If you have to make redundancies, Jobcentre Plus can give you and your employees support and advice through its Rapid Response Service. Support could include:
- helping people facing redundancy to write CVs and find jobs
- providing general information about benefits
- helping people to find the right training and learn new skills
- helping with costs like travel to work expenses
Jobcentre Plus may also provide on-site support for large scale redundancies.
The Rapid Response Service provides local support and helps workers and employers by giving those facing redundancy access to the services of Jobcentre Plus and its partners before they lose their jobs. The support available through the Rapid Response Service is not just about Jobcentre Plus services – where appropriate other partners, such as the LSC, the devolved administrations, Local Authorities and Local Enterprise Partnerships will be involved to provide a package of support to those affected.
As the name suggests, early intervention is a priority objective, helping some workers into decent new jobs before they have lost their current ones. Through the RRS, Jobcentre Plus and its partners offer workers faced with redundancy a range of options to help them find alternative work. The service can be an important resource for union representatives in this situation.
There are two ways to access support;
Employer Help Website: To find out more about the help available visit the Employer Help site here
Employees via Jobhelp: Encourage staff to visit the Jobcentre Plus job help website. This provides a wide range of jobsearch help and advice, including information about working in critical sectors and the latest vacancies. It also includes information about benefit advice and how to claim, and redundancy support that Jobcentre Plus and partners can offer to employees facing redundancy or have been made redundant. Visit Job help here
Employees can also use the Jobcentre Plus ‘Find a job’ which is a free service (available 24 hours a day, 7 days a week). You can access the Jobcentre Find a Job website here.
In Scotland, redundancy support is provided through the Scottish Government’s Partnership Action for Continuing Employment (PACE) initiative. The PACE Redundancy Helpline 0800 917 8000 is operated by Skills Development Scotland or help is available at here.
In Wales, the service is delivered by the React Employers
Support and a specialist helpline is also available via the FIS Employment and Workforce Management Toolkit