‘Passport’ pilot to ease transition to work for disabled

The Department for Work and Pensions’ (DWP) has launched an Access to work adjustment passport which it says will ease the transition from university into employment by reducing the need for disabled graduates to have repeated health assessments when starting a new job.

The pilot scheme, announced as part of the National disability strategy at the end of last year, is currently in operation at the University of Wolverhampton and Manchester Metropolitan University.

Under the Access to work programme, disabled people can access grants worth up to £62,900 to cover the cost of specialist equipment needed to support them to do their jobs.

The new adjustments passport will be offered to students who already receive extra support while studying at university, capturing information about their condition and the adjustments they already benefit from, avoiding repetitive disclosures when it comes to applying for the grant once they start work.

Up to 100 students at each university will be supported through the trial, which ends in March 2023, and, if successful, it will be rolled out to thousands more across the country.

The passport is said to be designed to give holders the confidence to have conversations about their disability and adjustments with potential employers, which can otherwise be challenging.