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The Work Choice programme is a specialist disability employment programme that was launched in October 2010 and replaced two previous programmes WORKSTEP and Work Preparation. It provides employment support to disabled people in the UK who cannot be supported through mainstream employment programmes and their employers. This report offers findings from the 'early implementation' and 'steady state' waves of research.

Findings from the research explore the success of Work Choice against the programme aims and critical success factors. This includes an examination of factors which influence access to the programme and participant profile. They also cover an exploration of what works in specialist disability employment provision, a review of the Work Choice wage incentive for young people and a comparison of Work Choice and Work Programme delivery. Commissioning findings examine the provider market structure and how this was affected by the commissioning of Work Choice. They also present views on the relationship between the provider market and programme delivery, and examine other features of the [Department for Work and Pensions] DWP commissioning model, including performance management and outcome-based funding.

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The Health and Well-being Employee Survey was jointly funded by the Health and Safety Executive (HSE) and the Cross-Government Health, Work and Well-being Strategy Unit (HWWB). The HWWB is sponsored by five government partners: the Department for Work and Pensions (DWP), the Department of Health (DH), HSE, the Scottish Government and the Welsh Government. This report focuses specifically on HWWB's objectives for the research, which were to: (1) develop the evidence base around work and health and workplace health initiatives from the employee perspective; and (2) provide baseline data so that progress on health and well-being at work can be measured and monitored over time. The report provides a discussion of the evidence relating to health and well-being at work. It covers findings concerning relationships at work and the culture of the workplace, key employee findings in relation to well-being, engagement, sickness absence and retention, and other aspects of working life of interest to HWWB.

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The Gateway to Work pilots were introduced into the Gateway period of New Deal 25 plus in 2003, following the national roll out of a similar course on New Deal for Young People in July 2000. Gateway to Work is a two week, full-time training programme which is mandatory for jobseekers that have been claiming Jobseeker’s Allowance four weeks after joining Gateway. The course provides soft skills training in areas such as communication, team building and problem solving as well as CV [curriculum vitae] writing, interview techniques and support with applying for jobs. The specific objectives of Gateway to Work were to: increase the numbers of people moving into jobs in the early stages of Gateway; reduce the level of Gateway overstayers; improve the participants’ motivation and ability to participate in their IAP [Intensive Activity Period]; improve participants’ readiness for employment. The pilots have taken place in four areas: London (across every district), Manchester, Swansea and Dundee. These formally ended in March 2006. The key aims of this study have been to: identify and explore the impact of the pilots; identify best practice, in terms of which elements of Gateway to Work have been most effective in moving clients into employment. This report draws together the findings from qualitative field work undertaken by GHK and quantitative analysis of administrative data and statistics undertaken by the Unemployment Analysis Team at the Department for Work and Pensions. The qualitative element consisted of four case studies across participating pilot areas involving a combination of face-to-face and telephone interviews with staff in district offices, local offices and some providers.

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This report examines the impact of workfare schemes that mandate participation in unpaid work activities as a condition of receiving social assistance ('work for benefits'). The research involved a literature review of international evidence of workfare programs. Three countries were chosen as offering interesting and relevant examples of workfare type programs: the US, Canada and Australia. The report refers to key features that help participants on workfare programs into employment. Insisting on some job search for participants during the program is vital to ensure that they do not become dependent on this form of employment and actually move into the open labour market. The second key feature is treating participants' barriers to work and not just their lack of work experience. Additional support for those with drink and drug problems and basic employability skills helps improve participants' chances of finding work. The report points to evidence that full-time activity in such programs leads to improved job outcomes.

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Pathways to Work provides a single gateway to financial, employment and health support for people claiming incapacity benefits and Employment and Support Allowance. This report presents findings from a survey of incapacity benefits customers who were called onto the Pathways to Work programme as part of the extension to 'existing customers'. Pathways to Work has been operating in pilot areas since October 2003 with the aim of assisting new and repeat incapacity benefits claimants into, and towards, paid work. The programme involves mandatory meetings (work focused interviews (WFIs)) with an Incapacity Benefit Personal Adviser (IBPA) and specialist services focusing on work and health aimed at helping incapacity benefit claimants back into work. The focus of this report is customers who had been claiming incapacity benefits for between one and seven years before they started on the programme. A previous report [indexed at TD/TNC 96.590] looked at the experiences of customers who had been claiming for one to three years. This report compares the experience and characteristics of that group with customers who had been receiving incapacity benefits for between four and seven years.

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The purpose of this research was to evaluate the Personalisation Pathfinder trial, which was introduced in April 2015 in three Districts of the UK: South West Wales, Surrey and Sussex and Greater Wessex. The Personalisation Pathfinder offered tailored support to those with a disability or health condition who are unemployed and aimed to investigate the impacts of an approach focused on personalisation, flexibility, peer support, and integration with local support. The Personalisation Pathfinder ran for two years and included the following key components: (1) dedicated Specialist Health and Disability Coaches - offered more time and tailored employment support to claimants; (2) Specialist Health Disability Partnership Managers - worked to build partnerships and procuring specialist provision in the local area; (3) Journey 2 Employment (J2E) - peer support job clubs delivered by voluntary organisations through a Community Employment Specialist (CES), and a member of J2E staff with a lived experience of disability; and (4) Personalisation Fund - additional funding to procure tailored provision that could not be covered by existing funding.

This report discusses findings from two waves of a quantitative survey with claimants on the Personalisation Pathfinder as well as from qualitative interviews with claimants and Pathfinder stakeholders. It also includes observations of Journey 2 Employment (J2E) job clubs and interviews with Community Employment Specialists. Findings are discussed in terms of program delivery and outcomes for participants.

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The Department for Work and Pensions (DWP) introduced the work experience programme in 2011 to help young unemployed people get valuable work-based skills through a two to eight week placement with a local employer. This research explores the impact of work experience participation on subsequent benefit and employment outcomes for three cohorts of participants who were tracked for up to three years. In particular, it evaluates work experience placements funded through Get Britain Working and the Youth Contract, to determine whether these were getting young claimants into employment. Therefore the analysis focuses on the impact on participants aged 19 to 24 who were claiming Jobseeker's Allowance (JSA) at the point when they started a placement. This study adds to existing positive evidence that taking part in work experience reduces the time 19 to 24 years old JSA claimants spend on benefit and increases the time they spend in employment. It also provides new evidence to suggest that this impact is sustained for at least two years following participation.

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This report looks at: (1) use of Department for Work and Pensions (DWP) recruitment services; (2) experience of DWP recruitment initiatives; (3) experience of Universal Credit and the labour market; (4) older workers; (5) support for employees with mental health conditions; (6) access channels and internet usage; (7) child maintenance; and (8) disadvantaged groups and disability. The 2018 survey interviewed 4,201 employers across Great Britain. This is the third wave of the employer experience survey, and follows the DWP employer engagement and experience survey 2013 and DWP employer experience survey 2015 to 2016.

The Department will use the research to: (1) understand performance - findings will provide insight into the service delivered to employers, allowing for operational and policy development, and identify areas where service delivery can be improved; (2) understand awareness - findings will be used to look at employer awareness of DWP services and policies and compare this across organisation size, sector and region; and (3) transform business - the survey provides insight around employer use of digital services and employer preferences for interacting with DWP.

The findings in this report are primarily based on employers' direct experience of DWP services and policies, and their experiences of a range of workplace management topics. The survey also included a small number of perception-based questions which asked employers about their views of DWP services and policies, whether or not they had experienced them directly. Employer perceptions of DWP services and policies are important in better understanding how employers view what the department delivers, and to help us understand and address any concerns.

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The European Social Fund [ESF] is designed to strengthen economic and social cohesion in the European Union. Objective 3 funding focuses on the development of human resources and is organised under the following Policy Fields: (1) Tackling long-term unemployment; (2) Helping young people and those at risk from not being able to find work; (3) Improving training, education and counselling for lifelong learning; (4) Encouraging entrepreneurship and adaptability in the workplace; (5) Promoting equal opportunities and improving the role of women in the workforce. This report presents the findings from a quantitative survey of companies supported by European Social Fund Objective 3, under Policy Fields 3, 4 and 5 in the period April 2003 to March 2005. The survey involved 1,174 structured telephone interviews with such companies. The aims of the survey were to enhance understanding of: the range of ESF-funded provision to companies, and the range of companies that benefit from it; how many employees benefit, and what occupations they are employed in; the extent to which target groups of individuals are reached; the impacts of ESF-funded training, and its value added.

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This report aims to understand more about the working experiences of older individuals as well as the potential impact changes in the age composition of workplaces may have on their performance. It extends the evidence base on these issues using data from the Workplace Employment Relations Survey (WERS), a nationally representative survey of British workplaces and their employees. Data were used from the two most recent surveys in the series, which took place in 2004 and 2011. The research has multiple objectives. First it investigates the types of workplaces in which older workers are more commonly employed. Existing studies have established variations in the prevalence of older workers by industry and occupation, among other factors. The analysis focuses on the workplace characteristics that are associated with employing a higher proportion of older workers. The second objective is to explore the prevalence of age-related equal opportunities policies and practices among employers and consider how these relate to the employment of older workers. Legislation requires employers to treat employees equally regardless of age, but some firms adopt practices which go beyond statutory requirements. The third objective is to explore outcomes for older workers and whether these are affected by employer practices. The final objective is to explore the relationship between the age composition of the workforce and workplace performance; this study is the first to do so using nationally representative data on British workplaces.

Key findings [are that]: (1) the proportion of workers aged 50 and over in the workforce rose from 21 per cent in 2004 to 24 per cent in 2011; (2) the proportion of older workers in workplaces varies depending on a number of characteristics: industry; region; occupational group; workplace age; size; union recognition; and the presence of equal opportunities policies; (3) the age composition of private sector workplaces does not have a significant role to play in explaining performance; (4) equal opportunities policies have become more widespread, but practices have not; (5) older workers are less likely to receive training than other workers, but those that do are satisfied with the training offered; (6) on average, older workers report higher job satisfaction, wellbeing and perceptions of fair treatment than younger workers; and (7) employees of all ages, who were able to work flexibly were more likely to be positive about their job.

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