Going self-employed, freelance or working as a contractor comes with a lot of freedom.
It also means going without the safety net that employed people often take for granted. There’s no HR team to set up your communication support, no employer to share your costs with, and no one to chase paperwork on your behalf.
If you’re a Deaf freelancer or contractor, navigating client meetings, networking events and day-to-day professional communications is something you have to figure out largely on your own.
That’s where the Government’s Access to Work scheme can make a real difference. It provides grants to fund the practical communication support and equipment that you need do your job. For self-employed freelancers and contractors specifically, it can cover 100% of the approved costs.
This guide explains what’s available, whether you’re likely to qualify, and how to go about applying.
What is Access to Work?
Access to Work is a Government grant scheme run by the Department for Work and Pensions. It’s designed to fund practical support for Deaf people, and others with disabilities or health conditions, that goes beyond what employers are legally required to provide under the Equality Act 2010.
For self-employed people, this distinction is especially useful. Reasonable adjustments are a legal obligation on employers. But as a freelancer, you are your own employer, and your clients aren’t obligated to fund your communication support. Access to Work fills that gap. Grants can last up to three years and are renewable (subject to review), so once you have support in place, you can count on it being there for the long term.
What support can it fund?
The range of support available through Access to Work is broad. While it won’t fund your business start-up costs if you’re a freelancer or are self-employed, there is a range of things it will fund.
BSL interpreters and communication support workers can be funded for client meetings, briefings, training sessions, networking events and any other professional situation where you need communication support. If you regularly attend meetings with multiple speakers or complex agendas, you can also use it to fund a speech-to-text reporter to provide real-time transcription of spoken English, or a notetaker, so you can focus on the conversation rather than trying to capture everything yourself.
For freelancers working remotely or across multiple client sites, remote video interpreting services can be funded through the scheme, so you can access professional communication support wherever you’re working, without needing an interpreter present in the room with you.
Specialist equipment is also covered. Visual alert systems for phones and fire alarms, amplified telephones and video conferencing tools with captioning features can all be included in your award. Access to Work can also contribute towards your travel costs, which is useful for contractors who move between client locations.
What makes Access to Work different for self-employed people
If you’ve read general guidance about Access to Work, you may have seen references to employer contributions and cost-sharing thresholds. For employed people at larger organisations, the employer is expected to contribute towards certain costs. As a freelancer or contractor, that doesn’t apply to you. Because there’s no employer in the picture, Access to Work covers 100% of your approved costs, which can represent a substantial amount of funding over the course of a three-year grant.
There’s also a flexible application process designed with contractors in mind. If you move between contracts, you can pause your support package can be paused when you’re between engagements, resume it when your next contract begins. You’re not committed to a fixed, ongoing arrangement that runs whether you’re working or not. The scheme adapts to how freelance and contract work operate in practice.
Am I eligible?
To qualify for Access to Work as a freelancer or contractor, you need to meet a few conditions. You must be 16 or over, live and work in England, Scotland or Wales, and be in self-employment, or about to start. You’ll need to demonstrate that you have an active business, which you can do with your Unique Tax Reference (UTR) number, HMRC registration, or recent invoices and contracts. The scheme requires that you’re trading, not just at the planning stage.
There’s also an earnings threshold to meet. You must have an annual turnover of at least £6,500. If you’re already working as a freelancer and taking on paid contracts, you’ll likely clear this without difficulty.
You don’t need to be registered as disabled to apply. Access to Work looks at the impact your hearing loss has on your ability to do your job. If that impact is real and you can describe it clearly, you have a strong basis for an application.
How to apply
You can apply online through www.gov.uk or by phone. If you’d prefer to communicate in BSL throughout the process, you can use a BSL video relay service to make the call. You don’t have to navigate the application in a language that isn’t your first. Before you start, gather the evidence you’ll need:
- Your UTR number
- Recent invoices or contracts showing you’re actively trading
- A clear outline of your support requirements.
That last point is worth thinking about carefully before you apply. The more specific you are about what you need, the better. Asking for ‘ten hours of BSL interpreting per week for client meetings and project briefings’ gives an assessor something concrete to work with. A general request for ‘communication support’ is much harder to assess and may lead to delays.
After you apply, an adviser will contact you to discuss your needs in more detail, and a workplace assessment may follow. For most freelancers, this can be done remotely. Processing times can vary, so apply as far in advance of when you need the support as you can, ideally before a new contract starts, not after.
How Sign Solutions can help
At Sign Solutions, we work with a lot of self-employed Deaf professionals, and we know that getting your Access to Work support set up is only part of the challenge. You also need a reliable provider who can deliver that support consistently across different locations.
We provide face-to-face BSL interpreting, remote interpreting through our InterpretersLive! platform, and communication support for meetings, events and training, all services that can be funded through Access to Work. If you’re not sure what to apply for, or you need support while your application is being processed, our team is happy to talk it through with you.
To find out more, call us on 0121 447 9620, email bookings@signsolutions.uk.com, or contact us via a BSL video interpreter.
