Will Access to Work pay for my transport fees? 21 March 2022 at 8:49PM in Employment, jobseeking & training 12 replies 511 views

RainyDays1999

Hello everyone, 

I have mental health issues, some physical health issues, and autism.

I've got an interview for a job, however it's 17-miles away from where I live. It's in a semi unfamiliar place. I don't think I'd be able to get there by myself without using a taxi due to anxiety and distress. If I got the job, would Access to Work pay for the transportation fees? It would only be twice a week. Is there a certain budget the government have? The thing is that the job is really ideal for me, there's no face-to-face work and telephone work. It's just a emailing and letter-writing job. I know I'm looking too forward ahead, but it's a job that's really suitable for my needs.

Does anyone have experience with Access to Work? If you do or did, what was it for?

TIA.

lisyloo

Could that work be done from home?
would that Suit both yourself and the employer?

RainyDays1999

lisyloo said:

Could that work be done from home?
would that Suit both yourself and the employer?

I think it's only an office-based position. I will ask on Wednesday. 

orchid2010

My OH had help paying for transport as he was not allowed to drive due to medical problems.  Where he worked was not very accessible by public transport.  What Access to work worked out was how much it would have cost him to get to and from work if he could drive this became our contribution amount, we then had to get a couple of quotes from taxi companies for how much it would cost for each journey and then then agreed to pay the difference between our contribution and the cost of each journey.  We then set up an account with the taxi firm and they use to bill us each month for the full amount, we paid our contribution and claimed the rest from Access to work.  They were a bit slow in paying sometimes.

Marcon

RainyDays1999 said:

Hello everyone, 

I have mental health issues, some physical health issues, and autism.

I've got an interview for a job, however it's 17-miles away from where I live. It's in a semi unfamiliar place. I don't think I'd be able to get there by myself without using a taxi due to anxiety and distress. If I got the job, would Access to Work pay for the transportation fees? It would only be twice a week. Is there a certain budget the government have? The thing is that the job is really ideal for me, there's no face-to-face work and telephone work. It's just a emailing and letter-writing job. I know I'm looking too forward ahead, but it's a job that's really suitable for my needs.

Does anyone have experience with Access to Work? If you do or did, what was it for?

TIA.

Probably. Suggest you read this: https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/access-to-work-factsheet/access-to-work-factsheet-for-customers

lisyloo

Just wanted to say good luck for tomorrow.

RainyDays1999

orchid2010 said:

My OH had help paying for transport as he was not allowed to drive due to medical problems.  Where he worked was not very accessible by public transport.  What Access to work worked out was how much it would have cost him to get to and from work if he could drive this became our contribution amount, we then had to get a couple of quotes from taxi companies for how much it would cost for each journey and then then agreed to pay the difference between our contribution and the cost of each journey.  We then set up an account with the taxi firm and they use to bill us each month for the full amount, we paid our contribution and claimed the rest from Access to work.  They were a bit slow in paying sometimes.

This sounds a bit like me as well. If I get the job there isn't much public transport that goes to the office. But I also get anxious as well.

May I ask what a contribution amount is and how much did he have to pay? (I hope that doesn't sound rude of me asking!).

Sncjw

I think they say its cost of druving yourself there is the Contribution amount. 

ACG

Just a thought but could you try and make the trip a few times on your days off? There would be no pressure then and might help in the longer run. 

Ath_Wat

I don't know anything about whether they will pay, but I can say that if anyone asks at the interview how you will get to work, give them a solid answer - don't say that you hope Access to Work will pay for taxis but you're not sure.

Ath_Wat

Jillanddy said:

Ath_Wat said:

I don't know anything about whether they will pay, but I can say that if anyone asks at the interview how you will get to work, give them a solid answer - don't say that you hope Access to Work will pay for taxis but you're not sure.

I think the employer won't care.  It isn't their problem. It's the OP who is asking for themselves. 

If they live a fair distance from the employer and there is not much public transport, then "how will you get to work" is a pretty common question - and if the answer is "I am not sure", that's going be a negative.