employment

• Three areas pilot schemes to get care leavers into work or education

  Three areas have been chosen to pilot schemes to help care leavers access education and employment.

  

• Disability employment gap ‘narrows’

  Disabled people have accounted for about a third of the increase in employment in the UK over the last decade, think tank finds.

  

• One in four ‘sandwich carers’ suffer mental health problems

  Over a quarter of ‘sandwich carers’ report symptoms of mental ill-health and are struggling financially, according to the latest statistics.

  

• Supported housing system ‘isn’t working’, charity warns

  People living in supported housing are being discouraged from finding work because of fears they will not be able to afford their rent, report reveals.

  

• Care sector faces staff shortage of 400,000 over next decade

  The struggling adult social care sector is facing a growing workforce crisis due to chronic low pay and endemic job insecurity, a new report has revealed.

  

• Council reduces workforce by 138 to balance budget

  Over 130 Bath and North East Somerset Council workers have been made redundant at a cost to the council of £4.75m.

  

• Council plans ‘random’ drug tests for employees

  Walsall Council employees may soon be subject to ‘random’ drug testing after drugs paraphernalia was discovered.

  

• £4m fund launched to help people with disabilities in work

  The Department for Work and Pensions has launched a new ‘challenge fund’ to help more people with mental health or musculoskeletal conditions to stay in work.

  

• Fire services must ‘diversify’ their workforces, council chiefs say

  Councils have called for recruitment of more women and people from minority backgrounds to ensure fire and rescue services are fit for twenty-first century.

  

• £135m employment support programme launched

  London boroughs today launched a new multi-million pound employment programme which will provide tailored support to help people find work.