How do I apply for Access to Work for my ADHD?

Who applies, and the first move

Access to Work is a Department for Work and Pensions (DWP) grant that helps pay for the support a disabled or neurodivergent person needs to do their job. Here is the part employers most often get wrong. The employee applies for Access to Work themselves, not the employer, online at gov.uk/access-to-work or by phone on 0800 121 7479. The grant then funds ADHD support such as coaching and assistive software. Your role is to encourage and enable the application, not to submit it.

1. Your employee starts the claim on the GOV.UK Access to Work service or by phone. They do not need a formal ADHD diagnosis: the test is that a condition affects how they work, and they live and work in England, Scotland or Wales.
2. They hand over their contact details, the workplace address, a short description of how ADHD affects their work and what would help, and a named workplace contact who can confirm they work there. That contact is only approached with the employee's permission, so agree who it will be before they apply.
3. A DWP case manager reviews the claim and gets in touch. With your employee's consent, they talk to you about the support and may arrange an assessment of the role. A decision letter then sets out the grant and which costs are approved.

The wait, and what it costs you

Be realistic about the timeline. The National Audit Office reported in 2025 that DWP took on average 66 days to process an Access to Work claim, rising to about 109 days by November 2025, with 62,100 applications awaiting a decision as of March 2025. For ADHD, the grant commonly funds coaching, strategy mentoring and assistive software, which do not normally trigger an employer cost-share. Cost-share only applies to special equipment or adaptations for an employee of more than six weeks, and even then your contribution is nil for businesses with under 50 staff. The annual grant is capped at £69,260 for the year to 31 March 2027.

Where your own duty starts

Access to Work tops up your existing duty under the Equality Act 2010 to make reasonable adjustments for a disabled employee; it does not replace it, and it will not pay for changes that are your legal duty as reasonable adjustments. So keep making the adjustments you would make anyway while the claim sits in the queue. For more on what the grant covers, see what Access to Work pays for.

This page is general information, not clinical or legal advice.