Access to Work

[Bobbydoodle]

Hi

I am self employed and have applied to access to work for help with aids for managing my symptoms and make working easier.

Does anyone know what kind of things to ask for that might help me with my Lupus symptoms?

[Star13]

What sort of thing do you think you will need?

What work do you do and how many hours do you work? Do you work from home or from a premises?

They won’t be able to suggest things to you it’s up to you to know what it is that you need to help you as you will have to supply quotes.

[Bobbydoodle in reply to Star13]

I am a counsellor. I work part from home and part from my therapy room.

When I work from home I don’t have an office chair or a desk so I guess they would be helpful in terms of pain as my legs hands and neck can get extremely painful which is waring and exhausting.

I wondered if they could provide some kind of ergonomic bag for transporting my work stuff like note pad and laptop to my therapy room when I work there. I would prefer a lighter weight laptop as mine is heavy and large not sure of this is something they could help with?

Not sure what things can help with my admin workload which in term would help my fatigue and brain fog?

Not sure what other aids help with pain or fatigue to be honest.

[TJSTICKYBLOOD in reply to Bobbydoodle]

Bobby how do you normally get to your therapy room ? They might be able to help with a taxi, if my memory is correct they will pay towards it minus what you would normally pay getting to work.

[Bobbydoodle]

Thank you

I drive so I don’t think I’d need a taxi. I mean on my worst days that sounds like it would help to be fair but I don’t think I’d ask for that to be fair.

[Hamptons]

just to be aware that the employer pays the first @£1,500, I think. But I am sure you can do a tax thing on it.

When I met them I discussed what my day looked like and different elements, from there we broke down the challenges in relation to lupus symptoms.

So things like the posture of my chair, foot rest when doing admin, a ledge to rest my paperwork in, voice activated software for when I could not type, dictaphone to record meetings to reduce cognitive issues. I also had an ergonomic keyboard to reduce pain in my wrists. The gentleman was very knowledgeable and understood the areas impacted.

The needs need to be led by you but they know the equipment available.

Good luck

[Bobbydoodle]

Ah ok thank you.

So as I’m self employed I’m classed as the employer is that right? So I would have to pay the first £1500 out of my business? That’s quite a lot for a new set up isn’t it.

[Star13 in reply to Bobbydoodle]

no you don’t pay the first £1500. It will depend on the number of days that you work. They assume there are 7 days in a week so whatever the cost of the equipment will only pay up to 5/7ths of it unless you can show that you work 7 days I suppose. You will also have to submit your accounts as a self employed person. I’ve just gone all through this.

[Bobbydoodle in reply to Star13]

Thanks. I only work 2 days self employed and I’m employed 3 days. I’m only applying for the self employed element so not sure how that will work out?

I’ve already submitted my tax return.

[Star13 in reply to Bobbydoodle]

so you will have to ask your employer to ask AtoW to come in to assess you for the 3 days you are there and your employer if they are willing will have to pay any of the costs associated with any equipment depending on what’s needed. The costs for employers are done based on the number of employees they have, so the larger the company the bigger the contribution they would be expected to make. Smaller companies may not be asked to contribute anything if they only have a few employees or it could be a voluntary contribution. The scheme has changed a bit since I did it as an employer.

I guess for you you need to decide if you should be applying as a self employed person or ask your employer to apply for you or both. It’s possible that you will have benefits on both sides but which can’t be covered by just one as your employer may feel the equipment they provide benefits you more from home etc. I’d start with one and see how that goes.

[Bobbydoodle in reply to Star13]

Yes I’ve just applied for my self employed element at the moment.. my employer for my employed position already provides what I need at their workplace.

[Poshcards]

It would be best to get the occupational therapist in your company to assess you and they will help decide what you need, I had a specialised chair, footrest, special keyboard and mouse to begin with. My friend who is disabled had a motorised wheel chair x