Values and Principles of Supported Employment
At all stages of the Supported Employment process, the activities and the approach undertaken should be consistent with its values and principles.
For people who are not familiar with Supported Employment, this can come across as a bit precious and inflexible – but we place so much emphasis on the values and principles because they have been proven to work and they offer some guarantees for clients about what they are entitled to expect.
Some disabled people or people with long term conditions may feel unable to speak up or complain when they do not get what they were promised. In our experience, when poor services are delivered, it can almost always be traced back to the approach that has been taken and the failure to act according to the values and principles of Supported Employment.
In particular, we expect a client to have a real sense of ownership of this process and that they are fully involved in all the decisions affecting them. We know from experience that empowering clients is the best way to achieve success and people are far more likely to enter and sustain work.
The Supported Employment model is intended to allow for a flexible path to employment for each client – but the values and principles of how it is delivered should always be consistent.
- Clients are entitled to support to get a job and retain a job
- All people have the capacity to be employed
- Supported Employment must be person centred
- Clients have the same rights as any other jobseeker or employee
- Supported Employment workers should treat all clients fairly, not discriminating on grounds of ability
- We support people to get real jobs for real pay in the open labour market
- Individuality – each client gets a service that meets their unique needs
- Respect – we value every client and ensure they are treated with dignity at all times
- Self-determination – we support each client’s right to make their own decisions about the support and the service they receive
- Informed choice – clients should have access to high quality information that allows them to make informed decisions.
- Empowerment – we should build the capacity of clients, supporting them to learn and develop.
- Confidentiality – we only share information when it is necessary to do so and always with the consent of the client
- Flexibility – we adapt the service we provide to give each client the opportunity to be successful
- Accessibility – our service is open and available to every client who wants to progress towards employment.
