dyslexiaThe Department for Work and Pensions aims to decide an Access to Work claim in 25 working days. It is currently telling applicants the wait may be up to 37 weeks. That is nearly ten times the target. MPs said so in print on 12 June 2026 (Public Accounts Committee, The Access to Work scheme, committees.parliament.uk).
If you are dyslexic and stuck in that queue, one line in the report matters more than the wait. In 2025 the DWP looked at 200 funded cases. About 40% of the support it paid for should have come from the employer, the employee, or the NHS.
A good share of the people in that queue are waiting for something they could already have.
The numbers MPs put on the record
About 66,000 applications were waiting for a decision in March 2026. In March 2022 the figure was 21,700 (PAC report, June 2026).
Staff numbers more than doubled over the same period, from 247 in 2021-22 to 648 by the end of 2025-26. The backlog grew anyway.
The DWP expects to need at least 18 months to clear it. The government's stated date is September 2027 (PAC report, June 2026).
MPs were blunt about the cause. They doubted staff numbers were the whole story. They also blamed "inappropriate IT, poor administrative processes and a lack of grip".
The committee found delays at every stage. Application, assessment, decision, renewal, reconsideration and payment. So the headline wait is only part of it. Our Access to Work guide walks through the steps if you have not applied yet.
So what for you: plan on a wait measured in months. Anything you need before then has to come from somewhere else.
40% of the spend was someone else's duty
Access to Work is a top-up scheme. It pays for what goes beyond the adjustments your employer must make by law.
The DWP looked at 200 funded cases in 2025. Around 40% of the support should have come from the employer, the employee, or the NHS (PAC report, June 2026).
MPs told the government to spell out what employers should pay for. That has not happened yet.
So the risk is easy to describe. You can spend seven months in a queue. What you are waiting for may be something your employer owed you in week one.
So what for you: before you apply, split your list in two. One pile is what your employer owes you under the Equality Act 2010. The other is what only a grant will buy.
Adjustment or grant: which is which
The line is rarely obvious. Here is the rough shape of it in the UK.
Usually your employer's duty, at little or no cost:
- Extra time on written tasks, and reading time built into deadlines
- Meeting papers sent a day or two ahead of the meeting
- Written instructions after a verbal briefing
- A named second reader for anything that leaves the team
- Software your employer already pays for: Immersive Reader, Word dictation, Copilot
- A quieter desk, or agreed hours for focused reading
Usually an Access to Work grant:
- Specialist licences your employer does not have, like Read&Write or Dragon
- Hardware such as a reading pen or a scanner
- Support worker hours, such as a note-taker or a reader
- One-to-one coaching from a specialist
- Travel help when a normal commute does not work
The first list is where most of that 40% lives. The second list is what the queue is actually for.
Most dyslexic employees never ask for the first list. They do not know how to open the conversation. The reasonable adjustments builder turns your difficulties into a conversation plan and a draft email, in about two minutes.
For the second list, the Access to Work calculator gives you a rough range before you fill in the form.
So what for you: ask for the first list this week. Apply for the second list the same day and let the queue run in the background.
The delay does not pause your employer's duty (UK)
This is the part employers get wrong most often. Section 20 of the Equality Act 2010 puts the duty on your employer. It does not wait for a DWP decision.
A tribunal made the point in 2026. The case was Rashid v Parliamentary and Health Service Ombudsman. A dyslexic project officer needed extra reading and writing time. Occupational health told the employer to discuss it. The advice never reached her line manager. The tribunal upheld all three of her claims (judgment reported July 2026).
The delay was part of the finding. Once you have asked, and your employer knows, waiting on the DWP is a weak answer.
We covered the money side of this before: Access to Work takes 37 weeks, and your employer pays first.
So what for you: put the delay in writing. Send a dated email. "Access to Work has quoted up to 37 weeks, so I am asking for X in the meantime." That line keeps the duty live. It also builds your record.
Four lines to send this week
Keep it short. Four sentences do the work.
- "I am dyslexic, and it affects [the specific task] in [the specific way]."
- "I applied to Access to Work on [date]. The published wait is currently up to 37 weeks."
- "In the meantime I am asking for [the specific change], on a three-month trial."
- "If that is not possible, please tell me in writing why, and what you can offer instead."
Send it to your manager and copy HR. If nothing comes back in two weeks, reply on the same thread.
Asking for a trial is the part people skip. A trial is much harder to refuse than a permanent change. It also lets your employer say yes without changing policy.
So what for you: the written record is the part that survives a manager change. Managers change often over 37 weeks.
The application is the barrier it exists to remove
The committee heard a lot about the process itself. People described complex forms and long email chains. They were asked for the same evidence more than once. Deadlines were never made clear.
They also described unanswered emails and unreturned calls. Letters were hard to follow and advice changed. People were passed between staff with nobody owning the case (PAC report, June 2026).
Read that list again as a dyslexic applicant. The scheme asks for exactly the reading, tracking and admin capacity that many people are applying for help with.
You can ask for adjustments to the application process itself. Few people do. Ask for a phone call instead of a form. Ask for one named contact. Ask for deadlines in writing, with the date spelled out.
So what for you: keep the whole claim on one email thread. Give it a subject line you can search. After every phone call, reply to that thread with the date and what was said.
The renewal trap
New claims are not the only ones stuck. Renewals queue too.
Written evidence described support being cut with no clear reason. No change in need. Sometimes no warning (PAC report, June 2026).
MPs asked the DWP to back its case managers, so two similar claims get the same answer.
If you already hold an award, your renewal sits behind the same backlog.
So what for you: start the renewal early. Keep the award letter and the report. If the new award is smaller, you need both to challenge it.
US readers: there is no federal equivalent
Access to Work is a UK scheme. There is no US fund that pays for one worker's accommodations.
The bill lands with the employer instead.
Under the Americans with Disabilities Act, the cost sits with your employer. The limit is undue hardship.
The Job Accommodation Network at askjan.org gives free, private advice. It will tell you what to ask for and how to word it.
In some states, vocational rehabilitation agencies pay for assistive tech and workplace checks. Rules and budgets vary. Check your own state, and ask early.
So what for you: in the US your risk is a stalled process rather than a queue. Date every request and every reply.
The call
Here is what the evidence points to, by situation.
Some things you should not wait for. Extra time, a change of format, or software your employer already pays for. Ask this week.
The DWP's own 200-case review puts roughly 40% of its funded support in that group.
Some things need the grant. A specialist licence, hardware, a support worker, or coaching. Apply now and expect months.
Then ask your employer in writing to cover the gap while the claim sits.
If you already have an award, start the renewal early and keep every piece of paper.
September 2027 is the government's own date for clearing the queue. Your Equality Act rights are available on Monday.