Access to Work: A Guide for the Arts and Cultural Sector
Please note: There have been some major changes recently in the application and claiming process for Access to Work. We are currently in the process of updating this guide so some elements may be out of date.
Phone lines for ATW are open 9am – 5pm Monday to Friday.
The helpline number is: Telephone: 0800 121 7479
Textphone: 0800 121 7579
Relay UK (if you cannot hear or speak on the phone): 18001 then 0800 121 7479
After you have made an online application, wait times to hear back from a Case Manager to complete your claims are currently taking around 16 weeks. Don’t forget, your claim can be backdated, so if your grant is successful, it can start from the day you made your online application.
Renewals:
ATW suggest you do this anytime from three months before end date of your current ATW grant. Given that wait times are longer than usual, we suggest you do complete your renewal as soon as you can. You can now renew your ATW grant online, there are six questions.
Listen to this page:
What is Access to Work?
Access to Work is a resource that helps to create a more accessible work environment. It provides grants to remove barriers that disabled people face in undertaking paid employment. Disability Arts Online has written this guide to interpret the Access to Work rules and official guidance with specific advice for the arts and cultural sector.
Graeae Theatre Company. This Is Not For You. Photo by Dawn McNamara
There are many different types of work within the sector, artists and creatives tend to be self-employed and those working for organisations are usually employees. That’s why this guide has three main sections: one for employers, one for employees or prospective employees and one specifically for self-employed people.
The guide also contains a glossary and several downloadable resource sheets which can be found in the menu on the right-hand side of the page (or bottom of the page on mobile).
Access
Each of the main sections include:
- A summary video with BSL and captions.
- An audio version of the full written text.
- An easy read version.
There are downloadable pdf and word versions of the entire guide on the resources page.
As with the rest of the website, a high contrast mode can be applied to the guide by clicking the high contrast button in the uppermost top left section of every page.
For the purpose of this guide, following the social model, we use the terms ‘disabled people’ and ‘disability’ to include anyone with any impairment type or long-term health condition who faces barriers. For the avoidance of doubt this includes D/deaf people, people who experience mental ill-health and people identifying as neurodivergent.
This Guide to Access to Work for the Arts and Cultural Sector was funded by Arts Council England, and fact-checked by the Department for Work and Pensions and Arts Council England in June 2019.
We updated the written content in January 2022 to reflect changes.