Fri, 11 Apr 2025

Fri, 11 Apr 2025 Jobs fears as disability scheme owes businesses thousands

One firm says it is owed £186,000 by the Access to Work scheme and is worried it may have to close.
One company, Yateley Industries, is owed £186,000 by the Access to Work scheme and fears it may have to close due to the lack of payments. The charity employs almost 60 people with disabilities in packaging jobs. The DWP claims that a new streamlined claims process was introduced last month to address the issue, but businesses say that this has not improved the situation. A trade union representative says that the problems with Access to Work are having a "devastating impact" on disabled people's employment and that the government needs to take urgent action to reform the scheme. The delays in payments are affecting not only businesses but also individuals who rely on the scheme for support. One social media executive, Lucy Earle, took six months to have her claim assessed and was then assigned a wheelchair that was unsuitable for her needs. Critics of the Access to Work scheme say that it is being pushed to breaking point by the increased bureaucracy and delays in payments, which are forcing businesses to cover significant sums from their own savings while waiting for payments.
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