Addressing Barriers To Work For Disabled People And Those .

Addressing barriers to work fordisabled people and those withlong term health conditions inBrighton & HoveResearch reportLauren BennettKathryn RayTony WilsonSeptember 2016In January 2016, NIACE and the Centre for Economic and Social Inclusionmerged to form Learning and Work InstituteLearning and Work InstitutePatron: HRH The Princess Royal Chief Executive: Stephen EvansA company limited by guarantee, registered in England and WalesRegistration No. 2603322 Registered Charity No. 1002775Registered office: 21 De Montfort Street, Leicester, LE1 7GE1

Published by National Learning and Work Institute (England and Wales)21 De Montfort Street, Leicester LE1 7GECompany registration no. 2603322 Charity registration no. 1002775Learning and Work Institute is a new independent policy and research organisationdedicated to lifelong learning, full employment and inclusion.We research what works, develop new ways of thinking and implement new approaches.Working with partners, we transform people’s experiences of learning and employment.What we do benefits individuals, families, communities and the wider economy.We bring together over 90 years of combined history and heritage from the ‘National Instituteof Adult Continuing Education’ and the ‘Centre for Economic & Social K@LearnWorkCymru (Wales)All rights reserved. No reproduction, copy or transmission of this publication may be madewithout the written permission of the publishers, save in accordance with the provisions ofthe Copyright, Designs and Patents Act 1988, or under the terms of any licence permittinglimited copying issued by the Copyright Licensing Agency.2

ContentsExecutive Summary . 6Key Findings . 6Experiences of employment support . 6Provision of support in Brighton & Hove . 7Experiences of employment . 7Support for employers . 8Recommendations . 9Increasing employment . Error! Bookmark not defined.Proposed actions . 10Proposed actions . 10Maintaining employment . 11Proposed actions . 11Partnership working and information sharing . 11Proposed actions . 11Proposed actions . 12Employer engagement and support . 12Proposed actions . 12Proposed actions . 13Engaging with disadvantaged groups . 13Proposed actions . 141.Introduction . 15Disability Employment . 15The research . 162.Disability and Employment in Brighton & Hove . 18Support provision . 19Examples of local provision in Brighton & Hove for disabled people and individuals with long-termhealth conditions . 20Employment advice and support . 20Employment advice and support via Jobcentre Plus . 20Learning and Skills provision . 20Specific conditions . 20Health services . 20Sussex Mental Health Helpline . 203.Increasing employment for disabled people and those with long term health conditions . 21Stakeholder consultation findings . 21Barriers to employment . 213

What works in delivering support . 22Good practice in employment support . 24Individual Placement and Support (IPS) . 26Southdown Housing . 26Peer led group work: JobsII . 27No Boundaries! . 274.Sustaining employment. 29Stakeholder consultation findings . 29Reasonable adjustments . 29Employer experiences of support . 29Support from line-managers and colleagues . 31In-work progression . 31Good practice . 35Workplace Mental Health Support Service . 35Fit for Work Service . 365.Improving employer practices . 37Stakeholder consultation findings . 37Employer recruitment practices . 37Good practice . 38Raising awareness and engaging employers . 39Good practice . 39Disability Confident . 406.Integrated delivery of support . 41Stakeholder consultation findings . 41Support services in Brighton & Hove . 41Key challenges . 41Gaps in provision. 42Good practice . 43The Community Navigation Service . 43USdl co-location . 447.Recommendations . 46Leadership and Accountability . 46Ensuring a clear voice for disabled people. 46Increasing employment . 47Maintaining employment . 50Partnership working and information sharing . 51Proposed actions . 51Success measures. 524

Proposed actions . 53Success measures. 54Employer engagement and support . 54Proposed actions . 54Success measures. 55Proposed actions . 55Success measures. 55Engaging with disadvantaged groups . 55Annex one – Data Analysis . 58Access to Work . 61Further Education participation . 61Employment by occupation . 635

Executive SummaryThe Learning and Work institute (L&W) was commissioned by Brighton & Hove’sEqualities and Inclusion Partnership (EquIP) to conduct research into the barriers toemployment, volunteering and skills development for disabled people and individualswith long term health conditions in Brighton & Hove, and to providerecommendations on how the council and their partners can remove such barriers,so that disabled people in Brighton & Hove are able to compete effectively for jobsand maintain employment and/or volunteering opportunities.The mixed methods study involved:A. A scoping stage entailing:i.a rapid review of local and national evidence on good practice inpromoting employment for disabled people;ii.analysis of data on disability and employment in Brighton & Hove,compared to the South East and nationally;iii.mapping the existing provision of relevant support for disabled peopleand for employers in Brighton & Hove and identifying gaps.B. Stakeholder research – comprising interviews with disability support andadvocacy organisations, employment and skills providers, health partners,employers and disabled people both in and out of work.C. Consultation workshops to discuss the findings and develop and appraisepolicy options with a range of stakeholders.Key FindingsExperiences of employment support Disabled people and those with long term health conditions who were out ofwork reported that they wanted to work and desired more support to be ableto do this. In particular, those further from work wanted more intensive andpersonalised employment support – including help to prepare for work, lookfor work and to apply for jobs. Disabled people’s experiences of support often reflected the quality of theirrelationship with the adviser or staff who supported them. This reinforcesfindings from other research that positive adviser / participant workingrelationships, which facilitate the delivery of personalised support, are key toan effective intervention. Negative experiences of support tended to relate to instances where it wasfelt that staff understanding of the impact of specific conditions or impairments6

was limited. This highlights the importance of well-trained staff withappropriate levels of skills and experience. Timing and sequencing of support is also key; interventions need to happen atthe right time, and holistic support needs to be able to help individuals toovercome the range of barriers that they may face. This highlights theimportance of effective referral routes into services.Provision of support in Brighton & Hove There is a range of provision available in Brighton & Hove, but a lack ofawareness of such provision amongst employees and local residents. Amongst partners delivering services, there was a strong desire for more tobe done to share information about services, support and different conditions,and to better co-ordinate activity, in order to reduce the likelihood of overlapbetween services and to facilitate information sharing. The support provided by the Council’s Supported Employment Team, whichoperates using a model of Supported Employment (or a ‘place, train, maintain’model – see p.16) was valued highly by those who had used it – bothemployers and individuals. It was felt to provide an effective bridge toemployers for unemployed disabled people; had knowledgeable staff whowere able to support employers when issues or concerns arose; and providedin-work support to ensure that opportunities could be sustained. However longwaiting lists for receiving support from this service were a key challenge. Support for young people with mental health conditions was felt to be a keygap in the provision of support locally. Concerns were raised by participants about the ‘parking’ of individuals inunsuitable support, or in voluntary roles, without efforts to progress them intosustained employment. This points to a need for improved signposting andreferral processes, to ensure that individuals are able to access support that isright for them. Having appropriate referral routes from disability specialistservices into employment, health and welfare services is also crucial toensure that support is received at the right time.Experiences of employment Experiences of all stakeholders suggested that the quality of the ‘job match’ iskey for individuals to sustain, enjoy and progress in work. This reinforces akey finding from previous research. Reflecting this, employers were focused on ensuring that they appointed staffwith the right skills and aptitudes for the role in question, rather than having adesire to appoint (or not to appoint) disabled people per se. However, some7

employer interviews suggested that they held misconceptions about disabledpeople and individuals with health conditions, including the automaticassumption that disabled employees would have a physical impairment andtherefore be unsuitable for certain roles. There was also a perceptionamongst disabled people that they did face discrimination from employers. Although many employers had flexible working policies, or were willing forstaff to work flexibly if this was suitable for the role in question, they did notalways convey this on job adverts. This reflects the findings of previousresearch that only a small proportion of jobs are openly advertised as beingopen to flexible working. This could act as a deterrent to disabled peopleapplying for vacancies. Employers tended to see it as the applicant’s responsibility to requestreasonable adjustments at the interview stage if required and employeesreported variable experiences of this – some requests were accommodatedwhile others were not. These experiences at interview stage shapedindividual’s perceptions of the employer and the suitability of the job. Despite SMEs having fewer resources for supporting employees withdisabilities, several stakeholders reported positive experiences of employmentin SMEs, which related to job satisfaction and the provision of personalisedsupport and adaptations in the workplace. It was common for individuals with disabilities or health conditions not todisclose this to employers or to support providers. This makes it critical todevelop a culture of openness in businesses so that employees are able todisclose their conditions with confidence in order to be provided withappropriate support.Support for employers Employers were using various types of support to help them with therecruitment or retention of disabled employees, including the council’sSuppo

Although many employers had flexible working policies, or were willing for staff to work flexibly if this was suitable for the role in question, they did not always convey this on job adverts. This reflects the findings of previous research that only a small proportion of jobs are openly adver