Grants to retain employees with disabilities

What is the Employee Retention Grant Scheme?

The Employee Retention Grant Scheme helps employers to retain employees who acquire an illness, condition or impairment that affects their ability to carry out their job.

If you develop a disability, for example, through an accident or illness, the grant helps your employer to explore your continuing ability to work. The cause or nature of the illness, condition or disability is not relevant for this grant.

The scheme aims to keep your employment ability by providing funding to:

  • Retrain you so that you can take up another position within the company
  • Identify accommodation such as work equipment adaptation or training (or both) to allow you to stay in your current position

The scheme is part of the Department of Social Protection’s Reasonable Accommodation Fund.

Who can apply for the scheme?

The scheme is open to every company in the private sector. Any existing employee who develops an illness, condition or disability that affects their job is covered under this scheme. Funding is available for any existing employee, at any level and occupation within the company.

Public sector employers cannot apply for these grants.

Funding under this scheme is available in 2 stages:

Stage 1: Development of retention strategy

This stage provides funding for employers to hire expert skills from outside the company to develop a written individual retention strategy for any employee who acquires a disability.

The employer contacts a specialist (for example, an occupational therapist) who evaluates the employee's occupational capacity and carries out a job or workplace assessment.

The specialist then develops the retention strategy in collaboration with the employer, the employee and, if appropriate, the employee's advocate or representative (for example, a trade union representative) and line-manager.

The retention strategy could set out steps needed to accommodate and, if necessary train the employee to remain in their role. The retention strategy could also outline where the employee could be moved to in the company and the accommodation or re-training needed to do this.

The retention strategy must accompany an application for Stage 1 funding and must have been received before an application is made for Stage 2 funding.

Stage 2: Implementation of the retention strategy

Stage 2 provides funding to the employer to implement the written retention strategy. This includes funding towards re-training, job coaching or hiring an external co-ordinator to oversee the way the individual retention strategy is implemented.

Funding not covered under the scheme

The following activities are not eligible for funding under the Employee Retention Grant Scheme:

  • Attendance at workshops and seminars
  • Capital expenditure associated with training
  • Company-wide disability management assessments
  • The development of disability or absence management policies.

How much funding is available?

Stage 1 grant

90% of the costs are paid towards hiring a specialist(s) to evaluate the employee's occupational capacity, to carry out the workplace or job assessment and to develop a retention strategy. Grants up to a maximum of €2,500 per employee are available under Stage 1.

Stage 2 grant

90% of eligible costs are paid to help with:

  • Training the employee for their current post or retraining them for another post in the company
  • Hiring a Job Coach to support the employee and liaise with their line manager for a maximum of 300 hours
  • Hiring a specialist to manage the retention strategy until the employee's reintegration is complete up to 60 hours

Grants up to a maximum of €12,500 per employee are available under Stage 2.

An employer cannot make an application for funding under Stage 2 without the individualised written retention strategy.

Limits on total funding

An employer can get a maximum of €15,000 grant funding to retain any one employee. This is the total funding available for both Stage 1 and Stage 2.

How to apply

Applying for Stage 1 funding

The employer must complete and return the Stage 1 application form (pdf) which is available online or from your local Intreo Centre or Social Welfare Branch Office.

The application form must be accompanied by:

  • References for the specialist from 2 companies that have previously employed them
  • Copies of the specialist's qualifications and, where applicable, professional memberships
  • The employer's current Tax Clearance Certificate or electronic Tax Clearance Access Number
  • A current Tax Clearance Certificate or electronic Tax Clearance Access Number for the specialist or their employer.

The application form must be signed by the employee, the employer (or nominee), the employee's line-manager (where appropriate), the employee's representative (where appropriate) and the specialist.

Making a claim for Stage 1 funding

The employer must complete the parts of the ERG claim form (pdf) that relate to Stage 1. The claim form must be accompanied by:

  • Detailed invoices and receipts
  • A copy of the written retention strategy
  • A copy of the employer's Tax Clearance Certificate or electronic Tax Clearance Access Number if not previously submitted
  • A copy of the specialist's or their employer's Tax Clearance Certificate or electronic Tax Clearance Access Number

The claim form must be signed by the employer (or nominee).

Applying for Stage 2 funding

Employers can apply for Stage 2 funding once Stage 1 has been completed. Applications for Stage 2 funding must be approved by the Department of Social Protection (DSP) before the retention strategy is implemented. The Stage 2 application form (pdf) must be accompanied by:

  • References for the specialist(s) or Job Coach(es) from 2 companies which have previously used their services, together with copies of their qualifications and, where applicable, professional memberships
  • The current Tax Clearance Certificates or electronic Tax Clearance Access Numbers for all external parties involved in the implementation of the retention strategy if not previously submitted
  • The employer's current Tax Clearance Certificate or electronic Tax Clearance Access Number if not previously submitted.

The application form must be signed by the employee, the employer (or nominee), the employee's line-manager (where appropriate), the employee's representative and the specialist or Job Coach.

Where the value of an application is greater than €5,000 and a single provider provides services, the employer must get 3 independent quotations and give them to DSP. If the lowest quote is not accepted, the employer must state the reason for the selection.

Making a claim for Stage 2 funding

The employer must complete the parts of the standard claim form that relate to Stage 2. The claim form must be accompanied by:

  • Detailed invoices and receipts
  • A copy of the employer's current Tax Clearance Certificate or electronic Tax Clearance Access Number if not previously submitted
  • A copy of the current Tax Clearance Certificate or electronic Tax Clearance Access Number for the specialist and/or their employer if not previously submitted.

The application form must be signed by the employer (or nominee).

Your local Intreo Centre or Social Welfare Branch Office can forward you a copy of the general conditions governing the scheme.

You can get more information about the scheme and the forms required.

You can contact your local Intreo Centre or Social Welfare Branch Office with any queries or for more help with your application.

Page edited: 20 June 2022