Employers' role in combating social exclusion

Ex-offenders, people with disabilities and the long-term unemployed often experience social exclusion, a situation that shuts them out of the labour market. Here, we show what employers can do to recruit such people and the benefits of doing so.

On this page:
Overview
What is social exclusion?
Why is social exclusion important to employers?
Barriers to recruiting socially excluded people
Employers discriminate against mentally ill people
Ex-offenders as potential recruits
People with disabilities as potential recruits
Marks & Spencer's "Marks & Start" programme
The value of partnerships to employers
Buddying and mentoring may be required
Help for employers through Access to Work
Checklist: The business case for tackling social exclusion
Resources

Key points

  • Social exclusion is defined as when someone is unable to participate fully in society because of one or more significant and often inter-related problems.
  • By recruiting people from socially excluded groups, employers can improve the diversity of their workforces, build a future skills base and help fulfil their corporate social responsibility agenda.
  • The main barrier to recruiting from socially excluded groups can be attributed to discriminatory attitudes and misconceptions on the part of society and some employers.

Overview

Social exclusion describes individuals and groups who cannot participate fully in society. It includes homeless people, people with disabilities, ex-offenders, individuals with mental health issues and long-term unemployed people.

Employers have a vested interest in recruiting from socially excluded groups. It can help reduce the level of crime and anti-social behaviour in their neighbourhoods, from which employers often suffer as much as residents. They can fill vacancies and improve their retention of staff. Finally, they can be seen to be acting ethically and fulfilling their corporate social responsibility objectives.

The accompanying case study of West Midlands Police illustrates many of the themes in this article.

More background on social exclusion and the political attention being devoted to it can be found in Social exclusion briefing and background.

What is social exclusion?

Social exclusion describes individuals who are unable to play their full part in society. Many of them cannot find jobs.

Social exclusion tends to affect some groups in society more than others. People who belong to any of the following groups, for example, often suffer from social exclusion:

  • ex-offenders;
  • long-term unemployed people;
  • individuals with mental or physical disabilities;
  • refugees;
  • former members of the armed services;
  • individuals with a history of long-term sickness;
  • homeless people;
  • individuals with longstanding drug or alcohol problems; and
  • lone parents.

The following sections provide more information about social exclusion and the political attention given to it:

Why is social exclusion important to employers?

The millions of individuals who belong to socially excluded groups can be difficult to reach by employers with vacancies to fill, yet they could provide a good source of recruits.

Employers need to be aware of the impact of social exclusion on their local communities, and the role they could play in combating it – see the checklist of the business case for tackling social exclusion.

Tapping into socially excluded groups could help alleviate employers' recruitment and retention difficulties.

Being active in tackling social exclusion can also help employers meet their social responsibility priorities. Unemployment is high among socially excluded groups. Joblessness depresses local economies in which employers' workplaces are based. It can also be associated with harmful acts, such as drug abuse, crime and vandalism, that affect the community and employers' experiences of crime.

See also our case study of West Midlands Police.

Barriers to recruiting socially excluded people

Negative societal attitudes towards marginalised groups spill over into the workplace and often act as a barrier to employment. There is clearly widespread reluctance on the part of many employers to recruit people who are classified as belonging to the "core jobless".

For example, evidence from a Chartered Institute of Personnel and Development (CIPD) survey of 755 employers in 2005 (PDF format, 174K) (on the CIPD website) reveals that more than 60% of employers exclude groups with certain characteristics from the recruitment process.

"Socially excluded" covers a broad range of different groups. The CIPD survey found that discrimination against socially excluded people varies across the different categories and also between the different sectors of the economy.

According to the CIPD survey, the most disadvantaged people, excluded by around one in three employers, are those with a criminal record, longstanding drug or alcohol problems or a history of long-term sickness.

Almost a quarter of employers do not consider homeless people for jobs. One in five disregard those with a history of mental illness.

Given that some people suffer from more than one of these problems, the effective barriers to employment they face are often severe, the CIPD survey says.

Employers discriminate against mentally ill people

Mental health charity Mind (external website) argues that employers often discriminate against jobseekers who have mental health problems. In 2006, chief executive Paul Farmer said: "Survey after survey has shown that discrimination against people with a history of mental health problems is widespread in recruitment." (Read the press release on the Mind website).

He called for the government to urgently fund enhanced anti-stigma programmes. "Discrimination exists throughout society and only in challenging that can we hope to thoroughly tackle it in recruitment," he explained.

In October 2006, the government launched Action on Stigma. This is a three-year campaign that aims to improve the way in which employers deal with mental health in the workplace. (Read the press release on the Departrment of Health website).

The initiative urges employers to sign up to a set of anti-stigma principles. These include demonstrating that they have made changes to their work environment and employment practices to ensure that people with mental health problems are treated fairly.

The press release announcing the campaign points out that only about 20% of people with severe mental health problems are employed. This compares with a figure of 65% for people with physical health problems.

Even for people with common types of mental illness, such as depression, only about half are "competitively employed". The Department of Health has pointed out that some of the anti-stigma principles are voluntary. The adoption of others will be expected of public bodies as a means of meeting their duty to promote equality of opportunity under the Disability Discrimination Act 1995.

The Chartered Institute of Personnel and Development (CIPD) conducted a survey in May 2006 (PDF format, 532K) (external website) to explore employers' attitudes towards recruiting from the key target groups referred to in the Department for Work and Pensions' (DWP) 2006 green paper on welfare reform (PDF format, 1.11MB) (external website) that aims to reduce unemployment and economic inactivity.

To meet this aim, the DWP estimates that it will be necessary to help 1 million additional older workers into jobs and reduce the number of jobless people on Lone Parent Benefit and Incapacity Benefit (IB) by 300,000 and 1 million, respectively.

The CIPD survey found that almost one in five employers said they exclude people on IB for reasons of mental ill health, almost twice the rate of exclusion for reasons of physical ill health.

For both these groups of IB claimants, exclusion is relatively high in the private sector, particularly among small and medium-sized employers.

Employers are concerned about lack of skills and the possibility that recruits might suffer continuing problems with ill-health, according to the CIPD survey.

The CIPD says that this finding offers a useful signpost for policy-makers seeking to increase recruitment from these groups. For example, almost two-thirds of employers think that more IB claimants would be hired if grants were available to fund the assessment of potential recruits' skills and subsequently address any weaknesses.

Ex-offenders as potential recruits

There is a compelling business case for employers to develop a more broad-minded recruitment approach in relation to socially excluded groups.

For example, ex-offenders are one such marginalised group. Around 100,000 people leave prison every year in the UK, representing between 2% and 3% of the average monthly in-flow to the unemployment pool.

Most crimes, however, are petty in nature and do not lead to a custodial sentence, and many ex-offenders have rarely been involved in serious offences. Therefore, it does not make sense for employers to discount such a significant section of the workforce at a time of nearly full employment and severe skills shortages in some sections of the economy.

According to Mervyn Barrett, head of the resettlement communications service of Nacro (external website) (formerly the National Association for the Care and Resettlement of Offenders), the main business case for considering ex-offenders for employment is that a significant proportion of the labour market has a criminal record. He said: "Home Office research shows that a quarter of the population of working age have a criminal record. But the Criminal Records Bureau's latest figures show that just 5% of disclosure applications reveal criminal record information, clearly indicating that people with a criminal record are reluctant to apply for a job for fear of discrimination and public humiliation."

Whether or not the figures are as stark as Barrett suggests, the May 2006 survey by the Chartered Institute of Personnel and Development (CIPD), cited above, confirms that many employers entirely exclude people from groups such as ex-offenders.

Not only does this cut off a source of potential labour, but lack of employment and re-offending are closely linked. It is not in the interest of society, nor employers, to store up problems for the future by barring individuals from legal ways of obtaining an income.

Commenting on the 2005 CIPD survey, CIPD chief economist John Philpott says "the extent of exclusion of the core jobless is not in every case justified on the basis of their potential". (Read the press release on the CIPD website)

Almost nine out of 10 (87%) employers that have hired ex-offenders consider them to be at least as productive as their other employees, according to Philpott.

This suggests that people with criminal records and individuals from other core jobless groups are in many cases being unreasonably excluded from the recruitment process.

Barrett also believes that, if employers operate a blanket exclusion policy by not employing ex-offenders, they are excluding a large number of perfectly satisfactory workers.

He explains: "In the vast majority of cases, the conviction is wholly irrelevant and very few job applicants have records that pose a genuine risk. We are gradually creating a huge pool of people who are being excluded from employment because of fear of disclosure and discrimination – this is due to a combination of self-exclusion and employer attitudes. This pool is getting bigger all the time and employers are storing up a huge problem by excluding this potential talent pool."

People with disabilities as potential recruits

A similar business argument to the one for hiring ex-offenders can be applied to many of those in other categories of socially excluded groups.

The Shaw Trust (external website) is a national charity that provides training and work opportunities for people who are disadvantaged in the labour market due to disability, ill health or other social circumstances.

According to Julian Burnell, Shaw Trust's head of PR, there is widespread misunderstanding on the part of society and employers in relation to the socially disadvantaged. He said: "It is down to organisations like ourselves to challenge misconceptions like the assumption that it is onerous and complicated to recruit someone with a disability – the average cost of a work-related adjustment is less than £200. The demographics alone should prompt employers to consider recruiting from these groups – typically, it is people who have not had a job who realise the value of it."

See also our case study of West Midlands Police, which has been working with the Shaw Trust to recruit individuals with disabilities.

Marks & Spencer's 'Marks & Start' programme

Since its launch in 2004, Marks & Spencer's "Marks & Start" community programme (see details on the Marks & Spencer website and "Buddying up at work" from Employment Review 836) has provided work experience for disadvantaged people, such as those who are homeless, people with disabilities, lone parents and young unemployed people.

In 2006, the company received the Business in the Community's Impact on Society Award for its programme, which forms part of Marks & Spencer's corporate social responsibility (CSR) agenda.

The company's head of CSR, Mike Barry, says that practical work experience and being part of a team can "boost an individual's confidence, self-esteem and their ability to find employment". On average, almost 40% of participants on the adult scheme have moved into employment in areas such as education and the police and, 12 months on, around half remain in work.

The scheme includes a two- or four-week placement, mainly in a store and occasionally in office locations. There is a structured training programme based on the trainee customer assistant programme for M&S new starters. Each programme is tailored to the needs of its target group. For example, the one for parents who have been away from the workplace while raising children provides information about tax credits, support agencies and childcare options.

M&S community manager E J Walker says that, as well as contributing to the social agenda, the Marks & Start programme brings wider benefits to the organisation. These benefits include improving diversity and developing the talents of people who act as mentors to those on placements. Helping people get back into work provides a bottom-line benefit to the business and is a "win–win outcome".

The value of partnerships to employers

A recruitment strategy that widens the potential candidate pool to include socially disadvantaged groups makes good business sense. But employers need to be aware that they may have to take steps to ease some people's entry into work.

Socially excluded groups are, by their nature, not the most accessible audience to reach via traditional recruitment channels. One approach that could help involves forging partnerships with specialist and voluntary organisations that have well-established expertise and networks within a particular marginalised group.

For example, Royal Mail (external website) has formed strategic partnerships with a range of voluntary organisations that already have links in the community (See also "From social exclusion to inclusive recruitment" from Employment Review 832). As well as a Business in the Community initiative called Business Action on Homelessness (external website), the organisation has forged relationships with the Employers' Forum on Disability (external website), Mencap (external website), Remploy (external website), Radar (external website), (formerly the Royal Association for Disability and Rehabilitation), the Shaw Trust (external website) and Shelter (external website).

Shaw Trust's Julian Burnell said: "Many employers are put off from employing people from marginalised groups because they feel it is a difficult and troubling area but this is not necessarily the case at all.

"Depending on their background and level of exclusion, individuals are likely to have quite different needs. But by working in partnership with a charity like Shaw Trust, an employer is effectively gaining a free, or extremely cost-effective, outsourcing arrangement where we can advise on areas such as workplace adjustments and support schemes."

Marks & Spencer also has a number of partners to help deliver its Marks & Start scheme. Its partners include DisabledGo (external website), Business Action on Homelessness (external website), One Parent Families (external website), the Prince's Trust (external website) and more than 1,000 schools. In turn, these partners work with more than 160 other charities, voluntary organisations and education–business partnerships.

It is easy to appreciate how partnerships such as these enable employers to tap into a wealth of experience that it would be impossible to replicate through their own unaided efforts.

See also the case study of West Midlands Police, which has been working with the Shaw Trust and Jobcentre Plus to tackle social exclusion.

Buddying and mentoring may be required

Employers that recruit from some marginalised sections of society need to be aware that they are probably taking on vulnerable and fragile individuals. Employers are likely to need to ensure that such recruits are given suitable ongoing support.

For example, Royal Mail is adapting its selection criteria, workplace environments and job roles to open up opportunities to excluded people.

The organisation also tailors its recruitment approach to meet the needs of those taken on from socially excluded groups. It provides an extended induction programme to help new employees acclimatise to the work environment. It has also undertaken "one of the most extensive diversity training programmes ever", training more than 175,000 people in just over 18 months.

Marks & Spencer runs extensive buddying and mentoring schemes to provide ongoing support for new recruits.

On the Marks & Start scheme, a coach is available for participants throughout the training programme and an existing employee acts as a buddy to provide day-to-day support.

The company's head of CSR, Mike Barry, says that around 1,000 M&S employees are involved in the programme every year. Being a buddy to someone can be challenging but can motivate and develop those who carry out this role. The community manager attributes a good part of the scheme's success to the buddies who support participants during their placements.

Help for employers through Access to Work

Employers that are considering recruiting from marginalised groups can get help from two sources. First, there is a range of voluntary and specialist organisations that can assist recruiters in reaching socially excluded groups. Second, government assistance could also be available to help employers recruit and retain socially excluded people.

For example, Access to Work is run by the government-funded Jobcentre Plus (external website) network and is targeted at people with disabilities. The scheme is available to help overcome some of the problems associated with disability. It provides practical help and advice to employers. Help can include reimbursing the cost of communicator support at interview, additional travel expenses and providing a support worker.

Access to Work can also pay a grant towards any extra employment costs that result from a person's disability. For people who are starting a job, the grant is up to 100% of the approved costs; for those who are already employed, the grant is up to 80% of the approved costs above the first £300.

West Midlands Police works in partnership with Jobcentre Plus through its Workstep initiative and finds that Access to Work plays a key role in providing practical support. See the case study of West Midlands Police.

This article was written by Rachel Suff, a freelance employment researcher and writer.

Checklist: The business case for tackling social exclusion

1. Employers have a vested interest in helping to foster social inclusion. By recruiting individuals from socially excluded groups, employers can obtain several important benefits:
  • They can help reduce the level of crime and anti-social behaviour in their neighbourhoods, from which they often suffer as much as the residents do.
  • They can fill vacancies and improve their retention of staff. This is particularly valuable where they experience recruitment difficulties and high levels of staff turnover.
  • They can be seen to be acting ethically and fulfilling their corporate social responsibility objectives.
  • Ensuring access to employment opportunities for socially excluded groups will help employers improve the diversity of their workforces. This can help improve their reputation as a good employer and increase customer satisfaction.

2. The recruitment and retention of individuals from socially excluded groups may require adjustments to existing HR processes; these changes can produce wider benefits:

  • The prevalence of discriminatory practices and stereotyped attitudes in their organisations can be reduced.
  • The organisation's HR processes will be more likely to comply with anti-discrimination law.
  • Improvements made to induction, buddying schemes and job-related training are likely to have broader benefits in terms the retention of staff generally and their performance and productivity.

Source: IRS.

Resources

1. External websites

2. XpertHR archive