Integrating disabled people into mainstream employment in the UK

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Integrating disabled people into mainstream
employment in the UK
Disabled people in employmentVocational
Rehabilitation
Nigel Hopkins
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The UK market

• UK Govt 80 has an overall employment rate
  target.
• There are 2.7mn people on incapacity benefit.
• Ongoing welfare payments are not sustainable (16
  bn every year in Incapacity Benefit payments).
  The Government has announced plans to take 1m
  disabled people off Benefit. Payments from 2008
  will depend on whether a disabled person who can
  work is looking for work

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The UK market - 2

• Relatively low unemployment levels in the UK with
  some areas and job sectors having negative
  unemployment even with all the help we get
  from Poland!!!!!
• New programmes are aimed at giving each
  individual a choice of direction and payments to
  support looking and finding work

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Barriers to employment

• Disabled peoples barriers to employment
• Confidence is key
• Financial barriers incapacity benefit can be up
  to c. 450/week
• The individuals perception of their abilities
  and employers attitudes a significant barrier
• Employers and barriers to employing disabled
  people
• 61 or employers stated that nothing
  discouraged them from employing disabled people
• 25 cited the main barrier as a lack of disabled
  applicants
• Employers fear political correctness

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Options for disabled people in employment 1

• Sheltered employment
• This was the only choice really up until 10
  years ago. Remploy, Shaw Trust, municipalities
  and charities had factories where the vast
  majority of employees were disabled. In the last
  10 years many of these have closed as the UK
  manufacturing sector reduced based on jobs going
  to E. Europe, Asia etc.
• It is not now seen as the preferred route for
  young disabled people into employment

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Options for disabled people in employment - 2

• Supported employment
• This has grown over the last 10 years. Many
  providers offer schemes and support to help
  disabled people find work in mainstream
  employment. Support covers
• Preparation for work
• Job skills training
• Application for a job
• Support for both the new employee and employer

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Government programmes available to providers

• There are two key programs Workstep for the
  more disabled person and New Deal for the less
  disabled person (this is being gradually replaced
  by a new Programme Pathways to work)
• Workstep is programme designed for disabled
  people with complex barriers to work, who need
  short or long term support in work.
• NDDP is specifically for people on Incapacity
  Benefit to help them find work and to sustain for
  6 months.

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Payment and contract basis

• Remploy is unique amongst all UK providers that
  it receives a block grant based on performance
  targets each year.
• All other providers are paid on the basis of
  outputs under contracts with the Social
  Security Department (DWP)

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Payments schedule by each type of contract
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Vocational Rehabilitation in the private sector
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Statistics
40- 50

• UK Insurance savings estimate for insurers using
  rehabilitation

160,000,000

• Days lost due to absence each year

• Days lost due to work related illness

35,000,000
8 saved

• For every 1 spent on rehab

• Direct cost of absence to UK employers

20,000,000,000
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• Potential cost reduction if use early
  intervention

2 years

• IB claimants more likely to die/retire than
  RTW

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3 Main types of Rehabilitation

• Medical/Rehab Case Management
• Coordination of medical rehabilitation
• Liaising with all parties
• Ensuring treatment and return to work goals
  aligned
• Coordination of basic return to pre ill health
  role
• Treatment
• Physiotherapy
• CBT/Psych services
• MRI
• Operations
• Vocational Rehabilitation
• This is the final but key piece in the jigsaw
• Vocational must be integrated with medical

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What is Vocational Rehabilitation?
A programme of services designed to enable a
person to become or remain employed following
accident or ill health
A Coordinated approach to ensure all stakeholders
i.e. solicitor, employer, GP, treatment provider,
insurer claimant are working together
RETRAINING/RESKILLING
VOCATIONAL ASSESSMENT/ OTHER SPECIALIST
ASSESSMENTS
APTITUDE PHYSICAL ABILITY TESTS
SUPPORT SERVICES SUCH AS JOB SEARCHING
EQUIPMENT / ROLE ADJUSTMENTS
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Why early intervention?
Period of absence
Likelihood of return to work
6 months
gt 50
12 months
gt 30
24 months
gt 10
ABC of Work Related Disorders, BMJ, Volume 313
August 96 335 Employees referred within the first
3 months of accident for rehabilitation
intervention need less than half the
rehabilitation that those referred after 18
months. Post Magazine, Kynixa, February 2007
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Government

• Lack of early intervention schemes for claimants
• Government programmes for those on incapacity
  benefit
• NHS good acute care but not follow up
  rehabilitation
• No tax incentive for employers to invest in
  rehabilitation
• Vocational and medical rehabilitation not
  integrated
• GP sick note system does not work

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What are key drivers for private sector?

• Insurers
• Reduce loss of earnings
• Earlier settlement of claims
• Reduce adversarial claims
• Reduce legal fees and litigation potential
• Rehabilitation Code and Pre Action Protocol
  compliance
• Employers
• Reduce absence costs i.e. loss of production
  agency cover
• Prevent claims culture
• Reduce insurance premiums
• Reduce staff turnover

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What is the Rehabilitation Code of Best Practice?

• Devised in 1999 by the Rehabilitation Working
  Party
• The aim - to promote early intervention
  rehabilitation
• Rehabilitation Code revised August 2007
• What are the main implications of the new code?

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Rehabilitation Code of Best Practice

• It shall be the duty of the claimant solicitor
  and compensator to consider..whether there is an
  immediate need for aids, adaptations, adjustments
  to employment to enable the claimant to keep
  his/her existing job, obtain suitable alternative
  employment with the same employer or retrain for
  new employment
• Rehabilitation Code of Best Practice 2007
  www.iua.co.uk/rehabilitationcode

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Who can and should fund rehabilitation?

• Insurers if liability i.e. motor, employers and
  public liability claims (medical and vocational)
• Employers if non liability (medical and
  vocational)
• The State once an individual is on Incapacity
  Benefit (vocational/return to work programmes)
• State Health system if no private funding
  available (medical)

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What are the issues?

• Liability disputes can often take months
  sometimes years to resolve
• Rehab Code is non mandatory
• Need all rehabilitation expense to be VAT exempt
• Need to learn more from overseas
• Advice bring together ALL stakeholders

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More information?

• www.vocationalrehabilitationassociation.org.uk
• www.abi.org.uk
• www.iua.co.uk/rehabilitationcode
• www.apil.com

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Any questions?