The paper committed £240 million to tackling “the root causes behind why people are not working” through five proposals: boosting public services in areas with high economic inactivity; investing in back-to-work support; guaranteed employment, education or training for people aged 21 or under; jobcentres replaced by a national careers service; and a review into employers’ health support.
“The government is certainly living up to its promise of prioritising workers’ rights through its latest white paper, which outlines ambitious routes to reducing the level of economic activity across the UK,” said Jeanette Wheeler, chief HR officer at HR software provider MHR, speaking to HR magazine.
“But with businesses still working to understand how the tax changes announced in the Budget will impact recruitment levels and wage growth across their organisation, it’s clear that they will need further support from the government in implementing this host of labour reform changes.”
There are currently 2.8 million (21.8% of the population) economically inactive people in the UK, according to Office for National Statistics data published in October. One in eight young people are not in education, employment or training (NEET).
Public services
The paper proposed that the government would increase the number of NHS appointments and reduce waiting lists across 20 NHS Trusts in England in areas with high levels of health-related economic inactivity.
It would also expand access to employment advisers for treatment and care related to mental health and musculoskeletal services.
The 'Get Britain Working' plan requires a joined-up approach from both the public and private sectors, according to Kevin Fitzgerald, UK managing director at payroll and employee engagement company Employment Hero.
Speaking to HR magazine, he said: “80% employment by the end of this parliament is ambitious, but it’s going to take real collaboration between the public and private sectors to get people into work – and, crucially, to keep them there.”
Read more: Labour’s Back to Work plan must account for employers, disability charity says
Local authorities
The government pledged to invest in local areas in England and Wales to enable a “strong, joined-up and local work, health and skills offer”.
This is to include £115 million of funding to deliver back to work support for economically inactive people. Connect to Work, a supported employment programme, is to be introduced, to support 100,000 people to return to work.
Stephen Evans, chief executive at research body the Learning and Work Institute, was confident that this approach would help people on long-term sick leave return to work, but warned that more support was needed for employers.
“Local work and health plans can help reduce the number of people who are outside the labour force due to ill health,” he told HR magazine.
“But none of this will be possible without employers. The government wants employers to think about how they design jobs and recruit staff to reach those who are excluded at the moment, and also do more to retain staff that develop health problems.
“This can be good for business too, but the question is: what support will be available to do it?”
Youth Guarantee
The government committed to deliver a 'Youth Guarantee' that promised to get everyone between the ages of 18 and 21 “learning or earning, to prevent them becoming economically inactive before their careers have even begun”.
The DWP also promised to ensure an offer of a place in education or training for every 16- and 17-year-old, as well as career advice and mental health support.
Fitzgerald noted that the Youth Guarantee should be extended to people aged 30 and under.
He added: “For the 900,000 inactive young people who want to work, the current system is failing. The Youth Guarantee sounds promising but cuts off at 21 – a missed opportunity. Extending this up to the age of 30 could help close critical skills gaps.”
A local approach to getting NEETs in work could leave some unsupported, commented Michael Houlihan, CEO of employment training charity Generation.
“The approach put forward is much more localised, to be led by local government, and is far more ‘test and learn’. It’s a good approach, and one a lot of people are excited about,” he told HR magazine.
“However, the lack of a national programme means that for many people across the UK, the current reality of being separated from the job market will remain very challenging.”
Read more: Sick days up 41% in three years
National Careers Service
Jobcentres across Britain are to be replaced with a National Careers Service, which will offer jobseekers personalised support to find a career and develop skills. This will be “underpinned by a clear expectation that jobseekers do all they can to look for work”, the paper stated.
Meanwhile, the service aims to build relationships with employers to meet their recruitment needs.
Health support review
The paper noted the cost of poor health on employers, and stated that the government will review what can be done to support employers with recruiting and retaining people with disabilities and health conditions.
The review will also examine how employers can be supported to prevent poor health at work, and intervene early so that people can return to work quicker, thus reducing sickness absence.
Angela Matthews, director of public policy and research at Business Disability Forum, welcomed the review but called for the government to reform sick pay for people who are already on sick leave.
“While promoting good workplace health is important, sickness cannot be avoided entirely,” she told HR magazine.
“Business Disability Forum has long been calling for reform of statutory sick pay and the fit note system, to support a successful return to the workplace for people who have experienced ill health.
“The present ‘all or nothing’ approach means that employees are unable to make a phased return to the workplace without being financially disadvantaged.”
Workplace adjustments would also help the government retain disabled employees, Matthews noted.
She continued: “While we would support an independent review into in work support, we already know many of the barriers that disabled people experience in the workplace, and have been calling for action on these for some time.
“Our research shows that workplace adjustments help to retain disabled employees and promote productivity, yet a half of all disabled employees have a poor experience of getting the adjustments they need.
“Adjustment processes need to be made more robust and easier for line managers and disabled employees to access.”
