UNISON celebrates victory for disabled workers

UNISON has celebrated a major victory after the Department for Work and Pensions announced that additional support will be made available to help disabled people work from home.

Assistant general secretary Christine McAnea today responded to the publication of an extension to the department’s Access to Work scheme, saying that she is “delighted the government has listened to UNISON”.

McAnea wrote to the Chancellor in July and called for a “culture change in UK employers” to make sure that disabled people who want to work from home can do so, with additional funding and help from the government.

Commenting on the extension, McAnea said: “Many of our disabled members are worried about losing their jobs if they can’t go back to the workplace because of Covid-19. This will help them to keep their job and stay independent.”

The Access to Work scheme helps people who are disabled, or have a physical or mental health condition, stay in employment. Last year, it provided support to 36,000 people to do their job.

But a survey from UNISON earlier this year found that only 5% of disabled workers received help from the scheme to work from home; that 23% did not think the scheme could help them do so; and that 41% did not know about the programme.

She added: “Government needs make sure all disabled workers know about Access to Work and that employers don’t force disabled people back to the workplace when it’s not yet safe.”

The announcement from the department outlined that disabled people can get grant funding to support them if they have to work from home because of Covid-19, and that this money can help pay for special equipment.

Applications can be fast-tracked if someone is in the clinically extremely vulnerable group, and disabled workers can claim through the fund for additional transport costs, such as taxi fares, if public transport is not a safe option.

The extension also includes mental health support through the Access to Work programme, “with a tailored package of support for up to nine months”. Workers can apply for support online.