Keeping disability equipment when you leave your job

When your employer has paid for specialist equipment or assistive technology to help you do your job, you may want to keep it when you leave.

Who owns the equipment

In most cases, your employer owns the equipment. This includes:

• any equipment your employer paid for themselves
• any equipment funded or part funded through Access to Work 

You cannot keep it or take it to another job.

You made the application to Access to Work, but the grant is to your employer. Even when your employer did not contribute financially to equipment, it still belongs to them.

Keeping equipment

Some employers have policies that allow you to keep any specialist equipment they have bought for you. This may be a reasonable adjustments policy or disability employment policy. If you are not sure, ask your HR team. This is usually a team or person who is responsible for things like recruitment, pay and training.

Access to Work can pay to transfer your equipment to a new job if your employer agrees. If they do not agree, you’ll need to make a new Access to Work application.

Contact the Access to Work helpline for support.

If you think that the equipment could help you when you leave your job, ask to keep it.

Talking to your employer

Before you talk to your employer, write down:

• a list of specialist equipment they have bought, not the standard equipment provided for your job
• when the equipment was bought, as it will lose its value (depreciate) over time

If you work for a smaller organisation, you might be able to have a less formal discussion. Larger organisations are more likely to have HR departments and policies.

Ask for a meeting with your manager

You may find it helpful to practise with a friend or trusted colleague what you want to say.

If you do not feel comfortable asking your manager for help, you could:

• ask for someone from HR to attend the meeting
• speak to HR directly
• email your request

Tell your manager why it would be helpful for you to keep the equipment. If you are moving to a new job, explain that it can take several months for your new employer to provide the equipment that you need through Access to Work.

Explain how taking the equipment might help your employer

Equipment that is tailored to your needs may not be suitable for another person. For example, a chair.

If the equipment is large or bulky, your employer may not have the space to store it. Taking it with you could help free up storage space for them.

If your employer agrees to give you the equipment

Your employer will need to account for your equipment in their records. This means they need to give it a value and record it as a gift in their accounts.

If they agree to sell it to you or include it in your redundancy package, they will need to agree a price with you.

Ask for written confirmation that the equipment belongs to you. This is usually called a letter of entitlement. This means that you can prove you have the right to take it with you when you leave.

If your employer provides a support worker

Your employer may have provided a support worker using an Access to Work grant, for example:

• someone who assists with the physical tasks of your job
• someone who reads for you
• a sighted guide
• a British Sign Language interpreter

In most cases, this support will end with your employment.

If you need support at your new workplace, you will have to apply for Access to Work again.