Some of the barriers that prevent disabled people from entering the job market are due to the need to effect changes to the workplace in order to make it more accessible. The aim of the Workplace Accessibility Tax Deduction Scheme is to enable employers to make the changes necessary to accommodate their disabled employees. This scheme emerges from Legal Notice 428 of 2010 ‘Income Tax Act (Cap. 123), Deduction (Workplace Accessibility) Rules, 2010.

The scheme is open to employers with a member of staff who is registered as disabled with KNPD. An employer who has just recruited a disabled person is also eligible for this scheme, provided that the employment is genuine.

The expenditure incurred must directly address the impairment-related needs of the disabled employee/s concerned. The following are the costs that are eligible for tax deduction under the scheme:

capital expenditure consisting of one or more of the following:

the installation or modification of physical structures and/or equipment designed to increase workplace accessibility;

• the removal of architectural and physical barriers;

• the acquisition, installation or modification of equipment and devices for disabled people.

• expenditure incurred in the training of disabled employees for the purpose of enabling them to perform their work.

The installation or modification of physical structures and the removal of architectural and physical barriers must be carried out in accordance with the Access for All Design Guidelines, which can be downloaded from www.knpd.org. The acquisition, installation or modification of equipment and devices for disabled people must be carried out after seeking the advice of relevant professionals.

The training of disabled employees should be carried out together with their colleagues, as much as possible. Expenditure incurred in the provision of support during this training is eligible. In exceptional circumstances, expenditure incurred in the provision of training that is specific to the disabled employee will be considered. Support for training and/or the provision of specific training must be carried out after seeking the advice of relevant professionals.

Further information and application forms are available from the KNPD website www.knpd.org