CIPD research into employer attitudes highlights the scale of the Governments task

Reforms of incapacity benefit are an important tool to help UK employers fill vacancies and tackle skills shortages according to the Chartered Institute of Personnel and Development. However, if these reforms are to have the desired outcomes they will need to be accompanied by support and guidance for the employers who will be required to take on people from ëcore joblessí groups and measures to improve the employability of the core jobless themselves.

The latest research from the CIPD shows that 60% of employers actively exclude groups with certain characteristics from the recruitment process. It is these ëcore joblessí groups that the government wants to get back to work.

The CIPD research amongst employers found that the ëmost excludedí groups were those with a criminal record, those with a history of drug and alcohol problems, and those with a history of long term sickness. Each of these groups is excluded by around 1 in 3 employers.

Dr John Philpott, Chief Economist at the Chartered Institute of Personnel and Development, said:

ìWidespread reluctance on the part of employers to recruit the core jobless highlights the magnitude of the task facing the Government as it strives to get more economically inactive benefit claimants ñ especially those claiming Incapacity Benefit ñ off welfare and into work.

ìThe government wonít achieve its aims with changes to the benefits system alone. Government also need to work to tackle the concerns of employers and to improve the employability of these core jobless groups if it is to ensure there are jobs for people to go to if their benefits are to be reduced. And with fewer recruitment opportunities in a slightly cooler labour market, the Governmentís policy task of moving people from these ëcore joblessí groups up the job queue, off welfare benefits and into work looks set to get harder. Even a relatively slight cooling in the labour market, as now seems underway, is bad news for those at the back of the jobs queue and for ministers striving to deliver their welfare reform objectives.î

The CIPD research offers some hope to the Governmentís welfare to work drive, finding that employers would be more likely to recruit the core jobless if more was done to improve their employability. But the report also suggests that employability measures must be matched by greater efforts to overcome the often unfair negative attitudes of employers toward the core jobless.

Philpott continues:

ìThe extent of exclusion of the core jobless is not in every case justified on the basis of their potential. For example, of employers with experience of employing ex-offenders 87% consider them at least as productive as other workers and 75% consider them at least as reliable. This would suggest that people with criminal records and individuals from other core jobless groups are in many cases being unfairly excluded from the recruitment process. More must be done by policy makers, working with employers, to address negative stereotypes.î

ìWhere weíve worked with employers struggling to fill vacancies, weíve found that those who have widened the net and recruited from groups they may otherwise have avoided have benefited from this approach. Employers who place negative stereotypes to one side find it easier to recruit, and frequently discover the more diverse workforce that results is more effective at delivering their business objectives.î