Embracing Diversity - News

Workplace Financial Capability Sessions

Mon, 18 Jan 2010 16:54:24 +0000

Glasgow Employer Coalition has joined forces with Healthy Working Lives, Glasgow City Council, Glasgow Works and the Financial Services Agency to offer workplace based Financial Capability Sessions. These free sessions are available to any employer** who is interested in supporting their staff to be more money aware.

The sessions take one hour and cover:

basic financial planning and budgeting;
borrowing � long-term and short-term;
insurance;
saving and investing.

The sessions take place in your workplace and can take place at a time appropriate to you (lasting approximately one hour). For more information or to download resources and materials visit the FSA website.

or to arrange a sessions during March 2010 contact:
Leona Seaton, Employer Engagement Manager, Glasgow Employer Coalition
lseaton@glasgowemployercoalition.org.uk
0141 800 3363/ 07500946298

** Please note a minimum of 20 participants are needed to run the course effectively.

Extra help for employees with mental health issues

Wed, 26 Aug 2009 14:52:31 +0100

The Department of Work and Pensions (DWP) recently announced its intention to extend a pilot programme which aims to support people with mental health problems in the workplace. The pilot programme, run in conjunction with the mental health charity Mind, has demonstrated a 90% success rate in helping people remain in employment.

Jim Knight, Minister for Employment and Welfare Reform, announced that the Government was now looking to extend the support, with an expectation of rolling it out nationally with a range of providers. Making the announcement, the Minister said: "I know disabled people dearly want to stay in work and their employers want to do everything they can to keep good staff. Our plans to offer the right help early on can end the downward spiral of people falling out of work into sick leave, and onto benefits. We are all agreed that helping people stay in work is good news for them, their bosses and for the taxpayer."

Sophie Corlett, Mind's Director of External Relations, said: "If employers put their mind to it and provide the right support they can keep their staff mentally well and fit for the workplace. People with mental health problems want to work but are often failed by employers who lack the understanding or the skills to provide the necessary support. We welcome the Government's increased investment in mental health, particularly during these difficult economic times, when now more than ever people need the support and understanding of their employers."

The Government also announced that it would be doubling the Access to Work fund, from £69m to £138m, over the next five years. This support, available through JobCentre Plus, provides practical advice and financial support to disabled people and their employers to help them overcome work-related obstacles resulting from disability.

Additionally, the first ever National Strategy for Mental Health and Employment is due to be published in the autumn of 2009.

Equality groups and the impacts of the recession

Fri, 03 Jul 2009 13:15:14 +0100

A report published jointly by the Equality and Human Rights Commission, Department for Work and Pensions and the Government Equalities Office has identified that young people, those living in deprived areas and men have suffered the biggest rises in unemployment in the recession so far.

The report examines the state of the economy in the first quarter of 2009 and looks at the impact of the recession across groups by age, gender, race and disability.

The key findings include:

16% of young people (or one-in-six) aged 18-24 year olds are currently unemployed, compared to 12 per cent the same for the same period last year.
Unemployment rates in deprived areas have risen to 11.3% from 8.7% for 2008. This is a larger rise than for those living in more affluent areas.
The number of men in work is at the lowest level for a decade, having fallen by 1.7% since last year to 77% overall. The unemployment rate for men has risen by 2.4% to 8.1% in the year to March 2009.
As women now make up a greater proportion of the workforce, they are no longer as sheltered from the impact of recession

More positively, the report finds that employment rates among ethnic minorities, disabled people and older people have remained relatively stable. It also finds that employment rates for lone parents have actually increased, perhaps indicative of successful support services in place.

Trevor Phillips, Chair of the Equality and Human Rights Commission said:

“The outcomes of previous recessions tell us that we must act now to ensure that the impact of this downturn on some groups does not inhibit our ability to grab the opportunities of recovery when they come. The attention at the outset may have been focused on the revolving doors of the nation’s investment banks, but it is once again groups from across society that are being hit hardest by the recession.

What the data in this report tells us is that, at this stage of the recession, young people, men and those in deprived areas are suffering the greatest impact. We must remember, though, that this report is just a snapshot and that the effects of the downturn could easily spread. The challenge will be not simply to see people through the harsh effects of unemployment, but to endow everyone with the right skills to survive on the other side. The labour market of the 21st century is more diverse, more global and - most importantly - more competitive. The UK needs to prepare urgently to meet those challenges.”

The report is available at:
http://www.equalityhumanrights.com/uploaded_files/monitoring-impact-recession-demographic-groups.pdf

Apprentices: cash incentives for Scotland’s employers

Fri, 03 Jul 2009 12:55:03 +0100

The Scottish Government’s new ‘Adopt an Apprentice’ Scheme will provide employers in Scotland with up to £2,000 if they take on a redundant apprentice. The Scheme forms part of a wider package of measures to support both individuals and Scotland’s Businesses through the economic recession. Scottish Government made a commitment to redundant apprentices to find them alternative employment which enable them to complete their Modern Apprenticeship.

For more information see:
http://www.scotland.gov.uk/News/Releases/2009/06/10164847

Equality and diversity: public vs. private sector performance

Fri, 03 Jul 2009 12:53:56 +0100

The public sector is under increasing pressure to improve employment prospects for individuals from equality groups.

June 24th saw the launch of the new cross government strategy in England, ‘Valuing Employment Now’, a strategy offering real employment opportunities for people with learning disabilities. The long awaited initiative promises to guarantee 400 new jobs across the Department for Work and Pensions (DWP) and Jobcentre Plus to individuals with learning disabilities; individuals will receive support from dedicated staff.

However, while the public sector does appear to be increasing efforts to improve employment prospects for equality groups, such as those with learning disabilities, private employers claim to be leading the way in relation to promoting racial diversity in the workplace.

A recent report by Race for Opportunity (‘2009 Benchmarking Report: Transparency at the Heart of Diversity’) tracked the progress of diversity initiatives across both the public and private sector. The report highlighted concerns in relation to public sector efforts to improve racial diversity. It was identified that BT was the leading employer in the UK in promoting racial diversity.

For more information see:
http://www.guardian.co.uk/society/2009/jun/23/learning-disability-job-work
http://www.guardianpublic.co.uk/diversity-harman-government
http://www.guardian.co.uk/society/2009/jun/18/race-diversity-public-private-sector

Additional support to help disabed people remain in work

Wed, 18 Mar 2009 12:09:43 +0000

The Government has pledged an additional £8 million to help disabled people remain in work. This additional support will be provided through Access to Work, a specialist disability programme run by Jobcentre Plus, which provides practical advice and support to disabled people and their employers to help them overcome work-related obstacles resulting from disability.

It is hoped that this extra funding will ensure disabled people who are in employment or have a firm job offer do not miss out as a result of the current economic climate. In the longer term the Government is committed to doubling the budget of Access to Work from £69m to £138m by 2013/14.

Minister for Disabled People Jonathan Shaw, said:
"This extra funding will help disabled people stay in work or take up a firm job offer. This forms part of the £2 billion package we are investing to give people real help in these tough times.
"Part of improving rights and opportunities for disabled people is making sure everyone has the same opportunities to find and stay in work. Even in the current economic downturn we are committed to ensuring that disabled people get the support they need to take control of their lives and live independently."

Pilot scheme launched to help people on sick leave back to work

Fri, 06 Mar 2009 16:03:53 +0000

People on sick leave will be helped back into work more quickly under a pilot scheme kick-started by Care Services Minister Phil Hope and Work and Pensions Minister Lord McKenzie today.

The 'Fit for Work' Service Programme of Piloting, backed by £13million, will test out how sickness absentees can be helped to recover and supported to get back to work more quickly than would otherwise be the case. They will test a range of different ways of providing support, to identify what works best.

Each pilot will test personalised, back to work support for people off sick. The range of services within a pilot should go beyond just healthcare and join up local services, including:

Skills advice
Employment advice
Health and wellbeing services with a particular focus on vocational rehabilitation
Wider social support such as debt or housing advice
Conciliation to overcome escalated disputes between employees and employers

The Department of Health and the Department for Work and Pensions are jointly calling for organisations to come forward to participate in the pilot process from today. The pilots are expected to begin later this year.

Phil Hope said:

"Good health for the workforce is good for business - every employer knows that. In the current economic climate it's even more important that we cut the £100 billion cost of worklessness caused by ill health."

"These pilots will help us test different ways of helping people back to work, so we can see what really works. I want local authorities, PCTs and other providers to put their innovative ideas behind these pilots, which can only have social and economic benefits for their areas."

Lord McKenzie said:

"Now more than ever it's important to help people who are sick to stay in work so that they can support themselves and their families."

"These Fit for Work pilots will help do just that. Everyone has the right to work and we want to design a fair system which supports people so they can work when they are able."

The Fit for Work programme of pilots is part of a package of measures announced by the Government in response to Dame Carol Black's review of Britain's working age population. Also included were 'fit notes', a national centre for working age health and wellbeing and health, work and wellbeing co-ordinators. The Government is also increasing funding for Access to Work, a programme which helps disabled people gain and stay in employment.

Introducing integrated Fit for Work services is also part of the commitment set out in Lord Darzi's report "High Quality Care for All", to provide more support to help people stay healthy at work and help those struggling with ill health to return to work faster.

A workshop for parties interested in applying to become part of the Fit for Work programme will be held on March 16th 2009 in Edinburgh.

To find out more information, potential bidders should go to: http://www.workingforhealth.gov.uk/Fit-for-Work

Impact of the recession on disadvantaged groups

Fri, 06 Mar 2009 15:50:54 +0000

The Equality and Human Rights Commission (EHRC) has announced that it is to work with the Government to assess how the recession is affecting disadvantaged groups like ethnic minorities, women, and older and disabled people.

Working with the Department for Work and Pensions (DWP), the Commission will also look at what policies the Government could put in place if evidence shows that these groups are disproportionately affected by the downturn, and how to properly target help to take advantage of a post-recession recovery.

An EHRC spokesperson for the Commission said: “We know that fairness is a key value we all share, in good times and tough times. This recession has had a terrible impact for hundreds of thousands of people who have lost their job or are under threat: men and women, the old and young, white, black or Asian, students struggling to find a job and disabled people.

We want to understand the patterns that are already starting to emerge. Are women more at risk than men? Are older workers more at risk than younger? Are disabled people more at risk than others? Are people in poorer parts of Britain more at risk than the wealthy? And, if they are, why and what can we do about it?

By developing a clear understanding of what is happening on the ground we can make a difference this time round. For example, if the Commission knows that some people are being disadvantaged in a particular sector, we can work with those employers to make sure they think about retaining talent through flexible approaches like reduced hours and that they follow redundancy processes that are fair to all their employees. Our guide on managing through the downturn, published in January, can also help.

Looking to better economic weather, the data should also inform the Government's approach to recovery because it will give a clearer picture of where training and support should be targeted to get Britain prospering again.”

Flexible New Deal contracting ‘paused’

Wed, 11 Feb 2009 11:58:32 +0000

The Department for Work and Pensions has reportedly put bids for Flexible New Deal on “a short pause”. The Department was due this week to announce the preferred bidders for multi-million-pound contracts to run the scheme.

James Purnell, the work and pensions secretary, has publicly accepted that the terms of the contracts with will need to change as a result of the current economic climate. The original terms aimed to pay contractors by their results, actually getting the long-term jobless back into sustained work, rather than for simply delivering activities to improve their chances of finding a job. However, projections of the number of people out of work for more than 12 months suggest that the figure could be three times higher this year than assumed last summer when DWP invited bids from contractors to run the programme.

The Observer reported on Sunday that bidders now wanted higher payments up front before entering into contracts. Some bidders argued that contracts will not be viable if 80 per cent of their payment depends on actually getting people into jobs at a time of rising unemployment and falling vacancies.

There has also been some debate as to whether the entire contracting process will need to start over again. The Employment Related Services Association, which represents private and voluntary providers, said, in a letter to the department on Friday, the labour market context was now “so different” that the department would “no doubt” have considered whether procurement law required the competition to “restart from the beginning”.

However, the Financial Times reports that ERSA are denying the implication that providers want the whole contracting process to start all over again, instead saying that “existing, unprofitable, contracts for the unemployed, and people with disabilities, might also need to be changed ‘to reflect the prevailing economic climate’”.

Commenting in Third Sector, Catherine A'Bear, chief officer for corporate affairs at the Shaw Trust, urged the DWP to press ahead and make any amendments to contracts at a later date.

"We believe that the DWP should continue with the process of identifying prime contractors for Flexible New Deal using the tenders it has received," she said.

"The Shaw Trust is concerned that whilst key programmes like this are ‘paused', real people will be waiting longer for the right type of support they need."

Giving British workers the 'first crack' at British jobs

Wed, 28 Jan 2009 10:44:38 +0000

The Home Office has recently announced measures to force employers to advertise some positions in Jobcentre Plus branches before they recruit workers from overseas. The measures, recently announced by Home Secretary Jacqui Smith, are designed to help fulfil prime minister Gordon Brown's controversial promise in 2007 to keep "British jobs for British workers".

The move would be limited to vacancies in sectors identified by the Migration Advisory Committee as having a shortage of skilled workers, such as construction, nursing, hotel management and teaching, a Home Office spokesman said.

Employers are currently obliged to advertise jobs for two weeks in the UK before seeking recruits overseas. However, some employers advertise in ways which ministers believe are less helpful to British workers than advertising through Jobcentre Plus, such as in shop windows or in trade magazines.

Writing in the News of the World on 18th January 2009, the home secretary said: "In difficult economic times I believe we need a tough system that offers British workers the first crack of the whip for British jobs.

I'll be using the new points-based system to require employers to offer British jobs through Jobcentre Plus before recruiting foreign workers."