MH74.2013 Support employers and others in their work with people with mental health needs

Overview

This standard covers supporting the provision of employment for people with mental health needs. This standard applies to those who seek to maintain employment opportunities for people with mental health needs. The term ‘employment opportunities' has been used to indicate the range of ways in which people may gain access to employment and improve their employability, including full and part time employment, short term contracts, voluntary work, placement within training schemes and work experience schemes. Schemes may be national or local initiatives. Users of this standard will need to ensure that practice reflects up to date information and policies. Version No 2

Knowledge and Understanding

You will need to know and understand:

1. effective methods of identifying and monitoring potentially relevant opportunities and providers
2. local agencies and services relevant to employment, training and education, including those providing financial advice their roles and responsibilities and how to access them
3. the importance of employment as a factor in promoting mental health, ways of maximising peoples' employability and how to access support and services to assist in this
4. relevant research into the relationship between employment and mental health
5. evidence of effective practice in maximising employment opportunities for those who have mental health needs and how you have applied the evidence in your work
6. values and the role of values-based practice in maximising employment opportunities for those who have mental health needs and how to apply these within your role
7. methods of presenting information about the role of employment in promoting mental health in a manner which encourages employers' interest and participation
8. the particular difficulties that those with mental health needs may face in seeking employment opportunities, both in terms of employer concerns, stigmatisation and their own abilities and confidence
9. the particular strengths, aspirations and resources people with mental health issues may bring to both paid and voluntary employment situations
10. the potential concerns which employers and other stakeholder may have regarding offering opportunities to those who have mental health needs, why it is important to acknowledge their concerns and how to offer information to help them make informed decisions
11. the potential risks of disclosing and of not disclosing information about the person's mental health and related needs and how to discuss these risks with people to assist them to make informed decisions on whether to disclose such information
12. the support and resources which may be needed by employers, what is available from your own agency and from other agencies, and how to access them
13. the options for supporting people and employers which you considered and the reasoning processes you used in determining the most appropriate options for the person and employer concerned
14. the ways in which it is necessary to alter communication when working with different people and representatives of different organisations
15. methods for assessing and managing risk of harm within the employment context
16. the current national legislation, guidelines and local policies and protocols which affect your work practice
17. the role of the agency and its services and how they relate to other agencies and services in the mental health sector
18. the agency's policy and procedures regarding confidentiality of information and the disclosure of information to third parties and the specific circumstances under which disclosure may be made
19. your own role and responsibilities and from whom assistance and advice should be sought if you are unsure
20. your own values and how these affect your work with people who use services and with other service providers
21. methods of evaluating your own competence, determining when further support and expertise are needed and the measures taken to improve your own competence in this area of work

Performance Criteria

You must be able to do the following:

1. provide information to employers as to how to contact you
2. give appropriate and complete information on the relationship between the employment and any other interventions which the person is receiving, without breaching client confidentiality
3. provide accurate and complete answers to employers' questions where this is within your role and consistent with agreements made with the person and refer promptly to an appropriate person any questions which you are unable to answer
4. ensure that any disclosures about mental health needs are appropriately handled by the employer and address any issues sensitively in a way that minimises risk to the person employed
5. maintain contact with employers to a level which enables any issues to be identified
6. monitor employers' contribution for:
1. their effectiveness
2. consistency
3. the person's progress and motivation
4. resource use
7. take the appropriate actions to address any issues which could affect the effectiveness of the employment
8. encourage employers to offer feedback on progress, the effectiveness of employment and their feelings about their contribution
9. communicate with employers in a way which emphasises their role as partners in the process and the importance of employment in supporting recovery

Additional Information

This National Occupational Standard was developed by Skills for Health. This standard links with the following dimension within the NHS Knowledge and Skills Framework (October 2004): Dimension: G7 Capacity and capability