The Access to Work Programme: Supporting Neurodiverse Entrepreneurs and Building a Stronger Economy

Is Access to Work worth it?

As a business that specialises in helping neurodiverse businesspeople, we regularly see the actual, real-world, benefits it brings.

Despite what you may have seen in some of the, well let’s call them the more sensational ‘news’ papers, the Access to Work scheme is far from being a drain on the economy or some sort of gravy train for people to claim free income. In fact it makes a valuable contribution to the UK economy.

What is Access to Work?

In a nutshell, the Access to Work programme provides funding and support for people in the workplace, whether they are employed or self-employed. It facilitates individuals with a wide range of challenges, such as physical disabilities, mental health conditions, and neurodiversity, by providing tailored assistance to help them thrive. The fact that it is available to the self-employed means it could have boosted the businesses of thousands of entrepreneurs.

The support needed will clearly vary depending on the individual’s needs, but it could be around:

• Specialist equipment (e.g., speech-to-text software, ergonomic desks, or hearing aids).
• Mental health support (such as therapy or coaching).
• Travel support (for those unable to use public transport due to a disability).
• Personal assistants or support workers (to help with tasks that may be difficult due to a condition).

For the ever growing number of neurodivergent entrepreneurs, Access to Work will mean the difference between struggling to manage a business and thriving as a successful leader.

How Access to Work helps in the real world

There has been some mention in certain newspapers recently about the so-called rise in ADHD support. Firstly, this is a very dubious claim because, to start with the reporting on how Access to Work funds are used does not differentiate for ADHD and furthermore, even if it did, it wouldn’t show a true picture of the contribution made in the context of the people that access it.

Let’s take a typical Access to Work scenario.

This is a generalisation, but it is based on our experience of real world situations.

A typical scenario where Access to Work is used to hire specialist support:

Jane is a skilled electrical engineer with ADHD who runs her own small but growing electrical engineering company providing industrial wiring projects, electrical installations, and maintenance. While Jane is highly talented in her field, her ADHD means she struggles with managing schedules, tracking invoices, and keeping up with administrative tasks.

With Access to Work funding, Jane could:

• Hire a specialist VA who understands ADHD and can help her structure her workflow.
• Implement automated scheduling systems to ensure client appointments, project deadlines, and safety checks are well-organised.
• Outsource the financial admin, ensuring invoices are sent on time, payments are tracked, and cash flow remains stable.
• Reduce stress and increase efficiency, allowing her to focus on expanding and leading her team, while still completing the high-quality electrical projects that feed her expansion.

Without this support, Jane will probably struggle with missed deadlines, late payments, and administrative chaos and these will affect her business reputation and growth. With the right assistance, she can stay organised, expand her company, and create more jobs.

The fact is that Jane could have been anything from a graphic designer to a CIC community garden business and still benefited the same way. That is why we chose to use a general scenario to demonstrate the benefit rather than a specific case study*.

Behind the headlines - here is the real truth about Access to Work

Despite its clear benefits, Access to Work regularly faces criticism based on misconceptions and unreliable information about costs. Astoundingly some still question its necessity in the face of all evidence proving how valuable it is. The programme very clearly has multiple benefits for individuals, businesses, and the wider economy.

• Economic benefits – Supporting neurodivergent entrepreneurs means more successful businesses, more jobs, and greater contributions to the economy.
• Increased skills in the workplace – Many people with disabilities or neurodivergent conditions want to work. At a time when many industries are struggling for skilled workers all that is needed to release this talent base is a few reasonable adjustments.
• Legal and ethical responsibility – The Equality Act 2010 ensures that disabled individuals are not disadvantaged in the workplace. Access to Work is one way to help meet these obligations.
• Long-term financial gains – When people with particular needs can work and run businesses successfully, they become less reliant on the benefits system. That leads to a stronger, more financially self-sufficient, workforce.

We see hard working entrepreneurial individuals with ADHD, autism, dyslexia, dyspraxia, and other neurodivergent conditions building successful businesses every day. Access to Work is not a support system, it’s an investment in individuals who create jobs, contribute to the economy, and innovate across multiple industries and market sectors.

Sadly, the actuality of all the good things Access to Work achieves probably doesn’t sell newspapers as well as a dramatic, if misleading, headline.

*If you are interested in how we work with some of our clients, whether Access to Work funded or not, then we have some case studies on our site here