Access to Work provides practical and financial support with the additional costs faced by individuals whose health or disability affects the way they do their job. The support provided is tailored to individuals needs and can include travel to work, support workers, and specialist aids and equipment. Access to Work does not replace the duty an employer has under the Equality Act to make reasonable adjustments. Instead it provides support that is over and above that which is a reasonable adjustment. Access to Work can pay for communication support workers and British Sign Language (BSL) Interpreters where these are required to enable deaf people to work.<\/p>
Access to Work is delivered by Jobcentre Plus in accordance with Department for Work and Pensions Access to Work guidance. The amount of help an individual may receive from Access to Work depends on their individual needs and personal circumstances. The award will also vary depending on how long they have been employed, what support they need, the size of the employer and whether they are self-employed.<\/p>
The Department does not provide alternative financial support for communication for deaf people who are in work.<\/p>
Where necessary, the Department can provide British Sign Language Interpreters and in some cases other non-spoken language interpreters to enable deaf people to communicate with our staff and to participate in job interviews. Where it is appropriate and where they are able to do so, deaf people and people with hearing impairments can utilise lip reading in face to face communications. The Department also provides induction loops and textphones. Our staff can also communicate by e-mail or through a representative, with the claimant\u2019s permission.<\/p>"} , "answeringMember" : {"_about" : "http://data.parliament.uk/members/1520", "label" : {"_value" : "Biography information for Mr Mark Harper"} } , "answeringMemberConstituency" : {"_value" : "Forest of Dean"} , "answeringMemberPrinted" : {"_value" : "Mr Mark Harper"} , "dateOfAnswer" : {"_value" : "2014-09-09", "_datatype" : "dateTime"} , "groupedQuestionUIN" : [{"_value" : "207823"} , {"_value" : "207838"} , {"_value" : "207913"} ], "isMinisterialCorrection" : {"_value" : "false", "_datatype" : "boolean"} , "questionFirstAnswered" : [{"_value" : "2014-09-09T13:59:55.8101536Z", "_datatype" : "dateTime"} ]} , "answeringDeptId" : {"_value" : "29"} , "answeringDeptShortName" : {"_value" : "Work and Pensions"} , "answeringDeptSortName" : {"_value" : "Work and Pensions"} , "date" : {"_value" : "2014-09-02", "_datatype" : "dateTime"} , "hansardHeading" : {"_value" : "Employment: Hearing Impairment"} , "houseId" : {"_value" : "1"} , "legislature" : [{"_about" : "http://data.parliament.uk/terms/25259", "prefLabel" : {"_value" : "House of Commons"} } ], "questionText" : "To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, what communication support his Department provides for deaf people who are (a) in work or (b) actively seeking work.", "registeredInterest" : {"_value" : "false", "_datatype" : "boolean"} , "tablingMember" : {"_about" : "http://data.parliament.uk/members/298", "label" : {"_value" : "Biography information for Steve McCabe"} } , "tablingMemberConstituency" : {"_value" : "Birmingham, Selly Oak"} , "tablingMemberPrinted" : [{"_value" : "Steve McCabe"} ], "uin" : "207839"} ], "itemsPerPage" : 10, "page" : 0, "startIndex" : 1, "totalResults" : 1, "type" : ["http://purl.org/linked-data/api/vocab#ListEndpoint", "http://purl.org/linked-data/api/vocab#Page"]} }