Steps towards employment for people experiencing multiple needs

By the MEAM Coalition

This briefing explores how people with multiple needs can be supported towards employment. It is based on interviews across England with people seeking work, and the practitioners that support them. It provides recommendations to the Department for Work and Pensions to inform the design of new back-to-work support programmes. It also offers guidance for other key stakeholders, including frontline organisations who work with people experiencing multiple needs.

Since late 2015, the MEAM coalition has been speaking to people around the country, including those involved with services in Blackpool, Cambridgeshire, Manchester and Staffordshire, for their views on the different kinds of employment support they have either received or helped others to access. In total, this briefing represents feedback from 15 interviews: eight with men and seven with women.

Participants were chosen from a range of backgrounds and age groups; some had significant levels of professional experience, whilst others had never been in formal employment. Some of these interviews are available to listen to on the website: www.meam.org.uk/voices

The thoughts and feelings of those interviewed as part of this work raise some important questions about the design of current policy and, in particular, its relationship to the individuals that are affected by it.

The next section provides some background on the current policy situation. This is followed by a summary of the key findings and recommendations which are explored in the rest of the briefing.

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