Thousands of families to gain new opportunities to learn, earn and thrive
As a result of £21 million of new, targeted investment in colleges and skills, families at risk of poverty will receive additional support to train, to help them enter stable, well-paid work or progress in their career.
The Tackling Child Poverty Delivery Plan includes £9 million for a Raising Income through Skills and Education (RISE) Fund, which will give parents and carers practical help to build new skills – offering training they can fit around family life, along with essential support with childcare, travel, and study costs.
A £2 million Training Access Fund will support working adult learners most at risk of poverty to access skills training, to give them the chance to earn more and build a stable career.
A new £10 million Flexible Workforce Development Fund will aim to incentivise businesses to offer training opportunities to parents earning low incomes in a way that meets employer needs while helping working parents and carers increase their earning potential and progress in their careers.
Further Education Minister Ben Macpherson said: “We are committed to making sure that education and training works for everyone, especially those who need it most, as part of our wider efforts to eradicate poverty in Scotland.
“Every person deserves opportunities to build a better future for themselves and their household. This £21 million package of targeted investment in skills will help remove barriers to training, such as childcare and transport costs, which can too often stand between parents and the skills that they need to get on in work.”
Gavin Donoghue, Chief Executive of Colleges Scotland, said: “Colleges are strong community anchors across the country, and the funding pledged kick starts a range of ways that colleges can accelerate and expand programmes that support people to leave poverty.
“The investment into more anti-poverty programmes is welcome recognition of the huge part that colleges play in making people’s lives better.
“Colleges are an opportunity that works, serving learners from some of Scotland’s most deprived communities and are a driving force for social good in every part of the country.”
Jacqui Brasted, Scottish Funding Council Director of Access, Learning and Outcomes, said: “Every child should have the opportunity to flourish. Scotland’s colleges can play a vital role in transforming lives by providing a lasting route out of poverty.
“They offer access to the skills and education needed to support families enter, remain and progress in work. We are delighted to be working with Colleges Scotland to ensure that the welcome funding provided by the Scottish Government is targeted where it is needed most.”
Findings from the UK’s largest mixed‑methods study of disabled remote and hybrid workers show that 85% of respondents say access to homeworking is essential or very important when looking for a new job
Nearly half (46%) of the participants in the Inclusive Remote and Hybrid Working Study want to work remotely all the time, with disabled women and disabled carers more likely to want to work fully from home
However, analysis of Adzuna job vacancy data shows declining levels of remote job opportunities. In 2024/25, only one in 23 job adverts on Adzuna (4.3%) were fully remote – half the level seen during the pandemic peak of 8.7% in 2020/21
Growth in the availability of hybrid jobs appears to have stalled, with only one in seven (13.5%) job vacancies offering hybrid work in 2024/25
Researchers warn a shortage of suitable jobs could undermine the Government’s ambition to get Britain working, and echo a recent House of Lords call for Ministers to ensure remote and hybrid working is being prioritised to boost disabled people’s employment.
The Government’s plan to get people working could face a significant challenge as remote-only job opportunities decline, warn researchers behind the largest study of disabled workers experiences of remote and hybrid working in the UK.
Research shows that almost half (46%) of 1,221 survey participants wanted to work remotely all the time, yet the numbers of remote jobs in the UK have decreased drastically since the peak of the Covid-19 pandemic, with 50% fewer remote only roles advertised compared to 2020/21.
As part of the largest study of disabled workers’ experiences of remote and hybrid work in the UK – conducted by researchers from Lancaster University, the Work Foundation at Lancaster University, Manchester Metropolitan University, and Universal Inclusion, and funded by the Nuffield Foundation – researchers studied job vacancy data from global job platform, Adzuna.
Remote and hybrid working remain more common than before the pandemic, but growth is slowing. In the year to April 2025, 17.8% of UK vacancies offered either fully remote (4.3%) or hybrid roles (13.5%), up from 3.1% pre-pandemic. However, fully remote jobs have fallen sharply since their peak, and growth in hybrid roles has stalled.
Dr Paula Holland from Lancaster University, who led the research, said: “The increased availability of remote and hybrid working since before the pandemic has improved many disabled people’s experience of work.
“Our findings indicate disabled employees gain significant benefits including improved mental and physical health, better work-life balance and increased productivity.
“However, companies mandating returns to the office have seen remote-only opportunities plummet. This could prevent some disabled workers from returning and staying in work. At a time when the Government wants to get people working, access to suitable homeworking roles can be the difference between working or not working.”
At a time when the Government wants to get people working, disabled workers report that access to suitable homeworking roles can be the difference between working or not working.”
Homeworking can support disabled workers, but only if done well
The UK Government has committed to supporting more disabled people to remain in or return to work as part of its wider efforts to boost employment by two million people to an 80% employment rate.
Disabled people currently represent one in four workers in the workforce, but the disability employment gap – the difference between the employment rates of disabled and non-disabled people – remains at 29.8 percentage points.
A UK Government study indicates remote work could support people out of work claiming health and disability benefits. One in four respondents (25%) who said they are currently unable to work stated that they could do so if they worked remotely.
The recent House of Lords Home-based Working Inquiry called on the Government to set out whether remote and hybrid working are being considered as part of existing initiatives to support people who are disabled or have long-term health conditions back into work.
The final report of the Inclusive Remote and Hybrid Working Study highlights remote and hybrid working as a key part of the solution to improving employment outcomes for disabled people. Key findings include:
· 64% of fully remote disabled workers said their work pattern positively affected their physical health, compared to 31% of those working remotely less than half the time
· 46% of participants wanted to work remotely all the time. There was also demand for hybrid working: 25% wanted to work from home four days a week and 27% for three days or less. Only 1.6% wanted to stop working from home
· Women, carers and people with multiple or severely limiting impairments/health conditions were particularly likely to report they only wanted to work from home
· 85% of participants said that having access to remote/hybrid working would be essential or very important if looking for a new job. 79% would not apply for a job without remote options
· Black and ethnic minority workers and less affluent workers were significantly less likely than white or more affluent workers to report remote/hybrid working had positive outcomes for their health and employment.
Dr Paula Hollandcontinues, “Remote and hybrid working can benefit both employees and employers. The organisations we interviewed reported improved staff retention and recruitment as a result of implementing remote working policies including reduced sick leave and improved wellbeing.
“However, employers must ensure disabled workers have the resources and support they need. Over half of survey participants reported reasonable adjustments to support working from home had not been implemented, and black and ethnic minority workers reported significantly less positive outcomes.”
Rebecca Florisson, Principal Analyst, from the Work Foundation at Lancaster University commented: “For many disabled workers, homeworking isn’t a ‘nice to have’ – it’s essential to be able to enter into, and remain in work.
“Our research shows strong demand for remote and hybrid work among disabled people, yet fully remote job vacancies have halved since the pandemic and growth in hybrid jobs has stalled.
“If the Government is serious about getting Britain working, it must make sure the right jobs are available by expanding access to flexible work. Threats to cut disabled people’s welfare will not support them into work if the jobs they need simply aren’t there.”
Amongst its recommendations, the study calls on the UK Government to:
1. Expand access to remote and hybrid jobs by making these and other forms of flexible working a core part of efforts to increase disabled people’s employment, including through clearing Access to Work backlogs
2. Encourage employers to advertise flexibility upfront, including remote and hybrid options, particularly on the DWP’s Find a Job portal.
3. Address regional inequalities in access to hybrid work through the Government’s Industrial Strategy.
4. Strengthen reasonable adjustments, ensuring employers properly consider remote and hybrid working and meet their duties under the Equality Act 2010.
5. Improve accountability, including requiring large employers to report on outcomes for disabled workers.
Simon, a graphic designer from Derby who has Long Covid, works in a fully remote job for a design agency.He said, “Remote work lets me work. I have chronic fatigue, post-exertional malaise (PEM), and postural orthostatic tachycardia syndrome (PoTS).
“Walking a short distance or going up the stairs can really exhaust me. Because I’m energy-limited, I need to budget my energy, pace myself and regularly lie down to rest.
“The adaptations I need are not so much equipment, but the ability to be able to take regular breaks throughout the day, where I can rest and recharge. Homeworking is much more tailored to my needs than being in the office.
“I can make the most of my working hours without a commute, so that means I have much more energy available to use for work itself. I’d find the commute to the office exhausting.
“Remote work has been a lifeline and my employer has been very supportive. Despite my health challenges, I’m just as productive working from home as I was at the office.”
Rebecca from Merseyside is a business manager in the public sector on a temporary fixed-term contract. She is autistic and has ADHD with comorbid anxiety and depression, she said, “I’ve been remote-only since 2020.
“I got an occupational health recommendation for permanent homeworking. The lack of external disruption allows me to better manage my condition.”
She has been looking for a new job for over 20 months, as she is on a temporary fixed-term contract. Rebecca continues: “I would be waiting forever if I only searched for homeworking roles.
In the last year, I’ve been offered four jobs but three have been withdrawn upon receipt of my occupational health recommendation.”
She has now accepted a new permanent full-time home-working contract at a lower salary than her current role, as she doesn’t believe she’ll find another homeworking job at her existing level that meets her needs.
Vera, from London, is in her twenties and works remotely for a healthcare company. Following stem cell treatment for her multiple sclerosis (MS), she was unable to return to a frontline role.
A recent study by the Work Foundation and the MS Society found that nearly half of people with MS (47%) look for job locations that require little or no travel.
“Remote work has made it possible for me to stay in employment — without it I couldn’t work,” she says. “While I’ve reduced my hours to four days a week, working from home means I can manage cognitive fatigue and rest during lunch breaks so I can stay productive.
“But I feel stuck, as there are so few remote-only roles. These are realistically the only roles I can apply for if I want to keep working and progress in my career.”
The report ‘Breaking down barriers: How remote and hybrid work can support disabled workers’ is published at:
Challenges in jobs market have been “long in the making”, says TUC – as it calls for ambitious policy response
The number of payrolled employees has fallen by 127,000 over the past year, but the pace of recent falls has slowed.
The employment rate rose slightly to 75.2% from 75.1%. The unemployment rate has risen to 4.7% from 4.6%, but this is offset by welcome falls in the inactivity rate to 21.1% from 21.4%.
Youth unemployment is falling and is now 11.6%, down compared to the same period last year (13.3%)
Real wages grew by 1.2% but real and nominal pay growth are both slowing
Commenting on the latest labour market data, which show some tentative improvements alongside ongoing challenges, TUC General Secretary Paul Nowak said: “Fragilities in the jobs market have been long in the making and are another toxic Tory legacy.
“But there are some positive signs. It is welcome that both economic inactivity and youth unemployment are down.
“And the government has started to lay the foundations to reset our economy with significant investment in public services, stronger workers’ rights and improving the support people need to get into work.
“But the government must build on this with a national jobs guarantee for young people. There are still too many young people stuck out of work, education and training.
“We know that real experience of paid work is the best way to turn the tide on long-term worklessness – and that over time this investment will more than pay for itself.”
TUC calls for a national jobs guarantee for young people to build on the government’s Youth Guarantee.
NEW analysis reveals that supporting 300,000 young people through the scheme would pay for itself within a decade and deliver over £8bn of benefits in the years after – at a cost benefit ratio of 2.8 to 1.
Young people let down by 14 years of toxic Tory rule in urgent need of decisive action, TUC says.
On Wednesday, the TUC called for an ambitious national jobs guarantee for young people currently not in education, employment or training (NEETs).
The UK faces a growing crisis in young people’s labour market participation which spiralled under the Conservatives, the TUC warns.
The TUC says this not only has damaging consequences for young people’s prospects – but for the country as a whole.
The government has “laid the foundations” to turn this around – starting with a youth guarantee programme to ensure every young person aged 18-21 has access to learning, an apprenticeship or support to find a job, which is being trialled in regions up and down the country.
The TUC says this should be built on with a national jobs guarantee, which prioritises young people aged 18-24 who have been not in employment, education or training (NEET) for six months or longer and young people aged 18-24 who are at high risk of becoming long-term NEET.
This would offer young people experience of a real good quality job with a real wage; opportunities to gain new skills; and an employer reference – “game changing” factors for young people approaching the labour market.
National jobs guarantee
While a national jobs guarantee would need upfront investment, TUC modelling estimates that in the long term the cost-benefit ratio would be 2.81, with the scheme paying for itself within a decade.
Setting out potential options for a national jobs guarantee for young people:
100,000 placements in a 2-year period would cost £1.03bn but return £2.9bn.
200,000 placements in a 2-year period would cost £2.06 bn but return £5.8bn.
300,000 placements in a 2-year period would cost £3.1bn but return £8.7bn
The TUC says the national jobs guarantee must be designed to promote good work including by:
Being paid decently, either at the national minimum wage or union negotiated rate for the job
Meeting local labour market needswith additional roles – so that money is only used to create jobs that would not have been created in the absence of a scheme, ensuring jobs guarantee participants don’t replace existing workers.
Delivering quality training that puts workers on a pathway to a Level 3 qualification and ensure the worker gets experience that will enable them to move into permanent work.
Being sustainable, so that the placement could transition into an apprenticeship, or with a guaranteed job interview at the end.
Ensuring quality work which adheres to health and safety law, is accessible and promotes equality, has clear minimum standards for quality and access to a union.
The placements should be allocated proportionately across regions, so there are a greater number of placements in areas where young people face the highest risk of becoming NEET.
Tory legacy
The TUC says the Conservatives failed to support young people throughout the pandemic and ever since, leading to a sharp rise in the number of young people out of work, training and education – leaving yet another toxic Tory legacy for this government to deal with.
Almost a million young people aged 16-24 in the UK are currently not in education, employment or training (NEET), with the total reaching 948,000 in August 2025 – up from 800,000 in 2019.
The TUC says that overall disabled young people are the most affected by this crisis as they’re far more likely to be NEET (28.6%) compared to non-disabled young people (7.1%).
TUC analysis also shows that there is a growing number of young people who are being failed by unsupported or poorly designed opportunities.
Analysis of destination data for 16–18-year-olds who left education in 2022-23 found that a year later 14.8% of them had entered work, education or training but had not completed or continued it. This is up from 12.9% in 2017-18– and is far higher for those on free school meals at 26.8% and SEN young people at 25.9% in 2022-23. The TUC says this shows the need for high quality support in education and workplaces.
Another example of the toxic Tory legacy is the proportion of young women and men who have become NEET since the pandemic.
Overall, while rates among both groups have been growing, young men (from 11.8% in April – June 2019 to 13.1% in April – June 2025) are more likely to be NEET than young women (from 11.3% in April – June 2019 to 12.4% in April – June 2025). Young women however are more likely than young men to be economically inactive – not working nor looking for a job.
Other risk factors identified by the TUC include:
Having a below a Level 2 qualification. This is significant as, according to TUC analysis, 30.9% of 24-year-olds do not have Level 2 English and Maths qualification.
Having unpaid caring responsibilities
The TUC says the government should build on the positive progress in its Make Work Pay agenda to make sure more good jobs and training opportunities are accessible to all young people, particularly disabled young people and young women with caring responsibilities.
TUC General Secretary Paul Nowak said: “Under the Conservatives, young people were failed with many let down by the education system and stuck out of work, education and training.
“This toxic Tory legacy has hugely damaged young people’s prospects – and for the country as a whole too.
“With the youth guarantee, stronger employment rights, an industrial strategy and apprenticeship reforms, the government has started to turn this around.
“It’s now time for ministers to build on this progress with a national jobs guarantee for young people. We know that real experience of paid work is the best way to turn the tide on rising rates of worklessness – and that over time this investment will more than pay for itself.
“Young people across the country need access to high-quality training and decent, well-paid work – boosting their prospects and the wider economy as a whole.”
Work will be unlocked for thousands of sick and disabled people through new measures that will bolster the support offered in Jobcentres and make the welfare system more sustainable, the Department for Work and Pensions has announced today
New plans to improve employment support brought forward ahead of wider reform package to fix broken welfare system.
1,000 work coaches deployed to deliver intensive employment support to sick and disabled people as part of the government’s Plan for Change which will break down barriers to opportunity.
It comes as a new survey reveals scale of the broken system with nearly half of disabled people and those with a health condition saying they don’t trust DWP to support them.
The plans will see 1,000 existing Work Coaches deployed in 2025/26 to deliver intensive voluntary support to around 65,000 sick and disabled people – helping them to break down barriers to opportunity, drive growth and unlock the benefits of work.
This intensive support for people on health-related benefits – including those furthest away from work – will see Work Coaches providing tailored and personalised employment support, and help claimants access other support such as writing CVs and interview techniques. They will also access a range of DWP employment programmes to help claimants unlock work based on conversations with their Work Coaches.
The additional help will be delivered by reprioritising work coach time so they can focus on tackling economic inactivity in order to make the welfare system more sustainable. The 1,000 redeployed Work Coaches are a “downpayment” on wide-ranging plans to overhaul employment support, which are set to be unveiled in just a few weeks’ time.
It is part of the Government’s Plan for Change – which will boost living standards and grow the economy by unlocking work for the 2.8 million people who are economically inactive due to long-term sickness – the highest in the G7 – and bring down spending on incapacity benefits which is expected to reach £70 billion by the end of this parliament.
It comes as new survey results show the current system isn’t just failing the taxpayer, it’s also failing the people it’s meant to help, with 44% of disabled people and people with a health condition believing DWP does not provide enough support to people who are out of work due to disability, ill health, or a long-term health condition.
Work and Pensions Secretary, Rt Hon Liz Kendall MP said: “We inherited a broken welfare system that is failing sick and disabled people, is bad for the taxpayer, and holding the economy back.
“For too long, sick and disabled people have been told they can’t work, denied support, and locked out of jobs, with all the benefits that good work brings.
“But many sick and disabled people want and can work, with the right support. And we know that good work is good for people – for their living standards, for their mental and physical health, and for their ability to live independently.
“We’re determined to fix the broken benefits system as part of our Plan for Change by reforming the welfare system and delivering proper support to help people get into work and get on at work, so we can get Britain working and deliver our ambition of an 80% employment rate.”
The data from the DWP Perceptions Survey – soon to be published in full – also shows:
35% of disabled people and people with a health condition believe DWP does not provide enough support to people of working age who are out of work, to help them get back into work.
44% of disabled people and people with a health condition don’t trust the DWP to help people reach their full career potential.
Nearly 2 in 5 (39%) disabled people and people with a health condition do not trust DWP to take its customers’ needs into account in how it provides services.
These figures follow recently released data which shows that there are over three million people on Universal Credit with no obligation to engage in work-related activity, despite over a quarter (27%) of health and disability benefit claimants believing that work could be possible in the future if their health improves and 200,000 saying they would be ready to work now.
Data also shows the number of working-age people on the health element of Universal Credit or claiming Employment Support Allowance (ESA) has risen to 3.1 million, a staggering 319% increase since the pandemic, reflecting the alarming rate at which young and working aged people are increasingly falling out of work and claiming incapacity benefits.
Behind each of these statistics is a person with hopes and ambitions, who can provide businesses with much-needed skills and experience, helping to grow our economy.
To give people the support they deserve, and restore trust and fairness to our welfare system, reforms to the welfare system are expected to be announced in just a few weeks.
These reforms will recognise that some people will be unable to work at points in their life and ensure they are provided with support while transforming the broken benefits system that:
Asks people to demonstrate their incapacity to work to access higher benefits, which also then means they fear taking steps to get into work.
Is built around a fixed “can versus can’t work” divide that does not reflect the variety of jobs, the reality of fluctuating health conditions, or the potential for people to expand what they can do, with the right support.
Directs disabled people or those with a work-limiting health condition to a queue for an assessment, followed by no contact, no expectations, and no support if the state labels them as “unable” to work.
Fails to intervene early to prevent people falling out of work and misses opportunities to support a return to work.
Pushes people towards economic inactivity due to the stark and binary divide between benefits rates and conditionality rules for jobseekers compared to those left behind on the health element of Universal Credit.
Has become defined by poor experiences and low trust among many people who use it, particularly on the assessment process.
The government’s plans to fix the broken benefit system will build on the biggest employment reforms in a generation announced in the Get Britain Working White Paper, which will empower mayors to drive down economic inactivity, deliver a Youth Guarantee so every young person is either earning or learning, and overhaul jobcentres across the country.
Former John Lewis boss Sir Charlie Mayfield is leading an independent review investigating how government and employers can work together to help disabled people and those with ill health who may be at risk of falling out work stay on in employment, with the findings of the discovery phase expected in the spring.
The government is also investing an additional £26 billion to cut NHS waiting lists and get Britain back to health and back to work.
The government has already delivered on its pledge, providing two million extra appointments in five months and as a result, around 160,000 fewer patients on waiting lists today than in July.
Teams of clinicians will also introduce new ways of working at 20 hospital sites in areas with the highest levels of economic inactivity to help patients return to the workforce faster.
This is alongside the recruitment of an additional 8,500 mental health workers to ensure mental health is given the same attention as physical health.
Employers now have a legal duty to take reasonable steps to prevent sexual harassment and create a safe working environment
New duty under the Equality Act 2010 will require employers to take “reasonable steps” to prevent sexual harassment of their employees.
New guidance for employers on how they can protect their staff.
New measure comes into force as further legislation goes through Parliament to boost economic growth by tackling poor productivity, insecure work and broken industrial relations.
From Saturday 26 October, employees can expect their employers to take reasonable steps to protect them from sexual harassment as a new duty comes into force.
Employers now have a duty to anticipate when sexual harassment may occur and take reasonable steps to prevent it. If sexual harassment has taken place, an employer should take action to stop it from happening again. This sends a clear signal to all employers that they must take reasonable preventative steps against sexual harassment, encourage cultural change where necessary, and reduce the likelihood of sexual harassment occurring.
Anneliese Dodds, Minister for Women and Equalities, said: “This government is determined to ensure that we not only Make Work Pay; we also make work safe.
“Too many people feel uncomfortable or unsafe at work due to sexual harassment and we are putting every effort into putting a stop to it. The preventative duty is an important step on the journey, and we will continue to improve protections for workers until everyone can thrive.
“The Equality Act provides legal protections against sexual harassment in the workplace. Despite this, persistent reports and revelations in recent years indicate that it remains a problem. So from today employers will be required to take ‘reasonable steps’ to prevent sexual harassment of their employees.
“We will strengthen this duty through our Employment Rights Bill, which had its Second Reading this week, and will boost economic growth by tackling poor productivity, insecure work and broken industrial relations.”
Guidance for employers on developing appropriate plans and policies has been published by the Advisory Conciliation and Arbitration Service (Acas) and the Equality and Human Rights Commission.
This includes what behaviour needs to be addressed and how complaints should be handled, to help employers protect their staff and avoid tribunals.
Half of Scottish workers want more flexibility – and more than 1 in 3 with children would consider term-time-only working, according to new survey
New survey from YouGov, commissioned by Amazon, explores Scottish views on workplace flexibility
While 51% of workers in Scotland would like more flexible working options from their employer, almost half (44%) say they have NO option to work flexibly at all
More than one in three (34%) of all parents with children aged 18 and under would consider term-time working; an innovative option recently introduced by Amazon for its Operations employees in Dunfermline and across the UK
As parents across Scotland plan ways to keep their children active and entertained during the school holidays, new research reveals that more than one in three working Scottish parents would consider term-time only working to improve work/life balance.
A YouGov poll commissioned by Amazon, reveals half (51%) of working parents in Scotland want more flexibility in their jobs, while more than one in three (34%) parents in Scotland said they would consider switching to a term-time contract.
Furthermore, almost half (44%) of those questioned in Scotland say their current employer offers no opportunity to work flexibly at all.
The survey follows a recent expansion of Amazon’s own ground-breaking term-time working option which aims to help employees and their families. The flexibility guarantees time off during the summer, Christmas and Easter school holidays for parents, grandparents and guardians of school-age children.
The company also recently introduced Amazon Anytime; a flexible part-time contract for a minimum of 80 hours a month, which lets employees pick and mix the shifts which suit their needs – part-day or full-day, day or night, weekday or weekend.
The new survey also reveals:
Three quarters (74%) of working parents in Scotland say flexible working is a priority when thinking about their next job
A better work-life balance (63%) and less commuting (53%) are the top perceived benefits of flexibility for working parents in Scotland
John Boumphrey, Amazon’s UK Country Manager, said: “These findings clearly demonstrate the huge importance of workplace flexibility, and why it matters so much to employees in Scotland and across the UK.
“At Amazon, we’re always listening to our employees and innovating for our people, and we’re delighted to offer these ground-breaking contracts to help provide employees and their families more flexible options.
“We have a variety of different full-time and part-time contracts, and we’ve also provided a four-day working week for our fulfilment centre employees for many years. Term-time working and Amazon Anytime are examples of how we continue to use feedback to support our people, help with childcare needs, and give families more time together.”
Amazon employees can also take advantage of Amazon’s pioneering Career Choice programme, which pre-pays up to 95% of costs for nationally accredited courses in high-demand fields (up to £8,000 over four years), regardless of whether the skills are relevant to a career at Amazon.
Competitive pay, comprehensive benefits and a modern, safe and engaging work environment are provided for Amazon employees. The roles pay a minimum of £12.30 per hour depending on location, as well as up to £33,500 a year for degree-level apprenticeships.
All employees can also benefit from a package that includes private medical insurance, life assurance, income protection, and an employee discount – which combined are worth thousands annually – as well as a company pension plan.
Amazon has been named as a ‘Top Employer UK 2024’ by the Top Employer Institute, one of the world’s most prestigious certifications in the field of human resources management.
This award recognises Amazon’s commitment to the development and well-being of its employees. In addition to the UK accolade, Amazon has also been certified as one of the Top Employers in Europe for a second consecutive year.
Amazon was also recently ranked first in the top 50 employers of veterans in the UK by the GREAT British Employers of Veterans, a comprehensive benchmark of the leading companies that employ veterans.
Highest proportion ever in work, training or study
The number of young people in work, training or further study three months after the end of the school year has reached a record high of 95.9%.
The Attainment and Initial Leaver Destination statistics 2022-23 also show that the gap between those from the most and least deprived areas progressing after leaving school has continued to narrow and is now at a record low (3.7 percentage points).
The proportion of school leavers with one or more technical or vocational qualifications at SCQF Level 5 or better has reached a record high of 30.4%.
Education Secretary Jenny Gilruth said: “These figures show the highest proportion of Scotland’s young people are achieving positive destinations since records began and it is very encouraging to see so many people are securing work, training or further study.
“We are committed to closing the poverty-related attainment gap and ensuring all of our young people have the same opportunities to progress in life, so I’m encouraged to see that the gap in relation to positive destinations has narrowed to a record low.
“Young people experienced significant disruption to their education during the pandemic, and to see so many of them reaching positive destinations is really heartening – and is testament to their hard work and the extraordinary support provided by Scotland’s teachers.
The Welcoming Edinburgh are providing a free course for parents to prepare New Scots (refugees and migrants) for working in the UK.
In this course, participants will learn how to search for jobs, write job applications and cover letters, improve interview skills, and learn about work culture in Scotland and UK employment rights.
The course takes place weekly every Thursday morning over 6 weeks and subsidies including childcare, and transport can be provided.
Classes start on Thursday 8th February at Granton Hub in Madelvic House and will run from 10:30am – 12:30pm.
The Welcoming Edinburgh are providing a free course for parents to prepare New Scots (refugees and migrants) for working in the UK.
In this course, participants will learn how to search for jobs, write job applications and cover letters, improve interview skills, and learn about work culture in Scotland and UK employment rights.
The course takes place weekly every Thursday morning over 6 weeks and subsidies including childcare, and transport can be provided.
Classes start on Thursday 8th February at Granton Hub in Madelvic House and will run from 10:30am – 12:30pm.
“But our message is clear: if you are fit, if you refuse to work, if you are taking taxpayers for a ride – we will take your benefits away.”
Changes are part of the new Back to Work Plan which will help up to 1,100,000 people with long-term health conditions, disabilities or long-term unemployed to look for and stay in work.
Additional support comes alongside tougher sanctions for people who don’t look for work, as part of the next generation of welfare reforms.
Includes exploring reforms of the fit note system, expansion of available treatment and employment support, and formal launch of the WorkWell service to help people start, stay and succeed in work.
The Chancellor Jeremy Hunt and the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions Mel Stride will unveil their Back to Work Plan– a package of employment focused support that will help people stay healthy, get off benefits and move into work – as part of the Autumn Statement.
Building on the ambitious £7 billion employment package from Spring Budget the Chancellor is using his Autumn Statement to outline a new Back to Work Plan, which will expand the employment support and treatment available and reform the ways that people with disabilities or health conditions interact with the state.
Getting more people into work and ensuring work pays remains a key priority for the government. It is important for growing the UK economy, managing inflation, controlling spending, and improving living standards. Getting more people into good jobs is also good for those individuals and the best route out of poverty.
The government is boosting four key programmes – NHS Talking Therapies, Individual Placement and Support, Restart and Universal Support – to benefit up to 1.1 million people over the next five years and help those with mental or physical health conditions stay in or find work.
The new WorkWell service as announced at Spring Budget and delivered by the Departments for Work and Pensions and Health and Social Care is also being formally launched today and will support almost 60,000 long-term sick or disabled people to start, stay and succeed in work once rolled out in approximately 15 areas across England.
The prospectus that will be launched in the coming weeks will provide information for all Integrated Care Systems across England to develop their localised work and health strategy.
Ministers are also planning to trial reforms to the fit note process to make it easier and quicker for people to get specialised work and health support, with improved triaging and signposting. Since the pandemic the number of people inactive in the UK due to long-term sickness or disability has risen by almost half a million to a record high of 2.6 million, with mental health, musculoskeletal conditions and heart disease being some of the main causes.
Stricter benefit sanctions will also be enforced by the Department for Work and Pensions for people who are able to work but refuse to engage with their Jobcentre or take on work offered to them. Benefit claimants who continue to refuse to engage with the Jobcentre will face having their claim closed. The latest published data shows that there were 300,000 people who had been unemployed for over a year in the three months to July.
The announcement today forms part of wider plans to grow the economy expected in the Autumn Statement on Wednesday 22 November. The Chancellor is set to reveal a raft of changes to get the UK economy growing including getting people back into work.
Chancellor of the Exchequer, Jeremy Hunt, said:“We’re serious about growing our economy and that means we must address the rise in people who aren’t looking for work – especially because we know so many of them want to and with almost a million vacancies in the jobs market the opportunities are there.
“These changes mean there’s help and support for everyone – but for those who refuse it, there are consequences too. Anyone choosing to coast on the hard work of taxpayers will lose their benefits.”
Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, Mel Stride, said:“We are rolling out the next generation of welfare reforms to help more people start, stay and succeed in work. We know the positive impact work can have, not just on our finances, but our health and wellbeing too.
“So we are expanding the voluntary support for people with health conditions and disabilities, including our flagship Universal Support programme.
“But our message is clear: if you are fit, if you refuse to work, if you are taking taxpayers for a ride – we will take your benefits away.”
The plans announced today set out how the government will tackle long-term unemployment by supporting Universal Credit claimants to find work while strengthening work search requirements for job seekers through all stages of their Universal Credit claim.
As a result of these reforms, no claimant should reach 18 months of unemployment in receipt of their full benefits if they have not taken every reasonable step to comply with Jobcentre support.
The plans to tackle long-term unemployment include:
Testing Additional Jobcentre Support in England and Scotland – testing how intensive support can help claimants into work who remain unemployed or on low earnings after 7 weeks into their Universal Credit claim.
Extending and expanding the Restart scheme in England and Wales for 2 years – expanding tailored, intensive support to people who have been on Universal Credit for more than 6 months rather than 9, helping them to tackle barriers to entering employment through coaching, CV and interview skills, and training. The scheme will be extended for two years until June 2026.
Introducing a claimant review point – Universal Credit claimants who are still unemployed after the 12-month Restart programme will take part in a claimant review point: a new process whereby a work coach will decide what further work search conditions or employment pathways would best support a claimant into work. If a claimant refuses to accept these new conditions without good reason, their Universal Credit claim will be closed.
Rolling out mandatory work placement trials – through the claimant review point, claimants who have not yet moved into work by the end of Restart will be required to accept a job or to undertake time-limited work experience or other intensive activity to improve their employability prospects. Failure to do so at this stage will lead to immediate sanction, with the full removal of the Universal Credit standard allowance.
Stricter sanctions for people who should be looking for work but aren’t – including:
targeting disengaged claimants by closing the claims of individuals on an open-ended sanction for over six months and solely eligible for the Universal Credit standard allowance, ending their access to additional benefits such as free prescriptions and legal aid;
rooting out fraud and error using the government’s Targeted Case Review to review the Universal Credit claims of disengaged claimants on an open-ended sanction for over eight weeks, ensuring they receive the right entitlement;
digital tools to track claimants’ attendance at job fairs and interviews.
Plans set out also include expanding key health and employment programmes, to benefit over half a million people over the next five years and help those with mental health conditions stay in or find work:
NHS Talking Therapies – increasing the number of people benefitting from courses of mental health treatment by an additional 384,000 people over the next five years and increasing the number of sessions available.
NHS Talking Therapies provides evidence based psychological therapies including Cognitive Behavioural Therapy (CBT), for treatment of mild and moderate mental health conditions such as depression and anxiety disorders.
Individual Placement and Support (IPS) – aiming to help an additional 100,000 people with severe mental illness to find and keep jobs over the next five years. IPS is an employment support programme integrated in community mental health services. IPS employment specialists:
Work with people accessing the service to find them employment that matches their aims, interests and skills, and offer continued support once they are in post.
Integrate with the mental health team to support the individual with any issues that affect their work and recovery.
Build relationships with employers to negotiate job opportunities.
Universal Support in England and Wales – matching 100,000 people per year with existing vacancies and supporting them in their new role, an increase on the 50,000 people outlined at Spring Budget, also helping people with disabilities and from vulnerable groups.
Participants will access up to 12 months of personalised ‘place and train’ support. The individual will be supported by a dedicated keyworker who will help the participant find and keep a job, with up to £4,000 of funding available to provide each participant with training, help to manage health conditions or help for employers to make necessary accommodations to the person’s needs.
WorkWell – The service announced at Spring Budget 2023 is being formally launched to Integrated Care Systems across England and will help support people at risk of falling into long-term unemployment due to sickness or disability, through integrated work and health support. Integrated Care Systems across England will be supported to develop a localised work and health strategy, and then services will be provided in approximately 15 pilot areas.
Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, Victoria Atkins, said:“We know that tailored work and health support initiatives can help break down the kinds of barriers that can make finding and staying in a job more difficult for those with mental health conditions.
“Backing them with further investment means they’re more widely available, enables personalised help and will get thousands back to work by overcoming any issues that may be preventing them from fulfilling their career potential.”
Kate Shoesmith, Recruitment and Employment Confederation (REC) Deputy Chief Executive, said:“Today’s announcements will help the Restart scheme keep making a real difference to people’s work and life chances.
“It contributes to efforts to overcome our labour and skills shortages and to further growing our economy. Bringing public and private employment services together is vital to get people into work and not look back.
“Our own award-winning Restart scheme, which sees recruiters work with employability services provider Maximus, has helped place 1700 long-term unemployed people into work since 2021.”
