FÁS Grants and Supports for Employers and Job Seekers with Disabilities
FÁS administers a range of grants and supports for private sector employers and jobseekers with disabilities. The objective of these supports is to:
- Help people with disabilities access and participate in mainstream work.
- Aid employers with the integration, support and retention of people with disabilities in the workplace.
Information and application forms are available from your local FÁS Employment Services Office or on the FÁS website. A list of nationwide FÁS Employment Service Offices is also available.
The following is a list of some of the FÁS grants available to private sector employers and jobseekers with disabilities. At the end of each section you will find a link to the FÁS website page that contains further information and application forms for that particular grant.
Wage Subsidy Scheme (WSS)
The Wage Subsidy Scheme offers financial support to employers who wish to employ people with disabilities who work more than 20 hours per week and whose productivity levels are below the industry norm due to the effect of the impairment. Employees on the WSS are subject to the same conditions of employment as other employees, including PRSI deductions and minimum wage requirements.
Workplace Equipment/Adaptation Grant (WEAG)
This grant provides funding for a more accessible workplace or adapted equipment that may be required either by an existing or new employee. The grant can be provided to the person with the disability or their employer and the maximum award is €6,348.70.
Self-employed people can also apply for it on their own behalf. Applicants need to identify the necessary equipment or adaptation, justify why it is needed and submit quotations for approval. Persons availing of WEAG must be in employment or have been made a definite offer.
Personal Reader Grant (PRG)
This grant is designed for people who are blind or visually impaired and enables them to employ a personal reader to assist them with work related reading. FÁS will pay a fee per hour, in line with minimum wage, towards the services of a personal reader up to a maximum of 640 hours per annum.
Staff who can apply for this grant include those who need assistance with reading and can be those who have recently become visually impaired or people returning to their original employer to do new or different work.
Job Interview Interpreter Grant Scheme (JIIGS)
This grant is intended for job seekers with hearing or speech impairments who are attending job interviews. The job seeker can apply for this grant if they require an interpreter to attend the interview with them. Interpreters are available from the Sign Language Interpreting Service at (01) 4139670 and slis@slis.ie. This has recently been extended to cover a new employment induction period also. There is no limit to the number of interviews they can attend with an interpreter.
Employee Retention Grant Scheme (ERGS)
If an employee develops a disability (whether occupational or not) this scheme provides funding to identify accommodation or training to enable them to remain in their current position or to re-train them to take up another position within the company.
There are two stages to the scheme with different levels of funding available at each stage. The first stage enables employers to buy in external skills and expertise in order to develop a personal retention strategy for the employee in question. Up to 90% of the costs of developing a strategy can be funded up to a maximum of €2,500 for one employee.
Stage two of the scheme provides funding to the employer for the implementation of the retention strategy including re-training, job coaching and hiring of an external project manager to oversee and manage its implementation. Funding up to 90% of eligible programme costs is available up to a maximum of €12,500.
Disability Awareness Training Support Scheme (DATSS)
The Disability Awareness Training Support Scheme is one of the main grants available to assist with the integration of people with disabilities into the workplace. It aims to eliminate stereotypical perceptions about people with disabilities and raise awareness of their ability to be productive and effective employees and colleagues.
This training is intended for companies that are interested in employing or retaining people with disabilities or for organisations interested in promoting the employment of people with disabilities in general.
Funding of up to 90% of training costs is available in the first year and up to 80% of costs in subsequent years with an annual limit of € 20,000 payable to one organisation. The training must be provided by a FÁS approved training organisation and a list of approved trainers can be found on the National Register of Trainers on the FÁS website.
Supported Employment Programme
This is an open labour market initiative that supports people with different types and degrees of disability who need the initial support of a Job Coach to obtain and retain employment. The service is open to all eligible persons with a disability who are 'job ready'.
Participants must be able to progress towards working a minimum of 18 hours weekly, but it is expected that the majority of participants will have working hours that are the norm within that industry sector. FÁS has contracted with a large number of nationwide sponsoring organisations in order to run this Programme.
Further information can be found in the Supported Employment section on the FÁS website.
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