The Business Disability Forum has urged the government to consult with employers to get the details of its Back to Work plan right. The plan has been welcomed by campaign groups for its positive approach to cutting economic inactivity.<\/p>\n
Announced last week (11 July), the Back to Work plan confirms Labour\u2019s manifesto pledge of tackling economic inactivity, focusing on three \u2018pillars\u2019: a new national jobs and career service; new devolved work, health and skills plans for economically inactive people; and support for for all people aged 18 to 21.<\/p>\n
Work and pensions secretary Liz Kendall said that immediate action had to be taken to get people back to work: 9.4 million people in the UK are now economically inactive (neither in work, nor seeking it) according to official figures, with a record 2.8 million signed off work for long-term sickness.<\/p>\n
Angela Matthews, director of policy and research at the Business Disability Forum, told HR magazine that the charity was encouraged to see work, health and skills all considered in the government\u2019s plan.<\/p>\n
\u201cWhen someone becomes unwell or disabled, they can lose skills and have to regain or learn new skills, which can lead to an entire change of career or job options. A supportive and appropriate welfare system to \u2018catch\u2019 people while this happens before they return to work is essential,\u201d she said.<\/p>\n
The Institute for Employment Studies, a think-tank for economic and business policy, has likewise welcomed Labour\u2019s approach.<\/p>\n
\u201cThe Back to Work Plan is a positive step in Labour\u2019s mission to unlock the potential of all UK employees,\u201d said Zofia Bajorek, research fellow at the IES.<\/p>\n
Speaking to HR magazine, she said: \u201cThe UK has slipped from having the eighth highest employment in the developed world to the 15th, and so this focus on economic activity, good work and understanding the causes of worklessness should be welcomed.\u201d<\/p>\n
The area of greatest need, Matthews added, was in the NHS.<\/p>\n
\u201cWe need to see an NHS that supports disabled people to stay in work,\u201d she said.<\/p>\n
\u201cThe people who have the least support are employees in work who become disabled through sudden or gradual ill health, and who are on long-term sick leave \u2013 sometimes for a few years \u2013 on full pay from supportive employers who are holding up an NHS and sick pay system that is not fit for purpose.\u201d<\/p>\n
Matthews added that while Labour\u2019s commitment to removing the waiting days and lower earning limits for sick pay was much-needed, the most urgently needed reform was making sick pay part of a return phased to work for managing long-term health conditions.<\/p>\n
\u201cAt the moment, this element of sick pay is prolonging absences. People who choose to do a phased return as part of their recovery often report a period of financial loss, directly due to not being able to combine sick pay and salary during a phased return,\u201d Matthews said.<\/p>\n
The government has not yet made clear any details on whether it would consider a phased approach.<\/p>\n
\u201cOverall, we really want to see the government consulting with employers before major policies and legislation are announced,\u201d Matthews added.<\/p>\n
\u201cEmployers and HR too often get blamed for not doing enough in this space, but they know the issues first hand and can often see the solutions as well as the unintended consequences of well-meaning policies.\u201d<\/p>\n
Bajorek likewise called for collaboration between employers, government, and people who would be affected by any policy: \u201cThe plan can only be achieved through collaboration and partnerships between all the relevant stakeholders, ensuring that employment services offer actual support and advice \u2013 not benefit compliance \u2013 closer integration with careers and skills services, and ensuring that employers have the ability to promote \u2018good work\u2019 so that employees can be supported, developed and valued in the workplace.<\/p>\n
\u201cIt is vital that those with disabilities, or who have been out of work for sometime (for whatever reason) are not subject to employer negative attitudes, stigma, or inflexible work practices that can be common barriers to work.\u201d<\/p>\n
Matthews added: \u201cAs supportive and energised as we are of the approach to combine work, health and skills, we feel the lack of a consultation on this plan was a missed opportunity for the government to tell employers that they are being asked and listened to.\u201d<\/p>","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
The Business Disability Forum has urged the government to consult with employers to get the details of its Back to Work plan right. The plan has been welcomed by campaign groups for its positive approach to cutting economic inactivity. Announced last week (11 July), the Back to Work plan confirms Labour\u2019s manifesto pledge of tackling […]<\/p>","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":2691,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[1],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-2690","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-uncategorized"],"blocksy_meta":[],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.talentcentralhr.com\/zh\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2690","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.talentcentralhr.com\/zh\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.talentcentralhr.com\/zh\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.talentcentralhr.com\/zh\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.talentcentralhr.com\/zh\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=2690"}],"version-history":[{"count":1,"href":"https:\/\/www.talentcentralhr.com\/zh\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2690\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":2692,"href":"https:\/\/www.talentcentralhr.com\/zh\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2690\/revisions\/2692"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.talentcentralhr.com\/zh\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/2691"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.talentcentralhr.com\/zh\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=2690"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.talentcentralhr.com\/zh\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=2690"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.talentcentralhr.com\/zh\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=2690"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}