Your local Jobcentre can help you find a job or gain new skills and tell you about disability-friendly employers in your area. They can also refer you to a specialist work psychologist, if appropriate, or carry out an ‘employment assessment’, asking you about your skills and experience and what kind of roles you’re interested in. Ask the work coach at your local Jobcentre.
Access to Work can help you get or stay in work if you have a physical or mental health condition or disability. You can apply for a grant to help pay for practical support with your work, get advice about managing your mental health at work or money to pay for communication support at job interviews.
You can also get support to manage your mental health at work; you do not need to be diagnosed with a condition to apply for mental health support. Find out what support you can get by contacting Access to Work funded mental health services Able Futures or Maximus. You can apply for advice and guidance directly from these providers.
The Work and Health Programme helps you find and keep a job if you’re out of work. It’s voluntary - unless you’ve been out of work and claiming unemployment benefits for 24 months. You’ll get personal support to help you find long-term employment, get training to help you find work and help to manage health problems to reduce their impact on work. If you don’t have a work coach, go to your local Jobcentre Plus and ask to speak to a work coach about the Work and Health Programme.
Intensive Personalised Employment Support is one-to-one support and training to help you into work if you have a disability that affects the work you can do. You’ll usually get Intensive Personalised Employment Support for 15 months. You can get an additional 6 months of on-the-job support if you find employment. If you don’t have a work coach, go to your local Jobcentre Plus and ask to speak to a work coach about Intensive Personalised Employment Support.
Scope offer Support to Work to people living in England or Wales, who are looking for paid work and are happy with online and telephone support.
Hft Bradford is a national charity providing services for people with learning disabilities. They offer support to young people and adults with learning disabilities, including complex needs to live their best life possible. Their Fusion Model of Support is based on the concept of Person-Centred Active Support (PCAS) – a way of supporting people so that they are able to exercise more control over their lives and experience greater levels of inclusion, independence and choice. The HFT Supported Employment programme offers extra help and support to people who have a learning disability and/or an autism spectrum condition find and stay in a paid job.
The Local Offer is a way of giving children and young people with special educational needs and disabilities (SEND) 0 to 25 years and their parents or carers information about what activities, services and support is available across education, health and social care (Inc. the voluntary sector) in the area where you live.
