Access to Work

Case Study 1

A is a freelance artist who is a Sign Language user. He is working on a number of different contracts for a range of organisations. His working day consists of delivering workshop sessions, meeting clients and potential clients, doing his own administration (via e-mail and textphone).

He applied for Access to Work to provide fees for an interpreter as he delivered sessions for one particular client. This was work which A was hoping would develop into a significant, long term contract.

Access to Work required a great deal of detailed information regarding the hours of work, date of commencement of the contract and nature of the work. A was unable to answer the questions since, as a freelancer, the contract was flexible and he could not negotiate a starting date until he could be sure that the interpreter support was in place.

The contact with Access to Work was via e-mail and there were difficulties because A is not confident with his written English. Access to Work were not willing to attend a face to face meeting to sort everything out.

Fortunately, A was introduced to someone who was familiar with Access to Work. This person offered to support A. Together they wrote down A’s requirements, explaining the flexible nature of the work and its unpredictability with the hopes that the amount and frequency of the work might increase. Then he made a telephone call and, within 24 hours, the support was authorised.

However, A then had to struggle to get support which was of an appropriate standard. Access to Work stipulated that all interpreter support should be provided by one named company. A’s experience, in common with a large number of other deaf people using Access to Work to fund interpreters, was that this company did not understand the structure of Sign Language interpreting and the profession’s qualifications structure. Consequently, A was sent a Communication Support Worker rather than an interpreter. This happened on a number of occasions until A informed Access to Work that the company they were using was not an interpreting agency and began to source interpreters himself.

Moral of the story
1. If Access to Work will not accommodate your access requirements in your negotiations with them, get support.

2. If your support needs are not being met by Access to Work’s own provision, you may have to take control of sourcing support yourself - just make sure you are authorised to do so in order that you don’t end up paying the bill without getting reimbursed.

NEWSFLASH
Access to Work is changing its way of dealing with freelancers. New guidance instructs advisors to treat freelancers as though they are employed, but without having to share any costs. What this means in practice is that a freelancer (someone who uses their skills for a number of different organisations on a contract basis, at the same time or one after the other) can apply to have their support needs put in place even before they have a contract. They therefore apply for the contract and, if appointed, arrive on the first day, with the support in place. This would have really helped A in his situation.