 'reasonable adjustments' come in.

Pictured: An adjustable desk which allows people to work while sitting or standing would be seen as a 'reasonable adjustment'.

Employers don't have to provide adjustments in the workplace if it would be a 'disproportionate burden' to do so. That is where the new Access to Work Scheme will come in.

It will help disabled people and their employers afford the cost of meeting necessary adjustments through grants for buying things like appropriate aids, specialist equipment, or software.

The grant is capped at £5,000 per person within any period of 12 months.

That money will come from the Guernsey Insurance Fund, held by the Committee for Employment and Social Security, which estimates that it won't cost more than £50,000 a year in total.

That would mean 10 people a year could be helped if they each needed support up to the individual maximum grant of £5,000.

Before applying for a grant, employees must ask their employer to make the adjustment they need and their boss should consider if it can be done.

If the cost would be a 'disproportionate burden' on the employer they can apply for the grant.

Pictured: Deputy Lindsay de Sausmarez.

Deputy Lindsay de Sausmarez, Vice-President of ESS said that the new grant scheme will help ensure equal opportunities are available to everyone.

“The main purpose of the Access to Work Scheme is to support an inclusive and diverse workforce for the benefit of both employees and employers. Many workplace adjustments can be made for free or at minimal cost, but some adjustments may be unaffordable for small businesses. In these circumstances, disabled employees, prospective employees and self-employed persons can apply to the Access to Work Scheme for a grant to cover the cost of aids and equipment that would help to reduce or remove a disadvantage. This will help to ensure equal employment opportunities for disabled persons across all sizes of business.

"The reasonable adjustment duty, supported by the provision of the Access to Work Scheme, should help to increase workforce participation by enabling disabled people to enter, remain in and return to employment. This will be of benefit to local businesses and the wider economy at a time when many businesses are struggling to recruit and retain the employees that they need. With more people working, it also means there are more people earning and it reduces their reliance on support from the States.”

READ MORE...

Approval sought for access to work scheme for disabled persons 

Access to Work scheme supported by the States

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