How do I get a job coach through Access to Work?

Who applies, and the steps in order

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, and a job coach is one of the things it can fund. Here is the part employers most often get wrong. Apply to Access to Work: the disabled employee applies themselves, not the employer, then DWP assesses their needs and funds a job coach (up to £69,260 a year, 2026-27). Apply online at gov.uk or call 0800 121 7479. You cannot apply on your employee's behalf. The one exception is civil servants, whose department provides this support directly.

1. Your employee starts the claim on the GOV.UK Get disability work support service or by phone on 0800 121 7479, Monday to Friday, 9am to 5pm. They do not need a formal diagnosis: the test is that a condition affects how they work. They give their National Insurance number and name a workplace contact who can confirm they work there.
2. DWP, working through an assessment provider, arranges a needs assessment and recommends support. Where that support is a job coach or support worker, your employee is usually asked to gather quotes, commonly three, from coaching providers so DWP can agree a price.
3. Access to Work pays the grant, up to the annual cap. The grant does not have to be repaid and does not affect your employee's other benefits. Your job is to confirm employment when asked, take the advice the scheme gives on reasonable adjustments and, if you are a larger employer, share part of the cost of some claims.

The realistic timeline in 2026

Be honest with your employee about the wait. The National Audit Office reported on 6 February 2026 that DWP took on average 66 days to process an Access to Work claim in 2024-25, up from 28 days in 2020-21, peaking at about 109 days in November 2025. Around 62,000 applications were waiting for a decision. So the single most useful thing you can do is get your employee to apply as early as possible, rather than waiting until they are at breaking point.

If it stalls, and where your own duty starts

While the claim sits in the queue, keep making the adjustments you would make anyway. 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 already your legal duty. If the case stalls, your employee can chase the case manager named on their decision letter or call the 0800 121 7479 line. For more on the wait, see how long an Access to Work application takes.

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