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Tackling discrimination in the workplace is more effective:

Tests will not help people on incapacity benefits find employment, says Mental Health Foundation director

In response to the announcement by the Government of back to work tests for those on incapacity benefits, Kathryn Hill, director of mental health programmes for the Mental Health Foundation, said:

“More than one–third of people on incapacity benefits have mental health problems. Forcing them to jump through more bureaucratic hoops will only cause them greater distress and do nothing to help them get back to work, which is what the vast majority want. There’s also little point forcing people into unsustainable employment merely to meet Government targets.

"A more effective strategy for cutting the benefits bill would concentrate on tackling the massive discrimination people with mental health problems face in the workplace – it’s frequently what causes them to end up on benefits in the first place and it’s often the reason they stay on them.”

Factfile:

• 34 per cent of people on incapacity benefit have a mental or behavioural problem [486,000 out of 1.4 million people]. [Ref: The Department for Work and Pensions Tabulation Tool, May 2007],

• A national study has found that fewer than 40 per cent of British employers would consider giving a job to a person with a history of mental illness. [Ref: Mental Health and Social Exclusion, Office of the Deputy Prime Minister, 2004],

• In a survey, over 85 per cent of people with a mental health problem actively wanted to find a job. [Ref: Stanley K, Maxwell, D Fit for Purpose? London 2004].

For further information visit the Mental Health Foundation website at: www.mentalhealth.org.uk.

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