Charter for the employment of people who have experienced mental health problems

South West London and St George’s Mental Health NHS Trust

Revised February 2000

South West London and St George’s Mental Health NHS Trust, in line with its Equal Opportunities Policy Statement, endeavours to create an environment in which people can expect to be treated both fairly and equally and where the rights of the individual are respected. This principle applies equally to staff where the Trust seeks to operate employment procedures and conditions that do not discriminate on any grounds other than an ability to meet the requirements of the job.

In particular, and in line with the Disability Discrimination Act (1995) and the Positively Diverse Initiative, the Trust will not discriminate against disabled people and will make reasonable adjustments to overcome the barriers to employment that such people may face. Being an organisation committed to mental health, the Trust recognises that:

• the absence of employment is detrimental to mental health
• prospective employees may be subject to discrimination in recruitment and selection procedures as a consequence of mental as well as physical health problems
• people who have experienced mental health problems have gained a specific expertise that is valuable to others who experience similar difficulties
• for many people who have experienced mental health problems, the only barrier to employment is an unwillingness on the part of employers to consider them because of their psychiatric history
• many people who have experienced mental health problems can successfully gain and sustain employment if they are provided with appropriate help and support.

The Trust’s User Employment Programme has been successfully developing ways in which employment can be made available to those people who have experienced mental health problems. In line with these initiatives, and in recognition that personal experience of mental health problems among staff can actively enhance the quality of mental health care provided, the Trust will do the following:

• Maintain a User Employment Programme Team to provide support in employment, where necessary, to recruits who have experienced mental health difficulties, and take a lead in minimising employment discrimination against people who have experienced such problems throughout the Trust.
• Identify ‘personal experience of mental health problems’ (in addition to the other qualifications and experience necessary for the post) as a desirable part of the selection criteria for all clinical posts within the trust (unless specific exemptions are agreed by the Chief Executive or his/her appointed deputy).  Where it is considered that the employment of someone who has experienced mental health problems might be facilitated by the provision of additional employment support, this will be provided by the User Employment Programme Team.
• Actively seek to increase the skill mix of the workforce to include the expertise of personal experience of mental health difficulties by identifying a number of positions where specific accommodations can be made to provide additional support (in the recruitment and retention process) to allow people who have more marked disabilities resulting from their mental health problems to gain and sustain employment. For these supported posts, experience of mental health problems will be an essential part of the selection criteria and support will be provided by the User Employment Programme Team.
• Ensure that for all other posts, the experience of using mental health services will not form a barrier to selection to the post providing that the person is otherwise able to carry out the requirements of the job. The Trust will seek to encourage applications from those people who have had mental health problems to demonstrate its commitment not to discriminate against them.
• Offer work experience placements, co-ordinated and supported by the User Employment Programme, to people who have experienced mental health difficulties to enable them to prepare for open employment within and outside the Trust.
• Establish a system to monitor success in recruitment of people who have experienced mental health problems and work towards a position where the Trust’s workforce reflects the proportion of the general population who have experienced such difficulties. That is, the Trust should progress towards a target of 25 per cent of its recruits having experienced mental health problems.
• Recognise that the employment discrimination experienced by many people who have had mental health problems may have discouraged them from seeking employment. The following Equal Opportunities statement will appear on advertisements for posts:

The Trust is actively seeking to recruit people currently under represented in the workforce. This includes people from ethnic minorities and people who have experienced mental health problems.