Work and apprenticeships

Lucy says

‘Key Points:

• Your employer and training provider should review your case and adjustments throughout the time you are on the apprenticeship to ensure you are getting all the support you need.
• Inform your employer/training provider if your circumstances change.
• Your training provider may be able to claim for learning support payments.
• Access to work is a government scheme which can sometimes fund reasonable adjustments for apprentices via grants. This will all be decided via an assessment.
• You don’t have to disclose your disability/condition to your employer/training provider, but it is likely to prevent you access the support you deserve if you don’t.

Reasonable adjustments

The adjustments made will depend on your individual circumstances which will be pinpointed in an assessment. These are adjustments made to make sure you are not disadvantaged in your work due to your EDS/HSD.

These may include but are not limited to:

• Equipment needed to help. you complete work/study.
• Longer time to complete work.
• Access needs such as ground floor, ramps etc.

What may an assessment involve?

There isn’t a particular way an assessment should be done. This is the choice of the employer and training provider. The assessment should happen before you start your apprenticeship to ensure you have the correct support when you start. It will be about gathering information about your condition and how it affects you in the workplace. They will want to work how these things may impact on your training and/or work so they can make reasonable adjustments for you if needed.

What if the employer/training provider can’t afford everything I need?

Your training provider may be able to claim for learning support payments.

Access to work is a government scheme which can sometimes fund reasonable adjustments for apprentices via grants. This will all be decided via an assessment.’

Find out more about Access to work here https://www.gov.uk/access-to-work

Find out more about applying for access to work grants here https://www.gov.uk/access-to-work/apply

To find out more about apprenticeships you can look on these websites:

https://www.disabilityrightsuk.org/news/new-apprenticeships-guide-launched

https://www.apprenticeships.gov.uk/apprentices/learning-difficulties-disabilities-support

Bibliography

[1]https://www.apprenticeships.gov.uk/apprentices/learning-difficulties-disabilities-support

EDS UK has an Employers toolkit which you can share with your employer and talks about all of the ways that workplaces can make reasonable adjustments to help you stay in work. You can find it here

Reasonable adjustments are changes an employer makes to remove or reduce a disadvantage related to someone’s disability. For example:

• finding a different way to do something
• making changes to the workplace
• changing someone’s working arrangements
• providing equipment, services or support

Reasonable adjustments are specific to an individual person. They can be for physical or mental health conditions. They can cover any area of work.

It’s not enough for employers to provide disabled people with exactly the same working conditions as non-disabled people. Employers must make reasonable adjustments by law.

Some disabled people might not need or want adjustments, although this might change over time.

The law (Equality Act 2010) says that employers must make reasonable adjustments for:

• employees and workers
• contractors and self-employed people hired to personally do the work
• job applicants

Employers must make reasonable adjustments when:

• they know, or could reasonably be expected to know, someone is disabled
• a disabled staff member or job applicant asks for adjustments
• someone who’s disabled is having difficulty with any part of their job
• someone’s absence record, sickness record or delay in returning to work is because of, or linked to, their disability

The employer must also:

• make reasonable adjustments for anything linked to someone’s disability – for example an organisation might not allow dogs at work but make a reasonable adjustment for someone with an assistance dog
• make sure other people do what’s needed for a reasonable adjustment to work – for example if someone needs information presented in a certain format, making sure other people at work do that

An employer could be liable under the law if they do not do these things. If someone does not get the reasonable adjustments they need they could make a claim to an employment tribunal.

PIP is money from the government to help people who have a disability, long-term health condition, or mental health condition that makes everyday life harder.

It’s not based on how much money your family earns. Instead, it’s based on how much help you need with things like:

• Getting dressed
• Washing and bathing
• Preparing food
• Communicating with people
• Managing medication
• Getting around or travelling

People usually apply for PIP when they are 16 or older and under State Pension age. The money is meant to help with the extra costs of living with a health condition or disability.

Teen-friendly example

Imagine someone has Ehlers-Danlos syndrome, severe anxiety, or another long-term condition. They might find it difficult to walk long distances, cook safely, or go places on their own. PIP can help pay for things they need because of those difficulties.

We have a page on the main website that can help you with this and if you are a member, you can get free guides and help with applying. We also have videos with our Benefits advisor Stu McGoo on our Youtube channel which can help. You can find them here