Frequent questions about supported employment (employers)

There are many benefits in employing someone with a disability.

• It provides motivated employees who will be committed to your company
• It improves morale and team working
• It can enhance your company's reputation, both internally and with customers
• It can lead to innovation in products and services
• It demonstrates corporate social responsibility

Source - The British Association of Supported Employment.

You will also gain an employee who will be looking for career progression and the chance to learn new skills and is willing to take on and explore new things also providing them the opportunity to start a long career.

They may also be able to help with new ways or working or thinking due to having a lived experience of certain things that have affected them in everyday life.

Support is available from Access to work which can help fund individuals with a grant to help pay for practical support and managing their mental health at work, they can identify support and equipment needed and fund this once an assessment has been done. Access to work can be applied for within 6 weeks of a start date for an assessment to support with individual needs to enable them to access their role more effectively. This could be via equipment, support, or travel.

Information and guidance can also be provided by:

• Ideal For All
• Age UK
• ACAS

Partners of Solihull Council will also assist with arranging initial conversations and meetings along with visits and work trials, arranging volunteering to gain the skills to be suitable for the role in the future also and discussing how a role could be created in the future which may be a suitable role. Ongoing support when employed including visits to see how progress is going.

Our partners can also provide advice about potential employees they are supporting to help you understand the individual, their skills and potential. They can also work with you to identify any potential barriers and ways to overcome these.

Any business can offer supported employment. It depends on what support you can offer, how much resource and time you have or are willing to commit and how flexible you are willing to be.

Some of the potential employees will not require a lot of support and could already be capable of doing the role but may not have had the chance of paid employment.

Many have a wealth of experience built up through volunteering opportunities and may just need a dedicated friendly staff member to help them break duties down into smaller tasks to enable a routine to be built or learnt.