Supporting People with Disabilities into Employment – the G4S Work Programme16th September 2012

John Newland, Customer Services and Employer Liaison Manager

The Work Programme Flagship government programme to support people on benefits

into employment For the first time people on Job Seekers Allowance (main UK

unemployment benefit) and Employment Support Allowance (main benefit for people unable to work due to a health condition) are supported on the same programme

‘Black box’ approach which allows providers to innovate in their delivery

Long term payment by results programme which rewards providers for supporting people into employment for 2 years

Differential payments according to benefit type Launched in June 2011 Delivered by ‘Prime Contractors’ in 18 areas

Financial structure

The G4S Work Programme

G4S deliver the Work Programme in 3 areas – the South East, Manchester and Cheshire and North Yorkshire and the Humber

G4S adopt a pure ‘Prime Contractor’ model where we act as a managing agent and manage local supply chains of Job Brokers

We contract to 25 Job Brokers who deliver the end to end service across the UK

Services are supported by a local Knowledge Bank of specialist providers who deliver ad hoc services as required

Employment Support Allowance / Incapacity Benefit

Around 5 million people are on benefits in the UK, around half of these are on the main health benefits – Employment Support Allowance (ESA) and Incapacity Benefit (IB)

ESA replaced IB in 2008 – IB customers are being migrated to ESA but there are still residual ‘stock’ IB customers

A small but significant % of IB and ESA customers are claiming benefits due to a visual impairment

All new claimants of ESA are required to undertake a medical test to examine their capability for work

Work Capability Assessment (WCA)

Visually impaired claimants are tested on their ability to get around out of doors independently and communicate with other people e.g. being able to understand a simple message regarding the location of a fire escape

The WCA assesses both hearing and sight, so points are awarded if you can hear but not see the message

Claimants are either placed in the ‘Work Related Activity Group’ (WRAG) and assessed as fit to work or the ‘Support Group’ with no requirement to work

If claimants are visually impaired but have no other disabilities they are usually placed into the WRAG

Differential payments

Support for people who are visually impaired

JCP would notify Job Broker if a customer had a visual impairment. The customer would not be precluded from anything.

Job Brokers have in-house ‘Condition Management’ services delivered by Occupational Therapists who offer advice on what work clients can do with their disability

Appointments are delivered flexibly – sometimes by phone or in person, at times to suit the client and in private rooms (according to client preference), can also go out to meet them in a convenient location.

Materials available in Braille and in a range of larger print sizes and forms completed on the customer’s behalf

Specialist external support from Knowledge Bank providers such as Foresight, RNIB and Action for Blind

Typical interventions include supported work placements (3-6 months) leading to paid employment

Extra funding for work e.g. computer adaptations or a paid Support Worker is available through Access to Work

Visually impaired people and the Work Programme

Less than 4% of G4S Work Programme clients have a visual impairment (average 1.5 people out of a caseload of 50)

10% of these have entered employment or become self employed

Not many customers with visual impairments have been referred – largely due to issues with low levels of ESA referrals from JCP

Self employment is not a common outcome due to lack of Advisor knowledge (30% of advisors feel confident providing VI support)

Visual impairment specialists tend to focus on paid employment with supportive employers

If the customer has a severe visual impairment where they need a guide dog or specialist equipment in day to day life for example they would be referred to Work Choice

Low Referrals of customers with a visual impairment

• Almost 90% of advisors said that less than 10% of customers, often only 1 or 2 people, had a visual impairment

• Some VI customers may be slipping through the net• A lot of work still to do to get more customers onto the Work programme

Client case study

One of our Work Programme customers at Remploy in Manchester has a visual impairment whereby he is unable to read unless the text is in a large font. His advisor used specialist software called “Dolphin” in a well lit room. This meant he received the same quality of service as any other customer would. His advisor supported him with updating his CV, job searching and interview techniques. A job arose at supportive employer in the North west and the customer was put forward for it. With the help of his advisor he prepared for the interview. The employer was impressed and willing to make the reasonable necessary adjustments to take the customer on. The customer is now thoroughly enjoying his new job. He felt that Remploy were very supportive about his disability and he wouldn’t be where he is now without them.(Anonymous)

Self-employment for the visually impaired: challenges & opportunities

Self-employment is not a common outcome for the visually impaired on the Work Programme

Neither core Work Programme Advisors or visual impairment specialist Advisors are skilled in supporting customers in this area

However, there is an increasing focus on self-employment for the visually impaired – e.g. specialist awareness and support training for advisors

Employer’s attitude and support is key as discrimination is still prevalent

Our research has shown that employers believe that if a person has a visual impairment they won’t be able to do the job and this will impact on other skills which is not the case

G4S W2W are developing a guide for advisors to increase employer’s understanding of visual impairments and the reasonable adjustments that can be made

Any questions?

John.newland@uk.g4s.com