Local partners are running a number of local Fit for Work Services around Great Britain until at least March 2011. Fit for Work Services help people to stay in or return to work more quickly after illness or when they develop a health condition or impairment.
The Fit for Work Services operate in:
- Scotland-wide
- Dundee
- Rhyl
- Birmingham
- Eastern & Coastal Kent
- Greater Manchester
- Kensington & Chelsea
- Leicestershire
- North Staffordshire
- Nottinghamshire
- Wakefield District
Fit for Work Services provide support to employees who may be at risk spending long periods away from work with health problems. Services coordinate help with:
- health and treatment
- employability
- wider support services - for example debt, relationship or housing problems
Case managers work to ensure that clients receive appropriate support on time.
The Fit for Work Services are in line with evidence that suggests that work is generally good for health and that returning to work at the appropriate time is part of the recovery process.
Fit for Work Services have received short term 'pump prime' funds and are committed to longer-term sustainability.
Profiles of the FFWSs around Great Britain
Scotland-wide
- large-scale pilot
- accessible via a free national advice line
- 14 local FFWS - one for each Health Board area
- telephone advisers 'triage' calls to determine support required, then either provide advice and signpost self-help resources or refer callers to their local FFWS
- in three areas FFWS funding supports existing services, eg. Dundee - see below
- in the 11 other areas FFWS funding supports a new service
- services focus on small and medium sized enterprises (SMEs) without occupational health support and on low paid employees
Dundee
- FFWS was already in existence providing health and employability support
- FFWS funding is enabling expansion and integration into the Scotland-wide approach
- the service model identifies optimal support for sickness absentees
- provides earlier interventions to support 'presentees' - individuals who are ill but who continue to work and are at risk of sickness absence and unemployment
- presentees represent 72% of the current caseload
- a longer service timescale - since October 2008 - provides longer-term data which is more useful for evaluation
Rhyl
- provides support in a deprived coastal area
- run by a City Strategy Partnership
- 'one stop' shop approach - case managers in GP practices bring together physiotherapy, psychological therapies and other support services
Birmingham/Central West Midlands
- primary focus is supporting sickness absentees
- also supports some unemployed people receiving Jobseekers Allowance
- case management function is delivered by a private sector provider
Eastern and Coastal Kent (Margate)
- supports sickness absentees
- covers small, deprived coastal area
- focus on optimising GP referrals of sickness absentees
- forms part of the Total Place Initiative - uses an innovative multi-agency approach to tackle complex local needs through a preventive 'invest to save' model.
Greater Manchester
- builds on the success of employment support in Central and Eastern Cheshire - available to individuals accessing IAPT services there since October 2008
- sole focus is on employees at risk of unemployment and dependency on benefits due to a health condition
- service involves NHS general care and also integrates employment support within clinical pathways by inserting questions about employment within clinical assessments
- service works to include non-clinical employment-related information, advice and guidance in individuals' care plan/recovery plans
Kensington & Chelsea
- NHS occupational health provider delivers case management in partnership with the Royal Borough's Environmental Health Team
- focus on supporting employees in SMEs
- strong links are being made with the local network of employment and skills provision, eg. prototype Adult Advancement Careers Service
Leicester City & Leicestershire
- focus on optimising GP referrals of sickness absentees
- helping GPs to view referrals as part of their day-to-day patient care
- provides services to a limited number of unemployed people with unmet health and employability needs
North Staffordshire/Stoke-on-Trent
- tests the expansion of the local NHS team delivering the Condition Management Programme
- builds on the service supporting the return to work of unemployed people with long-term ill-health problems
- addresses the distinct needs of people in early stages of sickness absence
- plans to support a limited number of unemployed people
Nottinghamshire
- delivered by the City Strategy Partnership, led by Nottinghamshire Employment and Skills Board
- expands on small scale pilots that are currently testing support for both businesses and individuals
- supports businesses helping sickness absentees return to work
- supports individual sickness absentees with occupational therapists expert in mental health problems and musculoskeletal disorders
- a "work survival" element provides vocational rehabilitation for individuals within a group environment
Wakefield District
- strong, rounded plan in area of high deprivation
- allows infrastructure to be built from scratch using best practice from existing services elsewhere
- works in partnership with other services to focus on raising aspirations
- lessons to be learned and applied across other deprived areas - 45% of the UK's population live in its most deprived areas
Background information
Memorandum of Information(MOI) which includes details of
- Objectives of the Programme of Piloting
- Eligibility for Pilot schemes
- Scope of services
- Key principles for pilot service delivery
The Policy context for FFWS and the Programme for Piloting
Presentation from the FFWS Information Workshop in Edinburgh, March 2009
Developing the Programme
In February 2010 we held the first FFWS Programme Learning Network Conference, in preparation for the programme going live in April 2010. Delegates from the 11 sites attended, as well as FFWS policy leads from the Department for Work and Pensions and the Department of Health. In addressing the conference, Dame Carol Black, set out the principles and the thinking behind the Fit For Work Service Programme.
Elements of the Conference and Dame Carol's address are captured in the video clips below. These are a useful resource for service providers developing or considering launching FFWS.
Contact
Email ffws@dh.gsi.gov.uk to receive updates on FFWS.