In our experience, people with mental health problems are more likely to face problems with finances, housing, welfare and employment, and this worsens their mental health. Our clients with mental health issues tend to have more complex needs than our average client. On average, clients with mental health issues have 5 questions for advice, compared to our average client who has 3.5 questions for advice.
Clients with mental health conditions are more likely than our average client to seek welfare advice. After working with their director of Public Health, Halton Citizens Advice is funded to deliver integrated advice and advocacy and financial literacy training. The advice and advocacy element of the service is aimed at people with a mental health illness. This makes people with mental health conditions one of the most disadvantaged groups in the labor market.
Supporting more people with mental health conditions at work will require significant changes in the delivery of support, the behavior of employers and workplace culture. The needs of people with mental health conditions are diverse and Job Coaches will need specific training and guidance on how to work with this group. Poor administration in the benefits system currently places significant stress on people with mental health conditions.
Reducing the burden placed on people by the benefits system is an essential first step in supporting people with mental health conditions to find work.
Assessments for benefits for people with health conditions
Voluntary offers of support should be made via an introductory letter, email, phone call, text message or via notices in UC journals - depending on the claimant's preference. These should be repeated at regular intervals so that people can start working on them when they feel ready. People should be able to get support from the Jobcentre at any point in their claim - not just on specific points chosen by the DWP.
Consideration should be given to how to involve others who can support the individual, for example support workers or family members, where appropriate. The Work Capability Assessment is currently mainly used to determine what benefit you get based on an assessment of whether you are fit for work. To avoid this, assessment for employment support purposes should be an informal and ongoing conversation rather than a separate formal conversation. evaluation.
Information should be available from the WCA to inform this .. conversation and the WCA report should be reformulated to be used for this purpose. Before embarking on this level of change, careful consideration should be given to whether the outcome of greater employment support for people with disabilities or health conditions can be achieved without adding further stages to an already long and potentially confusing applicant journey. The WCA result should be useful not only to check financial eligibility, but also to provide guidance, advice or recommendations to support the health and work conversation.
Gjergji was receiving ESA until 5 months ago when he had a Work Capability Assessment and was declared fit for work. To ease this burden, assessments for ESA/UC, PIP and other services should be harmonized so that people do not have to submit the same evidence or medical. To enable this, there must be at least one month after the first benefit decision in which the claimant can make a mandatory review (MR), before the trigger occurs.
If a claimant chooses to make an MR, the prompting for the second benefit assessment should be postponed until the MR and potential appeal is completed. 3e) What benefits and challenges would this bring?. 21 Department for Work and Pensions, Employment and Support Allowance: Work Capability Assessments, Mandatory Reviews and Appeals, 8 September 2016. . 3f) Based on our plans to exclude people with the most severe health conditions and disabilities from the reassessment, how can we further improve the process for assessing financial support for this group. The benefits assessment process should be as simple as possible for those with serious lifelong impairments or health conditions.
Supporting employers to recruit with confidence and create
Lower retention of disabled people in work will need to be addressed to halve the disability employment gap, particularly in sectors such as leisure, customer services and care. There are many barriers that people with disabilities face in the labor market, and employers who want to increase the number of people with disabilities in their workplace may also face challenges. Changes to working practices to support the retention of disabled or people with health problems37.
At worst, these types of issues can cause people with disabilities to leave the workplace, even though they are able and willing to work. To provide clearer pathways for workers and improve the impact of enforcement, the specific expertise of the current labor market enforcement functions should be brought to a well-resourced body. This body - the Fair Work Authority - should include the current enforcement roles of Acas, EASI, HMRC and GLAA and be responsible for the enforcement of all rights in the workplace, including the right to SSP, reasonable accommodation and non-discriminatory treatment in the workplace. 4b).
What should be expected of employers to recruit or retain people with disabilities and people with health conditions. Employers hold many of the answers and levers needed to take action to halve the disability employment gap and ensure that people with disabilities and health conditions are supported to stay in work. - increasing the labor force. 43 Advice for citizens, Work with a health condition or disability, 2016. all their managers are fully trained in these duties and are equipped to carry them out. 4c) What measures will best support employers to recruit and retain the talent of persons with disabilities and persons with health conditions?.
The development of many current campaigns and services to support employers in recruiting and retaining talent from disabled people and people with health conditions is welcome. To tackle stigma and break common myths about people with disabilities in the workplace, the government must continue to roll out and expand the promotion of the Disability Confident program with heavily funded public communications. campaign that focuses on the value of the work of disabled people for employers and . employees, as discussed above. Access to Work provides funding for practical support in the workplace or when looking for work.
Evidence collected in the Access to Work assessment should also be transferable to other services such as Fit for Work. Employment legislation is a key step in supporting disabled people and those with health problems to stay in work. To increase the impact of enforcement, while also providing clearer pathways for workers, the specific expertise of current labor market enforcement functions needs to be brought into one well-resourced body.
This body - the Fair Work Authority - should incorporate the current enforcement roles of Acas, EASI, HMRC and the GLAA and be responsible for enforcing all workplace rights, including the right to SSP, . reasonable adjustments and non-discriminatory treatment in the workplace. How can existing government support be reformed to better support the recruitment and retention of disabled people and people with health conditions?
Supporting employment
Sickness certificates, fitness for work assessments and work and health information should not be limited to doctors, or indeed only healthcare professionals. The Government should look at expanding the channels through which these services can be delivered to include occupational therapists and other expert providers of support. 5d) Regarding the fitnote certificate itself, what information should be collected to best assist the individual, occupational trainers and employers to better support a return to work or job retention? Is the current fit note the right vehicle to capture this information, or should we consider other ways to capture fitness for work and health information?
46 Citizens Advice, A Very Common Practice, May 2015. about their disability: adding information about Access to Work or the Disability Trust scheme. How should access to services, assessment, treatment and employment support change for people with mental health or . musculoskeletal conditions so that their health and work needs are met in the best possible way?. How can we help individuals easily find information about the mental health and musculoskeletal services they can access?.
For example, we know that our clients with mental health problems tend to have more complex needs than our average client. Ongoing medical and psychiatric care from a range of healthcare providers, including their GP, community nurse and community mental health team. Advice from an occupational medicine specialist on how to cope at work and how to discuss their health with their employer.
To alleviate this burden, timetables and assessments for benefits, employment support and medical treatment need to be aligned. Right now, employment support and benefits administration can put a strain on people's health as they need to focus on their medical care. How can occupational health care and related facilities be organized in such a way that they are accessible and tailor-made for everyone?
5i) What has been your experience of the Fit for Work service and how should this inform integrated provision for the future?. How can we best promote innovation through local networks, including promoting models of collaborative working, such as co-location, to improve health and work outcomes? We discuss consistent approaches to evaluation, what works and communication of evidence in our response to Chapter 1.
We help people find a way forward
