Observation (CEACR) - adopted 2012, published 102nd ILC session (2013)

Employment Policy Convention, 1964 (No. 122) - United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland (Ratification: 1966)

Active employment policy. Consultation with the social partners. The Committee notes the detailed information provided by the Government in August 2012 in response to the request made by the Conference Committee in June 2012. It also notes the observations provided by the Trade Union Congress (TUC), and the Government’s response to these observations in October 2012. In reply to the 2011 observation, the Government reports that the number of people employed in the public sector was 5.9 million in March 2012, down 39,000 from December 2011, and the number of people employed in the private sector in March 2012 was 23.38 million, up 205,000 from December 2011. Since the Government announced its intention to reduce the deficit as a means to securing stronger growth, the amount of people in employment (aged 16–64) has risen from 28,862,000 in May 2010 to 29,354,000 in July 2012, which represent an increase in employment from 70.3 per cent to 70.7 per cent. Over the same period, unemployment has risen slightly from 7.9 per cent to 8.1 per cent. There were 9.29 million persons economically inactive and 1.6 million people were on Jobseeker’s Allowance as at March 2012. The Government indicates that, as part of an active labour market policy, full use must be made of support offered by the State. Individuals claiming state benefits can expect increased help in overcoming barriers to work, finding and retaining a job. However, benefit payments will become increasingly conditional on the requirement to use this improved support and to look for employment. In this regard, the Committee notes that several regulations came into effect in April 2011 which created the legislative framework for the Mandatory Work Activity programme for Jobseeker’s Allowance recipients. The Government indicates that Mandatory Work Activity gives extra support to a small number of Jobseeker’s Allowance claimants who would benefit from a short period of activity. There are around 19,000 Mandatory Work Activity placements available per year, and Jobcentre Plus advisers have the flexibility to use the programme, where they feel it is appropriate, as part of a wider range of support options. Mandatory Work Activity placements last for four weeks and deliver a contribution to the local community. The TUC believes it is impossible to describe the Mandatory Work Activity programme as “freely chosen” as it is a compulsory work programme of 30 hours per week for four weeks for all benefit claimants of working age. It adds that the Government’s equality impact assessment showed that Mandatory Work Activity is disproportionately likely to be applied to older, disabled and minority ethnic claimants. The TUC further indicates that Mandatory Work Activity is not supportive and there are more and more reports of abuse of the programme. The Government responded by indicating that the programme is only available to those claiming Jobseeker’s Allowance, and not for all benefit claimants of working age. Mandatory Work Activity is a “work-related activity” that is designed to move participants closer to the labour market, not directly into employment. Official statistics from the early stages of the programme show that 29 per cent of claimants referred to Mandatory Work Activity between May 2011 and February 2012 were non-white and 21 per cent were claimants with disabilities. The Government indicates that claimants are referred to the programme on the basis of suitability for the scheme, regardless of ethnicity. It also adds that the figure with respect to persons with disabilities is not disproportionate compared to the Jobseeker’s Allowance caseload. Furthermore, early findings from a survey of participants have found a positive impact on work attitudes, motivation to find work, and the majority of participants reported a good experience in the programme. The Committee notes that full findings will be published in December 2012. The Committee invites the Government to continue to provide information on the implementation of the Mandatory Work Activity programme and how this programme will translate into productive and lasting employment opportunities for its beneficiaries. It also invites the Government to specify in its next report how, pursuant to Article 2 of the Convention, it keeps under review the measures and policies adopted according to the results achieved in pursuit of the objectives of full, productive and freely chosen employment, specified in Article 1. It recalls that, in the terms of that Article, an active employment policy should be pursued “as a major goal”. The Committee trusts that the Government will be able to report on further developments on how the social partners have been involved in the consultation procedures required by Article 3 of the Convention.

Role of employment services in employment promotion. The Government indicates that staff in Jobcentre Plus, service providers, local authorities, further education colleges, training providers and employers are coming together in their communities to find new and innovative ways to support people back to work. It reports that it is modernizing the way Jobcentre Plus delivers its services and handing responsibility back to jobcentre plus advisers who work with claimants on a daily basis. Advisers are now able to offer claimants a comprehensive menu of help, including skills provision and job search support. They have the flexibility to decide which interventions will help claimants at the most appropriate point in their jobseeking journey, tailoring this to individual need. To support this new regime, the Government indicates that a single flexible support fund has been created worth approximately £118 million, which allows local resources to be aligned to the needs of the locality, to tackle local unemployment and multiple barriers to employment in a holistic and joined up way. The flexible support that Jobcentre Plus district managers are putting in place is bolstered by a number of Get Britain Working measures whose success depends on strong local partnerships and the active support of employers. The Committee also notes that the Government reported that it met with the TUC to discuss the design of the Get Britain Working programme. In particular, they discussed the potential impacts on employees, where employers are involved in hosting work experience placements for unemployed young people. The Government indicates that discussions have been constructive and are ongoing. The Committee invites the Government to continue to provide information on the contribution of the employment services in the implementation of active labour market measures.

Education and training policies. The Government reports that National Skills Academies (NSAs), which are employer led, innovative, sector based education and training organizations, are designed to enable high levels of employer involvement and attract significant employer sponsorship and investment. The NSAs have a clear and distinct place in the skills system as delivery agents. Their role is to transform the supply of skills to meet employers’ needs in defined sectors or areas of the economy by delivering specialist, high quality skills provision. The Government indicates that there are currently eighteen NSAs in operation and one NSA in development. The Committee invites the Government to provide in its next report information on the results achieved by NSAs in matching skills and labour market needs.

Youth employment. The Government reports that youth unemployment dropped in July 2012, when compared to April 2012, to 22.2 per cent. It indicates that the Youth Contract was introduced in April 2012 to provide additional support, worth almost £1 billion, to young unemployed people over the next three years. The Youth Contract builds on existing support to provide young people with more intensive adviser support and work experience, as well as providing employers with wage incentives and apprenticeship incentives to encourage them to recruit young people. Furthermore, the Committee notes that the Scottish Government introduced in December 2011 the role of Minister for Youth Employment. The ministerial portfolio focuses on drawing together all the activities across Government to support youth employment. The Committee invites the Government to provide information on the impact of the measures taken to address youth unemployment and the results achieved in Scotland following the appointment of the Minister for Youth Employment.

Persons with disabilities. The Government indicates that the Green Paper “Support and aspiration: A new approach to special educational needs and disability”, published in March 2011, sets out proposals for a different system to support better life outcomes for young people with disabilities and those with special educational needs. These proposals include a single assessment process and education, health care plan focusing on outcomes that will follow the young person from birth to age 25, improvements to vocational and work-related learning, and improved opportunities to get and keep a job, including the introduction of supported internships for young people with disabilities. In addition, the Government’s scheme for workers with disabilities, Access to Work, supported 35,840 people with disabilities to keep or get employment during 2010–11. Between April and December 2011, 27,420 people with disabilities were supported by the scheme. Access to Work provides additional support for individuals whose health or disability affects the way they do their job. It provides individuals and their employers with advice and support with extra costs which may arise because of an individual’s needs. The Committee invites the Government to continue to provide information on the results of the implementation of the measures designed to address the needs of persons with disabilities in the open labour market.

Older workers. The Committee notes that the Default Retirement Age (DRA) was removed from legislation. Employers can no longer force employees to retire when they reach the age of 65. Employers can only set retirement ages where it can be objectively justified in their particular circumstances – but this is open to challenge at Tribunal. The Government also indicates that Jobcentre Plus managers and advisers now have more flexibility to help older benefit claimants to find employment, and – apart from some specific options for jobseekers aged under 25 – older people have the same access to a comprehensive menu of individually tailored help. Furthermore, the Department for Work and Pensions is working in partnership with key business leaders in nine key occupational sectors to drive forward sustained improvements in the employment, training and retention of older workers. The Government indicates that it is still gathering information on the impact of these measures on older people’s employment. The Committee invites the Government to provide information on the impact of these measures in terms of promoting the participation of older workers in the labour market.

Long-term unemployed. The Committee notes that the Work Programme was launched on 10 June 2011 which has replaced much of the employment support previously offered. The Government indicates that providers will be paid primarily for supporting claimants into employment and helping them stay there for longer than ever before, with higher payments for supporting the hardest to help. Jobcentre Plus will continue to support benefit claimants during the first months of their claim. The Work Programme is for those people who are at risk of long-term unemployment. Any claimants who complete two years on the Work Programme without finding employment will return to Jobcentre Plus for further support. The Government indicates that the Department for Work and Pensions is currently running a small scale trial which will be evaluated to understand how best to support very long-term Jobseeker’s Allowance claimants who may reach the end of the Work Programme from 2013. The trial was launched in November 2011 and will run for approximately nine months across Jobcentre Plus districts to test two new elements of support: Community Action Programme, a 26-week contracted employment programme; and Ongoing Case Management, a more intensive offer of Jobcentre Plus support and access to further resources. The Committee invites the Government to include in its next report information on the implementation of the Work Programme and the achievements in promoting the return of long-term unemployed persons to the labour market.