Fact · Accessibility and health
GOV.UK says an Access to Work applicant must be 16 or over and in paid work, or about to start or return to paid work in the next 12 weeks.
Checked against its source on October 16, 2026
In the source's own words
“be 16 or over ... be in paid work (or be about to start or return to paid work in the next 12 weeks)”
Access to Work: check you're eligible, GOV.UK (Department for Work and Pensions), n.d., Eligibility checklist, second and third items.
Open the original- What it measures
- These are two of the four items on the GOV.UK eligibility checklist. The others are the health condition test and the requirement to live and work in England, Scotland or Wales.
- What it does not show
- The page sets the eligibility test only. It does not say how an adviser weighs a request for a specific piece of software.