By Hollie Ewers
24 August 2009
People with mental health problems will receive extra support to hold on to their jobs, employment and welfare minister Jim Knight has promised.
The announcement follows positive indications from pilot schemes led by the government and run with mental health charity Mind. These pilots have been 90% successful in helping people with mental distress in the workplace.
The government now intends to rollout the programme nationally using a range of providers.
Knight said: ‘Our plans to offer the right help early on can end the downward spiral of people falling out of work into sick leave, and onto benefits. We are all agreed that helping people stay in work is good news for them, their bosses and for the taxpayer.’
One of the pilot projects, called In Work Support, is run by Hammersmith and Fulham Mind and Islington Mind. Specialist support workers, known as ‘retention specialists’, assist workers who are experiencing mental distress by providing practical, emotional and tailored support as well as mediating with employers on an individual’s behalf.
Sophie Corlett, director of external relations at Mind, said: ‘People with mental health problems want to work but are often failed by employers who lack the understanding or the skills to provide the necessary support.’
She said additional government support was particularly welcome given the current harsh economic conditions.
Alex Tambourides, Mind's national workplace lead, added: ‘If employees experiencing mental distress can access support early enough, and on their terms, they can be empowered to prevent their health and lives from spiralling out of the workplace and into social exclusion. In Work Support proves that if the service is flexible and person-centred both the employer and the employee can win.’
24 August 2009
People with mental health problems will receive extra support to hold on to their jobs, employment and welfare minister Jim Knight has promised.
The announcement follows positive indications from pilot schemes led by the government and run with mental health charity Mind. These pilots have been 90% successful in helping people with mental distress in the workplace.
The government now intends to rollout the programme nationally using a range of providers.
Knight said: ‘Our plans to offer the right help early on can end the downward spiral of people falling out of work into sick leave, and onto benefits. We are all agreed that helping people stay in work is good news for them, their bosses and for the taxpayer.’
One of the pilot projects, called In Work Support, is run by Hammersmith and Fulham Mind and Islington Mind. Specialist support workers, known as ‘retention specialists’, assist workers who are experiencing mental distress by providing practical, emotional and tailored support as well as mediating with employers on an individual’s behalf.
Sophie Corlett, director of external relations at Mind, said: ‘People with mental health problems want to work but are often failed by employers who lack the understanding or the skills to provide the necessary support.’
She said additional government support was particularly welcome given the current harsh economic conditions.
Alex Tambourides, Mind's national workplace lead, added: ‘If employees experiencing mental distress can access support early enough, and on their terms, they can be empowered to prevent their health and lives from spiralling out of the workplace and into social exclusion. In Work Support proves that if the service is flexible and person-centred both the employer and the employee can win.’
