You may not know its name, but for more than 50 years Remploy has been making a real difference to the lives of thousands of disabled people by developing their opportunities in the world of work and enabling them to live their lives with greater independence.
Established in response to the 1944 Disabled Persons (Employment) Act, Remploy has grown to be the largest employer of the disabled in the UK, with more than 11,500 people in over 80 factories, manufacturing a range of products from school furniture and protective clothing to its own brand of toiletries. It is also one of the UK's leading electronics and electrical manufacturing contractors.
Working together
Now nursery chain Leapfrog has joined forces with Remploy Interwork, its recruitment service, which during the last five years alone has found more than 4,500 people jobs in host companies, from household names like Sainsbury's and IKEA to call centres and the leisure industry. Employees are subject to the same rates of pay and conditions as other staff. The host company is responsible for day-to-day supervision and employment costs are shared with Remploy.
Through the Interwork service Leapfrog employs two nursery assistants at its Chelmsford and Peterborough day nurseries (see box).
Disability awareness
The company's recruitment manager Rachel Ashford instigated the partnership, inspired by seeing the success of the scheme in her previous role working for Morrison's supermarkets.
'It shows we're an employer committed to equal opportunities and that we're a very supportive organisation. But also, I just think people need to be given a chance,' she says.
Remploy offers a recruitment and placement service similar to many other agencies, but it also tailors its service to offer support and advice to the employer, dispelling the myths that still surround disability and offering practical solutions to any concerns.
'We find smaller employers are unaware of how easy it is to employ people with disabilities,' says Vicki Graham, business development manager for Remploy in East Anglia. 'Sometimes there's a misconception that everyone who has a disability is a wheelchair user.' In fact, only 5 per cent of disabled people use wheelchairs and only 20 per cent of disabled people would need to have any adaptations made to their workplace. The Government quotes the average cost of any changes to be only 200 per person.
Employers may also be able to recoup some of the costs through the Government's Access to Work programme.
Remploy Interwork offers different routes into employment to help people with mental, emotional, physical and learning disabilities into jobs alongside non-disabled colleagues. The Work Preparation programme gives people the chance to work in an unpaid capacity, usually for six weeks, to give them experience in their chosen career while retaining the security of remaining on benefit. Individuals can see if they suit the job and if the job suits them. As Hilary Pearce, employment adviser for Remploy in Cambridgeshire, explains, 'It gives the employee a chance to make an informed decision and gives the employer the chance to evaluate them in the workplace, rather than just at an interview, when they may not interview well.'
After this, the disabled person may be ready to move on to Workstep, Interwork's supported employment programme.
Support programme
As business development manager it is Vicki Graham's job to talk through any of the employer's concerns about employing a disabled person and agree ways of working together. A development agreement is drawn up between the employer and Remploy. This includes details of any particular support the employee needs, which could include one-to-one mentoring.
Vicki says, 'For example, if someone wanted to employ someone with a learning disability we would access a job coach who would learn to do the same job and support the person as long as they needed it.' Remploy would pay for this. The employer passes on a list of vacancies to Vicki, which she circulates to her colleagues in the field to try to match the right person to the job.
As an employment adviser Hilary Pearce receives referrals from a variety of sources, including social services, disability advisers at job centres, special schools or self-referrals. She says, 'I interview the disabled person and help them to identify appropriate work they would enjoy and be able to sustain.'
Remploy profiles all its jobseekers to identify their skills, abilities, aspirations and training needs. Jobs are as varied as the people Remploy helps, from tyre fitters to computer programmers. 'Each person is an individual and we try to find the best fit for them,' Hilary says.
This also includes providing them with different levels of support according to their needs. While some may be able to attend an interview on their own, others may want to be accompanied or need Hilary in the interview to prompt them about their past experiences and what they can offer. Once they are in post Hilary will arrange to visit the workplace regularly to monitor progress and ensure both parties are happy.
'We keep the lines of communication open and help people to settle in and give advice on all the things that go with the change from being on benefits to being employed,' she says.
CASE STUDIES: CAROLYN AND ROBERT
Carolyn Jones (29)
Carolyn has worked at Leapfrog's Peterborough nursery since September last year. Her disability, the result of a road accident as a child, means that she has a slight tremor on her left side and short-term memory problems.
She says, 'It takes me a while to pick things up and I have to write a lot of things down.' Remploy helped Carolyn find jobs in the past, including three years working at a nursery in Norwich. Carolyn admits, 'Because of my disability I found it very hard to find a job before.'
When she moved to Peterborough her details were passed to Hilary Pearce, the employment adviser for that area. Carolyn spotted the job herself and Hilary supported her during the recruitment process. After half a day's trial nursery manager Lesley Bannister offered her the position. Carolyn's disability means that lifting is kept to a minimum, a factor taken into consideration when Lesley had to decide which room would suit her best.
Rather than the baby room, Carolyn worked with the pre-school children and now toddlers. Lesley says, 'Because of her accident she lacks a little in confidence, but being around the other staff gives her the confidence she needs.'
Robert Chopping (20)
Following a three-week work preparation trial in March, Robert now has a full-time job as a nursery assistant with Leapfrog in Chelmsford. Robert has always enjoyed working with children in activity clubs during the school holidays, but this is his first full-time job.
Robert says, 'I needed help to get a job because I was struggling with interviews, where I just went downhill. When I came to the nursery my interview went well. Someone from Remploy came with me and spoke about me and explained my disability.' Robert has short-term memory problems and his speech is affected.
Nursery manager Rachel Coyle says, 'Since he's been with us Robert will come and talk to the staff more and ask questions. The main thing we're working on at the moment is encouraging him to talk to parents when they come to collect the children at the end of the day.
'He's very interested in what he wants to do and he brings a lot of enthusiasm to the job. It's also nice to have another male in the nursery.'
There are two other men working alongside Robert in a staff team of 35.
Rachel adds, 'We have lots of different people working here with different experiences. It's important for the children that we have a broad range of people.'
EMPLOYER SERVICES
Vicki Graham suggests employers contact Remploy before starting recruitment to draw up a development plan. Remploy can advise companies on all aspects of employing someone with a disability.
Remploy Interwork offers:
* Recruitment/work placement service
* Comprehensive jobseeker profiles
* Development plans identifying support and training needs
* Ongoing assessment
* Telephone support Vicki says, 'People with disabilities don't want preferential treatment, they want equal treatment. We're there to act as a facilitator for that.'
Contact Remploy on 0845 845 2211, e-mail info@remploy.co.ukor log on to www.remploy.co.uk.
