STATUS EMPLOYMENT NEWS
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News - 19/07/10
Status Employment Helps Royal Mail with their Deliveries
Encouraging health and well being of their staff, Royal Mail enlisted the help of Status Employment to promote talking therapies and employment support. This two-pronged approach is delivered under the NHS in partnership with Status Employment and is known as Improving Access to Psychological Therapies (IAPTs).
Together with NHS colleagues from Southwark and Wandsworth, a number of interactive workshops were run to show Post Office staff members how Status' skilled Employment Consultants could help with work and life stress that often affects one in four employees.
An entertaining quiz was run to emphasise just how normal feeling stress is and the lucky winner of the quiz received an MP3 player. The quiz also highlighted the free positive help that people could receive from Status and the NHS through talking therapies.
The day was highly successful as the responses from staff, wanting further information on how to help their colleagues with depression and anxiety and self coping strategies for people experiencing these feelings, was very positive.
For further details on IAPTs services across London, go to www.workingforwellness.org.uk. For details of Lambeth IAPTs, contact: Martin Cooke, IAPT Employment Support Manager on 020 3228 6826.
News - 14/07/10
SUPPORT FOR EX-OFFENDERS
The Big Lottery, through Reaching Communities, has offered Status Employment funding to work with people receiving mental health services who have offended in the past.
This funding will enable these clients to access Confidence Building and other Life Skills courses, as well as 1:1 guidance from an Employment Consultant to gain employment.
One of the Employment Consultants stated that this funding was of key importance in providing the assistance required to find the most suitable employers and to provide the candidates with the skills necessary to secure the jobs of their choice.
Robert Elston, Chief Executive of Status Employment, said: “This is a vital service in difficult economic times when we know how difficult it is to find a job. It is essential for this client group that extra help is available for them. As we know, getting a job significantly reduces the chances of re-offending. Many thanks go to Reaching Communities in funding this innovative project”.
This service will be provided free to employers and candidates.
News - 19/05/10
Free Employment Support for Lambeth Businesses
A unique cooperation between Lambeth Council and a specialist charity has been initiated to help local businesses support their staff.
Small businesses in the borough are seriously affected by the absence of a member of staff either through the cost of sick pay or the business activity lost by that staff member being unavailable for work.
In some of these cases the absenteeism can be as a result of stress or depression which can also, for those staff at work, lead to dramatic under-performance.
Status Employment realises that many small and medium size businesses do not have the luxury of large occupational health departments which can resolve the situation and bring the employee back to work quickly.
Status has now stepped in to provide free employment support as well as access to free NHS talking therapy for staff.
HSBC, "the world's local bank", has already become aware of this service and has used its network to allow local business customers in Lambeth to gain access to this free help and address this serious threat to their business capability.
Brixton Branch Manager, Chris Wilson says "We value the relationships we develop both with our Business Customers, but also within the local community and to be able to refer them to local support for solutions that affect their finances and can't be helped by banking products, highlights this. In these ever changing times, our Business Customers want us to be able to help their businesses grow in ways other than just offering a Bank Account."
If you are having trouble getting your workers back into work call Status on 020 3228 6826 for more information.
News - 28/04/10
STATUS CANDIDATE PROMOTED WITHIN A YEAR
Verona Henry-Sfarijilani has done us proud. Within a year of getting her job as a Bridge Builder with Imagine, Verona applied for and successfully attained the job of Well-Being Coordinator to support clients in employment.
Her manager, Laurie Sindoni-Jones quoted: “From Verona's first day with Imagine, her performance has been exemplary. She is a strong and valued member of this team, who has maximised her proactive and professional approach to excel. Her approachable and friendly manner makes her popular with both staff and clients. It was inevitable that Verona would develop further within the organisation. And one year to the day after she started with Imagine, Verona takes up her exciting new post as Well-being Coordinator.”
FOOTBALL UPDATE
Sebastian Amoah
Seb, our star player, has been invited for a trial with Luton Town FC. Good luck Seb.
Henry Sycamore
Charlton Athletic FC has nominated Henry as ‘Player of the Year’ as part of their overall programme delivery. Barry Simmons, Disability and Mental Health Manager stated: ‘Henry has not only improved as a player, he has improved his fitness and he is taking a large role in the delivery of the new team that Status is forming.’ Good luck Henry.
News - 19/03/10
The latest edition of the Status Employment newsletter has been released in pdf format:
Status Newsletter 2010 (1.09Mb)
News - 21/01/09
THE NEW EMPLOYMENT SUPPORT ALLOWANCE
ESA - What do the Government mean with personalised conditionality?
The Government has set out a vision for a personalised conditionality and support regime with three broad groups:
A ‘Work-Ready’ group for people who are immediately job-ready. The personalised regime will be akin to the current Jobseeker’s Allowance regime. It should be largely rules-based and self-directed with standard jobsearch requirements. As part of further personalisation there should also be steps to:
- Speed up access to the more personalised parts of the JSA regime for harder to help groups; and
- Improve support for people on JSA with a health condition or disability.
A ‘Progression to Work’ group aimed at those where an immediate return to work is not appropriate but is a genuine possibility with time, encouragement and support, and where the conditionality will:
- Reflect the claimant’s co-ownership of the return to work process;
- Be tailored to their capability and built around their circumstances;
- Be based on activity that supports the claimant’s own route back to work; and
- Link up with effective support.
A ‘No Conditionality’ group that involves no conditionality requirements whatsoever. This would consist of the current Employment and Support Allowance (ESA) support group, lone parents and partners with a youngest child under the age of one, and certain carers.
To support the vision the sanctions regime should be:
- Made more responsive by devolving decision-making for some key decisions around attending interviews, supported by the introduction of tighter rules around good cause for those not attending and a new ‘notification’ principle;
- Made clearer through the introduction of an early warning system, better communication and, over the longer-term, a move towards a system of fixed fines; and
- Better able to deal with repeat offenders through the introduction over the longer-term of a clearer set of processes, with a stronger approach based around mandatory activity for those found to be playing the system.
Status Employment believes that better specific help should be given to people wishing to seek work. We certainly do not agree with the unfortunate use of language used by the Government, none of our candidates seeking work could be described as offenders. We feel these proposals will further stigmatise our candidates, who are genuinely looking for work and more work should go into offering specialised support to people. Status Employment concurs with BASE response to "No One Written Off" which is available from our website (www.statusemployment.org.uk). If you feel at all worried please contact your Employment Consultant who will be able to help you.
News - 09/01/09
Download the the latest edition of Status News in .pdf format.
News - 22/12/08
BASE responses to DWP’s Design and Procurement Proposals for a new Specialist Disability Employment Programme
Read BASE responses to the DWP’s Design and Procurement Proposals for a new Specialist Disability Employment Programme:
- BASE Consultation Response (pdf)
- IDEA's Briefing (pdf)
- BASE Response to "No-One Written Off" (word)
News - 24/09/08
Football Changes Lives
A Coca-Cola Championship football club, a Croydon-based charity, the local NHS and the UK’s largest sports charity have joined together to help change the lives of disabled people in South East London — by providing free football coaching.
The £250,000, two-year project is being coordinated by Shirley-based Status Employment (a registered charity which aims to assist disabled people in finding and retaining paid employment) in partnership with Charlton Athletic Community Trust. The Football Foundation — the UK’s largest sports charity funded by the Premier, The FA and the Government — has provided two thirds of the funding with the other third provided by the South London and Maudsley NHS Foundation Trust.
All candidates on the scheme are being offered free football coaching by The Addicks, will be enabled to take part in competitions and will have the opportunity to be entered into the Positive Mental Attitude (PMA) League.
At the same time Status will be ensuring that each client has access to a life skills coach to support them in taking greater control of decisions affecting their lives. It is hoped that many will move into employment.
The scheme starts in September and is likely to offer places to around 200 disabled people over the two years.
David Jones, Chair of Status Employment said "This is a superb project, and we are delighted to be in partnership with Charlton Athletic FC in offering this very innovative service to the disabled community. Through the generous sponsorship of the Football Foundation and SLAM we have the opportunity to make a real difference to disabled people's quality of life, not only throughout Croydon but also a very large part of South London.
"For Status Employment to enter its eighteenth year of service to the disabled in South London with such a substantial initiative speaks volumes for our team of dedicated people."
Barry Simmons for Charlton Athletic said "We are very excited to be involved with Status Employment in this project. To engage the clients into physical activity is the first step but to then link them to employment opportunities will allow us develop an all round programme."
Paul Thorogood, Chief Executive of the Football Foundation, said: "Football is our national game and it should therefore be accessible to everyone to play. I am delighted that Football Foundation money is helping Status Employment to increase opportunities for disabled young people in London to get access to regular football. Since 2000 the Football Foundation has funded over 120 disability sports projects worth £10.4m and we are determined to fund many more."
If you would like to find out more about a current concrete example of another scheme please view this BBC news article.
For more information contact Ian Keeber on 07983363576.
News - 17/09/08
Hear Us Vacancies
Croydon Mental Health Service Users Group Hear Us is advertising a vacancy for an Office Administrator. They are also look for trustees, particularly those who may have used Croydon's mental health services. Further details are available in the pdf files below.
- Hear Us - Admin Vacancy (pdf)
- Hear Us - Trustees Wanted (pdf)
News - 31/03/08
Freedom Passes - 2 month period of grace
As you may be aware all freedom passes which have not yet been renewed show the expiry date 31st March 2008. We have been advised by TfL that London Buses, London Underground, Tramlink, DLR and London Overground have all already been advised that Freedom Passes, that have not yet been re-stickered for 2010, should be accepted up to 31 May 08. They have briefed their drivers and staff.
