What is it about?
This study investigated sustainability of employment for 13,318 participants of the main UK welfare-to- work programme ('The Work Programme') over a period of two years after they returned to work. The focus was particularly on health related the barriers to employment. The research also compared sustainability of employment for those aged 18-64 with significant health issues (and receiving 'Employment Support Allowance' (ESA)) and others (receiving 'Job Seekers Allowance' (JSA)). It found that although fewer older ESA participants entered employment, they typically remained in employment more than JSA participants (who had fewer health issues).
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Why is it important?
In many countries, job seekers with disabilities and chronic illnesses experience high rates of unemployment and low rates of re-entering employment. The research indicates the importance of identifying risk factors for job loss in ageing workers and the development of interventions for extension of working lives. This is the first study, using sequence analysis, to examine the trajectories of labour market participation between four groups of clients engaging with the UK’s Work Programme.
Perspectives
This research was part of a wider longitudinal study into health and return to work for unemployed people who participated in the Work Programme. It may suggest that those with multiple health issues may actually remain in employment longer than many of those with with fewer health issues, especially younger people returning to work.
Professor Emeritus Ronald McQuaid
University of Stirling
Read the Original
This page is a summary of: Investigating sustainability in work after participating in a welfare-to-work initiative using a 2-year cohort study of Work Programme participants in Scotland, BMJ Open, July 2024, BMJ,
DOI: 10.1136/bmjopen-2023-072943.
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