A new initiative is to be launched to help the long-term sick return to work, it was announced in 2000.
The New Deal for Disabled People (NDDP) has been piloted in 36 areas where it has helped 2,500 disabled people back into work. The scheme is to be extended nationwide when it is expected to help 30,000 disabled people find work. Every week, 3,000 people move from statutory sick pay to incapacity benefit, 90% of whom never return to work.
The new scheme will intervene when an employee has been claiming statutory sick pay for six weeks. The employee will be assisted by a job retention adviser. They will operate through doctors’ surgeries, hospitals, health action zones, business support agencies, large employers and insurance companies.
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