A new government-funded support service could assist more than 1600 people with mental-health conditions to stay in employment.
Remploy has been appointed by the Department for Work and Pensions (DWP) to deliver all seven Access to Work mental-health services, spanning England, Wales and Scotland, in a contract worth in the region of £4.8m.
Currently, one in six people in the UK suffer from a mental-health condition at any one time. According to mental-health charity Mind, this equates to 70 million working days lost every year for reasons of mental ill health. Staff turnover as a result of employees leaving their jobs because of mental-health conditions costs £2.4 billion, adds the charity.
Launched earlier this week, the in-work support service is said to be completely impartial and confidential, comes at no cost to either employer or employee, can be delivered with or without the support of the employer, and is delivered by experts who have an excellent understanding of mental-health issues.
The service, which will offer a wide range of support for people with mental-health conditions for a period of six months, will include:
Last year, Remploy Employment Services says it found 20,000 jobs in mainstream employment for people with a range of physical, sensory and mental disabilities and other conditions. Commenting on the new support service, the company’s director of employment services, Beth Carruthers, said: “If you are absent from work, or are finding work difficult due to a mental-health condition, Remploy can now support you to address your issues and remain in, or return to, your role.
She continued: “Creating a mentally healthy and open workplace, where employees feel supported enough to discuss their mental-health condition, will help employers reduce costs, improve commitment and satisfaction among employees, while creating an inclusive and diverse workforce.”
For further information about the Access to Work mental-health services, visit www.remploy.co.uk/employment-services/welfare-to-work/access-to-work.ashx
In this episode of the Safety & Health Podcast, ‘Burnout, stress and being human’, Heather Beach is joined by Stacy Thomson to discuss burnout, perfectionism and how to deal with burnout as an individual, as management and as an organisation.
We provide an insight on how to tackle burnout and why mental health is such a taboo subject, particularly in the workplace.
