As neurodivergent individuals we face significant challenges in finding and maintaining employment. Limited job opportunities, discrimination, and inaccessible workplaces can make it hard to advance in our careers and achieve financial independence.
In a post-pandemic world, that means so many of us have discovered working from home opportunities, in particular self-employment. But with that comes a ton of new challenges. Many challenges overwhelm us, and in turn, hinder our ability to perform at our very best.
As someone who has experienced the difficulties in applying for Access to Work first-hand, I had an idea. I purchased a domain and set up JobAide.co.uk, a platform dedicated to helping neurodivergent people access the support they need in the workplace.
How It All Began
My backstory reads like a Hollywood film script, but here’s the concise version:
- January 2020 – Diagnosed with ADHD aged 33.
- February 2020 – Made redundant as assistant manager at Carphone Warehouse.
- March 2020 – COVID Lockdown happened (so I didn’t get furlough).
Fast-forward to October 2020, and I decided to start writing blogs for a big agency in the USA after some advice from a good friend (and my old boss). Things were going great, and I started dabbling in other services such as search engine optimisation (SEO) and social media marketing (SMM).
As my business grew, I started struggling with the demands of running my own business. So I decided to outsource support work to a virtual assistant.
A few months later one of my clients, a fellow neurodivergent creator, mentioned Access to Work funding in a meeting. It turns out all this time I’d been paying for a support worker out of my own pocket when I was entitled to one funded by the government!
Application #1 – 2021
After checking the gov.uk website for eligibility, I filled out their short online application form and waited keenly for a reply.
Three months passed, and I finally went through the process of a phone call with a caseworker to establish my needs, as well as form filling (urgh!). Eventually my caseworker came back to me and said “Please submit three quotes for support in the next seven days”.
Confused, I thought:
“How am I supposed to get three quotes for a Job Aide when I need a Job Aide to help me find the quotes in the first place?!”
My VA helped me work through the application and in the end we received the award. But it was only for six months of funding, not twelve. At this point, I was going through more personal drama, so didn’t have the energy to question the process.
What Getting The Wrong Support Looks Like
What’s more, the stress of supporting me in this unclear fashion, coupled with my own mental health declining meant my working relationship fell apart, and I was unable to pay my VA in advance like I used to, causing more headaches.
After all, how are you supposed to access a support worker to be reimbursed, if you can’t afford the support worker in the first place?
I found out later that year that we had funding for workplace coaching, NOT a Job Aide. That also explained why my old support worker struggled to help me, since we were looking for funding for admin support in the form of a Job Aide.
This led me to not only have a sour experience with my support worker, but also caused me to lose the vast majority of my writing clients.
For the first time in a year, I was lost.
Setting up JobAide.co.uk
Around this time, my (then) sister-in-law received funding for a support worker for Access to Work, and found the application process just as stressful as I. Only this time, she didn’t have the cash flow up front to pay for a support worker.
As a result, she never received the funding she was entitled to, because she couldn’t pay for a support worker in advance. I have since learned that some support workers will invoice ATW directly in arrears. That would have solved this problem. But instead, I was unable to help her, totally at a loss.
And soon the stories came in. I posted TikToks that went viral, with many applicants commenting on their own, very similar, issues with claiming the funding. At this point, I’d had enough. I purchased the domain and set the website up with the intention of it becoming a one-stop info guide for Access to Work claimants.
Application #2 – 2022/2023
After reapplying in the spring of 2022, it then took me 9 months to get three quotes for the right Job Aide. I’d posted on LinkedIn about my struggles and was approached by Lucy, who said she could help me.
But I wasn’t ready to return to work fully. At this point, I was on universal credit as self-employed, desperately trying to build my business back up without any support network besides the job centre.
Once my life had settled down in early 2023, I decided to take up Lucy’s offer, and my Access to Work caseworker re-opened my claim.
Support and Relaunching JobAide.co.uk
I spent most of 2023 supporting two clients who approached me through JobAide.co.uk, as well as writing for a premium client in the USA. I thoroughly enjoyed working with all my clients, but as time went on I realised that being a support worker isn’t my biggest strength.
So with some much-needed help (and a kick up the backside) from my own support network, I decided to relaunch JobAide.co.uk as a one-stop shop for Access to Work claimants and anyone looking to support neurodivergent people in the workplace.
I’m a Different Person Thanks to Access to Work
Since working with my new Job Aides Lucy and Kate, I am now in a better place than I’ve ever been. I’m on the right medication, so I feel much healthier, my personal life has settled down, my kids are doing well, and I have a new-found confidence with the work that I do and what I can achieve.
It’s not been an easy ride. I’d be lying if I said it was an overnight success. And, we’ve still got a long way to go. I’m still living on the breadline with no benefits (and like most people, can’t seem to get PIP no matter how many times I apply).
But with their support I’m now able to focus my energy, and my skill sets, on finding other Access to Work claimants the right support for them, and more importantly, the support they truly deserve.