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Access to Work waiting times reach 37 weeks: what disabled workers need to know
Written by
Georgina, Founder of Purpl
Published on
June 17, 2026
Last reviewed: 17 June 2026
Applies to: England, Scotland and Wales
Written by: Georgina, Founder of Purpl
Thousands of disabled people are facing long delays when applying for Access to Work, according to a new report from Parliament’s Public Accounts Committee. The committee has warned that growing Access to Work backlogs are creating hardship and uncertainty for disabled people who rely on workplace support to start work, stay in work or do their jobs safely.
Some applicants are now being told they could wait up to 37 weeks for a decision. The latest figures show that around 66,000 applications were still waiting to be processed in March 2026, compared with around 21,700 four years earlier. For disabled workers, jobseekers and employers, this is not just admin. It can mean lost job opportunities, financial stress, delayed adjustments and months of uncertainty.
Access to Work can make employment possible for disabled people and people with long-term health conditions. It can help pay for specialist equipment, assistive technology, support workers, communication support and travel to work. When that support arrives late, people can struggle to start a new job, stay in a role, work safely or progress in their careers.
At Purpl, we know disabled people already face higher everyday costs. Waiting months for workplace support can add another layer of pressure when you are trying to work, earn, manage your health and cover the extra costs of disability.
At a glance
- Some Access to Work applicants are now being told they could wait up to 37 weeks for a decision.
- Around 66,000 Access to Work applications were waiting to be processed in March 2026.
- Access to Work can help fund workplace support, specialist equipment, support workers, communication support and travel to work.
- The government has launched a recruitment drive to clear the application backlog by September 2027, and standard payment processing times have now been successfully restored to 10 days.
- Delays can affect employment, income, health, confidence and career progression.
- The Public Accounts Committee has warned that the backlog is creating hardship and uncertainty for disabled people.
- If you are waiting, keep records, speak to your employer and ask about temporary adjustments while your application is processed.
In this article
- What is Access to Work?
- Why are Access to Work applications taking so long?
- Why Access to Work delays matter for disabled people
- The financial impact of Access to Work delays
- The human cost behind the backlog
- What disabled people can do while waiting for Access to Work
- What employers should do while an employee waits
- Where else to look for support
- Frequently asked questions (FAQs) about Access to Work waiting times
- In summary
What is Access to Work?
Access to Work is a government-funded scheme that helps disabled people and people with physical or mental health conditions get support at work. It can help you start work, stay in work, move into self-employment or manage work when your disability or health condition creates barriers.
GOV.UK explains that Access to Work can provide practical support if you have a disability, health condition or mental health condition and need help at work. It can also advise your employer about support, but it does not replace the employer’s legal duty to make reasonable adjustments (https://www.gov.uk/access-to-work).
Depending on your circumstances, Access to Work may help with:
- specialist equipment
- assistive technology
- adaptations to equipment
- support workers
- job coaches
- communication support
- British Sign Language interpreters
- mental health support
- travel to work if you cannot use public transport
- support at job interviews
- workplace assessments
For many disabled people, this support is not a bonus or a perk. It is what makes employment possible. Without the right adjustments, some people cannot carry out their role safely, effectively or sustainably.
Purpl Tip: Access to Work can sit alongside your employer’s reasonable adjustments. If you are unsure what your employer should provide and what Access to Work may fund, ask both your employer and Access to Work to explain the difference in writing.
Why are Access to Work applications taking so long?
The Public Accounts Committee says the Department for Work and Pensions is struggling to keep pace with rising demand for Access to Work. The committee’s report warns that delays are damaging people’s employment, income, health and wellbeing, and that the backlog is undermining the effectiveness of the scheme (https://committees.parliament.uk/committee/127/public-accounts-committee/news/214258/access-to-work-backlogs-creating-hardship-and-uncertainty-for-disabled-people-pac-warns/).
Access to Work has a target processing time, but the backlog has grown sharply. The National Audit Office reported that processing delays and backlogs have created difficulties for individuals and employers, including reduced job security and cashflow pressures for businesses, especially small businesses (https://www.nao.org.uk/press-releases/processing-delays-and-backlogs-in-access-to-work-affect-job-security-and-employer-finances/).
The Public Accounts Committee also heard that applicants could be told to wait up to 37 weeks for a decision. In March 2026, around 66,000 applications were waiting to be processed, compared with around 21,700 four years earlier.
The Department for Work and Pensions has said it has increased Access to Work staffing and prioritised applications where someone is due to start work within four weeks. A written ministerial statement in May 2026 said staff working on Access to Work had increased by around 30%, from 500 in March 2024 to 657 in March 2026 (https://questions-statements.parliament.uk/written-statements/detail/2026-05-19/HCWS34).
In the same statement, the government announced a recovery plan to recruit an additional 480 case staff with the explicit goal of clearing the applications backlog entirely by September 2027. While the Public Accounts Committee welcomed the extra boots on the ground, it noted that fully resolving the wait times will still take 18 months to two years.
The problem is that disabled people need support when the job starts, when their role changes, or when their condition affects work, not months later.
Purpl Insight: A delayed Access to Work decision can turn a practical support need into a crisis. If someone needs equipment, transport or communication support to do their job, waiting months can put their income and wellbeing at risk.
Why Access to Work delays matter for disabled people
When Access to Work works well, it helps remove barriers. It can help someone accept a job, attend interviews, travel to work, communicate with colleagues, use technology, manage fatigue, or work safely.
When it does not arrive on time, the impact can be serious. A disabled person may:
- struggle to start a new role
- lose confidence before they have even begun
- miss job opportunities
- rely on unpaid support from family or colleagues
- pay upfront for support they cannot afford
- work without equipment that protects their health
- reduce their hours
- feel forced to leave work
- experience stress, burnout or worsening symptoms
The Public Accounts Committee says the delays are creating hardship and uncertainty for disabled people who rely on the scheme. It also warns that the delays may make some employers less confident about recruiting disabled candidates if they cannot arrange workplace support quickly enough (https://committees.parliament.uk/committee/127/public-accounts-committee/news/214258/access-to-work-backlogs-creating-hardship-and-uncertainty-for-disabled-people-pac-warns/).
This matters because disabled people already face barriers in the labour market. A support scheme designed to remove those barriers should not create a new one.
Purpl Tip: If you are waiting for Access to Work and your job is at risk, write down exactly how the delay affects your work. Include missed hours, tasks you cannot complete, health impacts, costs, travel problems and any risk to your role.
The financial impact of Access to Work delays
At Purpl, we often talk about the extra costs associated with disability because they affect every part of life. Scope’s latest Disability Price Tag research found that disabled households need an extra £1,095 a month on average to have the same standard of living as non-disabled households (https://www.scope.org.uk/campaigns/disability-price-tag).
Those costs can include:
- higher energy bills
- specialist equipment
- transport
- taxis
- therapies
- care
- delivery fees
- mobility aids
- medical appointments
- extra heating
- replacement clothing or bedding
- accessible technology
Employment can help disabled people build financial independence, but delayed workplace support can make work harder to access or sustain.
For example:
- Someone waiting for screen reader software may struggle to start a new office role.
- Someone waiting for a support worker may not manage key tasks safely.
- Someone waiting for transport support may not be able to travel to work.
- Someone waiting for communication support may miss meetings, training or interviews.
- Someone waiting for ergonomic equipment may work in pain or risk making their condition worse.
In these situations, delays affect more than convenience. They affect earnings, career progression, household finances and long-term stability.
Purpl Insight: Access to Work delays can create a hidden disability cost. Some people pay upfront for support, reduce hours, lose income or spend money on temporary solutions while they wait.
However, there is a silver lining for those who have already passed the hurdle of approval. The DWP has successfully prioritised and eliminated the historical backlog for processing reimbursements. Once an application is approved, claims for payment are now being issued within a standard 10-day window.
The human cost behind the backlog
Statistics show the scale of the Access to Work backlog, but they do not show the whole picture.
Behind every delayed application is a person trying to work, build a career, support their family or stay financially independent. Many disabled people are already managing pain, fatigue, mental health, neurodivergence, mobility issues, sensory needs, caring responsibilities or fluctuating symptoms.
Long delays can create a stressful cycle:
- You apply for support because work is difficult.
- You wait without knowing when a decision will come.
- You try to manage without the support.
- Your health, confidence or work performance may suffer.
- You chase updates and repeat information.
- You worry about how your employer sees the delay.
- You may lose income or feel pushed out of work.
The concern raised by the Public Accounts Committee is not that Access to Work lacks value. It recognises that people value the scheme and that support can help disabled people overcome workplace barriers. The problem is that support does not always arrive when people need it most.
Purpl Tip: Keep a simple timeline of your Access to Work application. Include the date you applied, every call or email, any evidence you sent, any changes at work and every time the delay affected your job or income.
What disabled people can do while waiting for Access to Work
There is no quick fix for the current backlog, but there are practical steps you can take while you wait.
Keep clear records
Keep copies of:
- your application date
- emails from Access to Work
- reference numbers
- evidence you submitted
- notes from phone calls
- names of people you spoke to
- dates you chased the application
- any temporary support you paid for
- any impact on your hours, pay or job
If you need to complain, chase, escalate or explain the impact later, these records can help.
Speak to your employer early
Tell your employer what you are waiting for and what you need in the meantime. Employers still have a legal duty to make reasonable adjustments, and Access to Work does not remove that duty.
Temporary workplace adjustments might include:
- flexible hours
- working from home
- different start times
- extra breaks
- temporary equipment
- changes to duties
- written instructions
- quiet workspace
- phased starts
- buddy support
- travel flexibility
- temporary communication support
Ask if your case can be prioritised
DWP has said it prioritises applications where someone is due to start work within four weeks. If you are starting a new job, at risk of losing work, or cannot work safely without support, make this clear when you contact Access to Work (https://questions-statements.parliament.uk/written-statements/detail/2026-05-19/HCWS34).
Put the impact in writing
When chasing your application, explain the impact clearly. For example:
“I cannot start my role safely without this equipment.”
“I am losing income because I cannot work my agreed hours.”
“My employer needs confirmation so they can plan support.”
“My health is worsening because I am working without the adjustment.”
“I have a confirmed start date within four weeks.”
Get advice if your job is at risk
If the delay puts your job at risk, speak to a union, Citizens Advice, ACAS, a disability employment adviser or a legal adviser. If your employer refuses reasonable adjustments, you may need specialist advice about your rights under the Equality Act.
Purpl Insight: You should not have to chase endlessly, but keeping clear written evidence gives you more control if you need to escalate or explain the impact of the delay.
What employers should do while an employee waits
Employers should not wait for Access to Work before supporting a disabled employee. Access to Work can help fund support that goes beyond reasonable adjustments, but employers still need to make reasonable adjustments under equality law.
While an employee waits, employers can:
- talk to the employee about what they need now
- agree temporary adjustments
- provide interim equipment where possible
- review workload and deadlines
- offer flexible working
- support home working if suitable
- keep the employee updated
- avoid penalising someone for barriers caused by delayed support
- document agreed adjustments
- check whether HR, occupational health or a workplace assessment can help
This matters for retention as well as recruitment. If a disabled worker feels unsupported while waiting for Access to Work, they may reduce hours, become unwell or leave a role they could have done well with the right support.
Purpl Tip: Employers should ask, “What can we put in place now?” rather than “What happens when Access to Work replies?” Timely support can protect someone’s health, confidence and job security.
Where else to look for support
Access to Work matters, but it is not the only support disabled people can check.
Depending on your circumstances, you may want to look at:
- reasonable adjustments from your employer
- occupational health support
- union support
- local disability employment services
- charitable grants
- Personal Independence Payment
- Universal Credit
- Council Tax Reduction
- social tariffs for broadband or water
- transport support
- Motability, if you receive a qualifying mobility benefit
- local authority support
- disability discounts through Purpl
Purpl members can also use the Purpl Benefits Calculator, powered by Turn2us, to check whether they could be missing out on benefits or financial support.
Purpl Insight: When one support system is delayed, check the wider picture. Benefits, grants, employer adjustments, social tariffs and discounts may not solve the backlog, but they can reduce pressure while you wait.
Frequently asked questions (FAQs) about Access to Work waiting times
What is Access to Work?
Access to Work is a government scheme that helps disabled people and people with health conditions get practical support at work. It can help with equipment, support workers, communication support, mental health support and travel to work.
How long are Access to Work waiting times in 2026?
Some applicants are being told they could wait up to 37 weeks for a decision. The Public Accounts Committee has warned that Access to Work delays are creating hardship and uncertainty for disabled people.
How many Access to Work applications are waiting to be processed?
Around 66,000 Access to Work applications were waiting to be processed in March 2026, compared with around 21,700 four years earlier.
Why is Access to Work taking so long?
The Public Accounts Committee says the Department for Work and Pensions is struggling to keep pace with demand for the scheme. The National Audit Office has also reported that processing delays and backlogs have created difficulties for individuals and employers.
The DWP is currently onboarding 480 new staff as part of a formal recovery plan to clear the backlog by September 2027.
Can Access to Work help with travel to work?
Yes. Access to Work can help with extra travel costs if your disability or health condition means you cannot use public transport or need support getting to work.
Can Access to Work pay for specialist equipment?
Yes. Access to Work can help fund specialist equipment or assistive technology if you need it because of your disability or health condition and it supports you in work.
Does Access to Work replace reasonable adjustments?
No. Your employer still has a legal duty to make reasonable adjustments. Access to Work can provide support that goes beyond what your employer should reasonably provide.
What should I do if I am waiting for Access to Work?
Keep records of your application, chase updates, explain the impact in writing, speak to your employer about temporary adjustments and get advice if the delay puts your job or income at risk.
Can my employer help while I wait for Access to Work?
Yes. Your employer can make temporary reasonable adjustments, provide interim equipment, change duties, offer flexible working, support home working or make other changes while your application is processed.
Can Access to Work support self-employed disabled people?
Access to Work can support some self-employed disabled people, depending on eligibility and the type of support needed. You should check the official Access to Work guidance before applying.
What if Access to Work delays affect my mental health or wellbeing?
Tell your employer, GP, occupational health, union or support network if the delay affects your mental health or wellbeing. Keep evidence of the impact, especially if the delay affects your ability to work safely or sustainably.
Why do Access to Work delays matter for disabled people?
Access to Work delays matter because workplace support can make the difference between starting a job, staying in work, progressing in a career or being pushed out of employment. For many disabled people, support is not optional. It makes work possible.
In summary
Access to Work remains one of the UK’s most important employment support schemes for disabled people. When it works well, it helps remove barriers, supports financial independence and enables disabled people to thrive at work.
But the current delays are creating real problems. Some applicants are being told they could wait up to 37 weeks, and around 66,000 applications were still waiting to be processed in March 2026. For disabled workers, that can mean lost opportunities, reduced income, stress, job insecurity and working without essential support.
If you are waiting, keep records, speak to your employer, ask about temporary adjustments and explain the impact of the delay in writing. You should not have to manage alone, and your employer should not wait months before making reasonable adjustments.
Access to Work should open doors, not leave disabled people stuck outside them.
About the author
Georgina is the Founder of Purpl, a UK savings platform created to help disabled people, people with long-term health conditions, parents and carers reduce the extra costs of daily life. Purpl was built from lived experience and the belief that disabled people deserve fair access to discounts, support and clear information that helps them feel more confident, included and financially supported.
Other articles or links you might find useful:
Purpl’s UK Disability Benefits & Support Handbook
How to Apply for Access to Work
Asking for Reasonable Adjustments at Work: Tips, Template & Resources
Access to Work Delays: What Disabled Employees and Jobseekers Can Do
Access to Work cap freeze: what disabled workers need to know
