Scheme helping people with long-term health issues get back into employment working well at town business

A scheme to support people in Norfolk with long-term health issues get back into employment or continue in their jobs has already helped more than 1,100 participants.Working Well Norfolk has received over 1,600 referrals since it was launched in October 2023 and the Government has now confirmed the successful programme can continue for an additional 18 months.It has already helped over 200 participants to move into work and a further 150 employed people remain in work, either returning to work after long-term sickness or remaining in their jobs where they were struggling in the workplace because of their health condition.Extra funding will enable the project to continue to accept referrals until September 2025 and provide support for participants and their employers up to September 2026 – assisting a further 730 people in the process and increasing the help available to a total of 1,830 residents over the whole programme duration.Norfolk County Council manages the £5.2m project, which is funded by the Department for Work and Pensions, and delivered by Seetec Pluss and Standguide Ltd. Cllr Fabian Eagle, cabinet member for employment and skills, said: “It is so important that we support people with disabilities and long-term health conditions to stay in the workforce and get back into employment, and Working Well Norfolk is performing this vital role”.“Hearing the stories of some of those helped by the scheme is inspiring and it is clear they would have been lost to the county’s workforce had it not been for the support made available by Working Well Norfolk.” The number of people leaving the UK workforce because of long-term sickness is now at its highest point since the 1990s.Adults economically inactive due to ill-health rose from 2.1m in July 2019 to a peak of 2.8m in October 2023, and more than one-fifth of UK adults are deemed not to be actively looking for work. Over 30,000 people in Norfolk are economically inactive due to long-term sickness alone.Williams Refrigeration in Lynn has been able to support a number of employees thanks to Working Well Norfolk. Two who had been off sick due to poor mental health are now attending work regularly and one of them is doing mental health training and using it to help other colleagues who are struggling.HR manager Georgina Clark says she has used Working Well Norfolk and other organisations to create a hub she can go to for employment support for employees suffering with long-term health conditions.“Working Well Norfolk has tried to get people looking at things differently and to act as a mediator, and it has been useful to have someone outside of the business taking a pragmatic view of things,” she said.“As a result, we have managed to keep skills in the business and those who have been helped back into work feel we have supported them, so it is a win both ways. “I have been in HR for 30 years and my job is concerned with mental health more than it has ever been before. You can get overwhelmed, so it is also a benefit to me to have that outside support.”Chris Smith had become depressed and anxious following health issues over two years at work which left him disillusioned and wanting to quit his job. At 65, he faced having to work longer because of the increase in the age that he could claim a State Pension.A visit to his GP saw him referred to the Practice Wellbeing Specialist, and she quickly connected him with Working Well Norfolk.Chris said “The process to enlist me into the programme was swift and painless as the staff were professional and prompt in dealing with my case. My Employment Specialist was very understanding and helpful, and very shortly we developed a good rapport with each other. “It soon became apparent that my skills and abilities were a good match within a role whereby I could help people find employment. As luck would have it, a local organisation had a vacancy for such a role, so I took the plunge and applied.“This was the first time I had ever applied for a job which was outside of my field of work and comfort zone for more than forty years. I now work as an Employment Specialist helping people with all kinds of mild to moderate disabilities to find work.”