Employment Service for Employers

Our service

• Stress related absence accounts for half of all sickness.
• The estimated cost to industry is £4 billion.
• In a CBI survey of 800 companies 98% thought employee Mental Health should be a company concern.
• Mental Health problems are estimated to cost the country over £77 billion a year.
• Disability Discrimination Act - Employers may not discriminate against anyone with a mental impairment which has a substantial and long-term adverse effect on ability to carry out normal day-to-day activities during the recruitment process and are required by law to make reasonable adjustments for employees needs.
• COST: 90% of Employer adjustments (as required by the Disability Discrimination Act) have been shown by US studies to cost less than $100 in the case of Mental Health.
• Adults with Mental Health problems have the lowest employment rate of any of the main groups of disabled people. The Office of the Deputy Prime Minister requested a consultation by the Social Exclusion Unit:
  - 83% of respondents identify stigma as a key issue.
  - 55% identify stigma as a barrier to employment.

By opening up their work force to people with mental health needs, employers can access an untapped resource of skills. To do this employers need help and support to ensure their work environment provides a hospitable atmosphere.

Engaging employers to support the programme by recruiting those with disabilities is challenging for all providers and employers who are looking for help in fulfilling their requirements under the Disability Discrimination Act legislation. We have a long history of working in this field, and employers have regularly told us of the need for their potential employees to be in a more "work ready state" . We offer employers a specialist recruitment service which will match their vacancies with suitable candidates, and offer ongoing support for placements to ensure that this is sustainable in the long term.

We involve employers by inviting their input in designing, evaluating and reviewing our programme on an ongoing basis. This includes meetings to identify what employer's need from their staff in the current job market; presentations at the workplace; advice about Disability Discrimination legislation and their responsibilities in this regard; advice about specific mental health needs of our clients and how we can support the employer in catering for these. Employers are also involved in providing initial placements in order to address the problems of lack of recent work experience and references, which provide clients with a step towards paid employment. Employers and beneficiaries in work placements receive ongoing support in the form of visits, off site support and telephone calls.

Our service also ensures:

• When clients become ill they are often unable to contact employers, or deal with the stress of work, meaning employers may lose very good staff. We liaise with employers to help with work retention.
• When a beneficiary finds work through the project we offer the employer help creating a support plan for the client. We meet with the employer and ensure they are fully aware of the client's needs.
• We enable employers to keep hold of experienced members of staff and provide a supportive environment to all its employees. We also assist employers to adhere to the Disability Discrimination Act.

We work with local employers to educate them as to the potential of our client group and thus increase the range of supported and open employment and welfare right-to-work opportunities to job-ready beneficiaries.