We’re pleased to see that the Prisons Minister, Sam Gyimah, is developing an employment strategy and exploring ways to increase the number of employers giving opportunities to people with convictions.
This is your opportunity as an employer to shape the development of government policy!
As part of this work, the Ministry of Justice wants to hear about the experiences employers have had in recruiting people from prison and in employing people with convictions in the community, as well as the challenges in doing this.
They are keen to understand ways in which employers have successfully supported people with convictions into employment, as well as consider ways in which employers and employees can be better supported so that more of this happens in the future.
They’re keen for views on whether certain initiatives would result in more businesses employing people with criminal convictions – such as:
- A national insurance reduction/tax break for employer contributions
- A national employer awards programme
- An employer engagement campaign
- Direct employment
- No charge for work carried out in prison in return for employment on release
They have an online survey, with a deadline for responses of Friday 16th December.
The survey should take around 5 minutes to complete, and responses will be completely anonymous and not linked to your organisation in any way. Survey data will be used by officials in the Ministry of Justice to inform policy development over the coming months.
If you have any concerns or questions about the survey then please send an email to employment.strategy@justice.gsi.gov.uk
