Richard Alberg, CEO of MyWorkSearch, says there’s no excuse for ‘not affording outplacement’ when so much is offered for free…
 

I must declare a vested interest. I run an online outplacement firm. The Department for Work and Pensions (DWP) provides our services free of charge to jobseekers via its Jobcentre Plus offices. I am writing this article because it is my experience that not many HR professionals, including Jobcentre Plus staff, are aware of what is available free of charge.

Many employers are able to assist staff that they are making redundant. This is typically a combination of in-house support and the services of an outplacement consultancy. However, in these difficult times, there is not always the budget to do this. Indeed for many employees, job loss is due to their employer going out of business so there is no organisation to pay for an outplacement service.

One of the problems for many employees affected in this way is that the Jobcentre Plus advisor might not be aware of the services that are available; sometimes this is because the advisor was only recently employed. In 2009, as unemployment rose, the DWP recruited a very large number of advisors. Many of them are still learning and are simply unaware of what they can offer. Pressure of work also has an impact, as the available time to help each person is limited. Another factor is that many individuals delay visiting the jobcentre, or alternatively make their visits as fast as possible because they are embarrassed or otherwise reluctant to be seen in a Jobcentre. 

For these reasons it makes sense for employers to advise people who are about to lose their job what support options are available and to make sure they know to ask for it.

The available free support depends on the challenges that the person is likely to experience in finding a new role.  The most substantial available assistance is with career development and training grants and loans. Help with vocational training is particularly valuable where a person has a skill that is unlikely to be required and is willing to learn something new that is in greater demand.

Another useful programme is the Support for Newly Unemployed Professionals. This is for those who have a skill to offer but are unprepared for the hostile recruitment market they find themselves in. This programme funds job-search training and can be delivered online (such as our www.myworksearch.co.uk service) or face to face by recruitment professionals.

Advisors also have a Discretion Fund whereby they can award a person up to £300 over a twelve month period to help with a variety of needs. Examples include where the job-seeker needs items to overcome a challenge to work, such as suitable clothing in order to do a particular job, or the up-front cost of childcare in the first two weeks of starting work.

There is also the Travel to Work Scheme for job-seekers that have secured an interview but do not have the funds to get to and from the interview.

Another area is Work Trials. These are trial jobs that employers will advertise with Jobcentre Plus. The job-seeker does not get paid for this however the person is given a lunch allowance and money to get to and from the place of work. At the end of the trial the employer will decide whether or not this person has been successful. To avoid exploitation an absolute condition of the programme is that there must be an available position.

Hopefully readers of this article are not in a position where they need to assist those being made redundant. However if you are, please make sure that affected staff are aware of what they should ask for. This is a tough time to be job-seeking and those in this position need all the help they can get.
 

Richard Alberg is CEO of MyWorkSearch.