Thirteen respondents were established in paid work when they applied for support from Access to Work. These included long-term users of Access to Work or the schemes that preceded it. In some cases, users came to need support because of an acquired impairment or deteriorating health, or when participation at work became harder.
Views on Giving up Working Altogether
According to users already established in paid work, giving up working altogether would have been a real possibility for some if Support Worker provision had not been available at the time of application (Figure 2.2). Pain and fatigue, later ameliorated by job aides, meant that they were not able to do their jobs and no other source of help was possible. Indeed, users had actually considered retiring on health grounds, returning to sick leave or giving up the attempt to work at all.
The larger number of ratings at the other end of the scale is explained by the importance of work to disabled users: the need to bring in an income and the likely negative impact on family members if they did not, the need to maintain a self-made business or to establish a career. Without the Support Worker, working life would be hard for many but giving up working altogether was just not feasible. One or two volunteered that employers would have intervened to keep them on, but quite how employers might have helped was not clear. If Access to Work support had not been available in the job they had at the time some hoped that they could have resorted to a type of job they had before or ‘survive’ in some capacity elsewhere, driven by the need to work for self-fulfilment or financial security. This would have meant an unplanned career change or abandoning a self-made business, however. A strong commitment to their right to work influenced some people in being certain that they would not give up working.
Employers interviewed generally reflected users’ views on the possibility of giving up. Those who were considerably more pessimistic about the outcome were not thinking of options which the employee was considering. Another was more optimistic than the user believing that ‘ways round’ the absence of Access to Work might have been created.
Figure 2.2
Likelihood at application of giving up working altogether
0 10 20 30 40 50 60 70 80 90 100
Views on Carrying on Without the Support
Users tended to either strongly agree or strongly disagree that they would have carried on in the job if Support Worker provision had not been available at the time they applied for it (Figure 2.3).
Deteriorating health and the consequent effect on work performance was the main reason given for possibly not carrying on without the support at the time. But also important was the essential contribution of the Support Worker to making the work viable.
Counted amongst those who agreed they would definitely have carried on without the support were users who could envisage an alternative to be driven to work by a Support Worker and one who had in fact since carried on without the support although performance at work was held back as a result. Otherwise, people would hypothetically have carried on without the Support Worker because of the importance to them of working, having an income, supporting a family or maintaining a business, and not because they felt they could do without the support. On the contrary, users relied on Support Workers to do the job effectively and participate fully at work. One person believed that persevering in the job was the way to effect change, and had faith in their employer’s capacity to find a solution.
Where employers were interviewed their views generally concurred with users’ judgements, though there was a tendency for employers of those who said they would have carried on to be more pessimistic.
Other Outcomes
A minority of people in paid work at the time they applied felt that they would
definitely have taken more sick leave without their Support Worker, because working without it would affect their condition or lead them to take time off as they could not do their job adequately. Giving up work altogether rather than taking sick leave, was a real possibility, because they would not be able fulfil their work obligations.
Others explained that taking more sick leave was not at all likely, as they were not ill and taking time off because of lack of support at work would imply shirking their
Figure 2.3
Likelihood at application of carrying on without a Support Worker
0 10 20 30 40 50 60 70 80 90 100
duties, and there was a worry that taking sick leave because support for communication at work was not available would jeopardise their jobs.
Employers tended to view sick leave as more likely than their employees did, expressing concerns about the viability of sustained employment.