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EFD reports on mental health & recruitment at the party conferences.
Delegates were given a preview of Employers' Forum on Disability's 'Recruitment and mental health' report at this year's party conferences.
EFD was represented by chief executive Susan Scott-Parker at the Liberal Democrat and Labour conferences and by deputy chief executive Niccola Swan at the Conservative conference.
The events, held jointly with the Sainsbury Centre for Mental Health, were an opportunity for members to discuss directly with senior parliamentarians and policy experts the barriers they face on recruitment and mental health.
It was also an opportunity for EFD to get points across to the Work and Pensions Select Committee, as the majority of the committee was represented across the three conferences.
Key points made by EFD included:
- The system has low expectations of people with mental health problems and low expectations of employers.
- There is a need to export private sector supply chain thinking to the system of delivering disabled job seekers into the right jobs at the right time with the right support.
- Intermediaries have a key role to play in understanding and matching the needs of the employer and the needs of the individual.
- EFD's 'Recruitment that works' model is an example of project-led recruitment proven to give results.
Discussion points across all three events included:
- Employers need someone to help them if things go wrong. Under the current system they don't feel that they are given on-going support.
- There are examples of good practice within the private sector, for example in BT. However these have been developed on a company-by-company basis – there is no system-wide approach.
- There are competing targets between work and health at a national level, which do not help the situation.
- It is not clear how Local Employment Partnerships will deliver different results for employers. There are no details about whether intermediaries will be differently trained and thus deliver a different result.
- Intermediaries and recruitment providers do not currently perform well on getting people with mental health problems into work. Alongside that, employers find recruitment much harder to get right than retention on mental health.
- GPs and employers need to work together better. GPs need to promote the mental health benefits of going to work, and employers need to offer flexible working and phased returns to work in order to facilitate this.
- Where there are examples of success, these should be promoted and replicated. This does not happen at present.
- One cannot separate out 'societal attitudes' and 'employer attitudes' – employers are members of the public and social stigma around mental ill-health is still a major barrier.
The report, 'Recruitment and mental health' was produced in partnership with Sainsbury's Centre for Mental Health and launched on World Mental Health Day, 10 October 2007.
Ends
Notes to Editors
The report, 'Recruitment and mental health' was produced in partnership with Sainsbury's Centre for Mental Health and launched on World Mental Health Day, 10 October 2007.
For a copy of the report contact Catherine Grinyer, head of communications at EFD.
Employers' Forum on Disability offers a range of services to make it easier for employers to recruit and retain people with mental health issues.
For further information please call EFD on 020 7403 3020 or email enquiries@employers-forum.co.uk
Issy RulePR & Communications Coordinator
Employers' Forum on Disability press office
Email: issy.rule@employers-forum.co.uk
Telephone: 020 7403 3020
The Employers' Forum on Disability
Employers' Forum on Disability (EFD) is the employers' organisation focused on disability as it affects business in the workplace. With over 400 members, EFD represents organisations that employ circa 25 per cent of the UK workforce.
EFD is recognised as the authoritative voice on disability as it affects employers and service providers.
Since its establishment in 1986 EFD has worked closely with government and other stakeholders, sharing best practice to make it easier to employ disabled people and serve disabled customers.