10 good reasons to offer someone a job

There’s a lot of media debate at the moment about the large number of people not working in the UK. In particular, the £2m or so people claiming incapacity benefit.

As employers, we have an opportunity to do something positive about this lost army of potential employees.

Few are in reality ‘swinging the lead’. Most have health or other problems that have kept them out of the workplace for a while. Many would like to work but need to help to regain the confidence and skills they need to make it happen.

Across the UK there are a range of organisations, many of them charities, that are funded by the Government to help these people back into work. You can find a list of them here.

Here are ten good reasons why you should make contact and give someone the chance they need to get off benefit and into work:

1. Once trained, they stick – The people going through these schemes are people who want to work and need our help to find a job. Once in post they are less likely to leave and more likely to exceed your expectations than most.

2. They’re supported at work – These organisations don’t simply place someone and leave you to it. They can mentor their client at work (and can support their manager) to make sure things work out as planned.

3. You’re not charged a fee – These job-finding services are Government funded under their ‘Pathways to Work’ scheme. The organisations involved are paid to help people fill jobs in your organisation. The goal is to reduce the number of benefit claimants.

4. These people aren’t listed with agencies – If you use employment agencies, here’s your chance to recruit from a new pool. Few regular employment agencies have the specialist skills to train, match and support these special people.

5. Imagine, someone helping you for free! – You may or may not have current vacancies. Most of these specialist organisations maintain a client register and so can offer suitably qualified candidates whenever you have a need.

6. ‘Try before you buy’ – Most employment programmes work in a way that encourages employers to offer ‘work trials’ before committing to take someone on. You can literally try without commitment before you hire someone.

7. Part-time is good – Usually, the goal is to place people for a minimum of 16hrs per week. Part-time is fine and actually suits the needs of clients seeking a tapered return to work.

8. The providers don’t lose interest – They earn a bonus from JobCentre Plus when someone they place keeps their job for six months. This incentive makes it worth their while to keep in touch and to sort out any problems.

9. It develops your staff – People find it rewarding to help someone settle in and become a confident, able colleague. Why not help your people develop their supervisory and mentoring skills?

10. We all need to do our bit – Last but not least, by giving someone the break they need to get back into work you are demonstrating that you care about people. Your staff, customers and suppliers will recognise and value you as a responsible, inclusive employer.

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