6. Specialist help and support
Specialist help and support is available for anyone who's managing a disability at work or supporting others.
Employment law or workplace advice
For any work-related problems or questions around disability, employees and employers can:
- contact the Acas helpline
- get legal advice
- talk to your trade union or employers' association if you're a member
For employees
If you're disabled and think you're being discriminated against or unfairly dismissed, you can:
If you're thinking about leaving work:
For employers
Employers can:
- find support with employee health and disability on GOV.UK
- read the Health and Safety Executive's guidance on supporting disabled workers
Access to Work
Access to Work is a government scheme that can help people with a physical or mental health condition or disability to get or stay in work. Someone might be eligible for:
- a grant to help pay for practical support with work
- advice about managing mental health at work
Find out more about Access to Work
Business Disability Forum
Business Disability Forum is a not for profit membership organisation that helps employers support disabled staff and customers.
Find out more about Business Disability Forum
Disability Confident employer scheme
Disability Confident is a government scheme to help employers recruit, retain and develop disabled people.
Find out more about the Disability Confident employer scheme
Support for specific disabilities
Help with work from Macmillan Cancer – for people who have or had cancer and employers
Learning disability employment services from Mencap – for people with a learning disability and employers
Mental health support from Mind – advice and support, including a legal advice line
Advice on specific conditions on GOV.UK – advice and support for a wide range of health conditions and disabilities
Emotional support
Some employers offer support through work, for example:
- counselling or mental health support through an employee assistance programme (EAP)
- staff support networks – for example a disability network
- a mentoring scheme to support disabled people
If you need someone else to talk to, you can contact:
Training and tailored support for employers
Acas offers tailored support for employers to address specific challenges in an organisation.
Our training for employers and managers includes:
- reasonable adjustments training
- equality, diversity and inclusion training
- mental health in the workplace training
- free online training – including disability discrimination and reasonable adjustments