Encouraging people to return to work

As part of the Spring 2023 Budget, the Government announced a “returnerships programme”  designed to encourage the return to work of staff,  in particular the many over-50’s who are said to have retired during the pandemic.  To help with this, the Government has published guidance (available here) for employers on helping staff return to work after career breaks. 

The guidance focuses on supporting returners who have taken time out of work for childcare or other caring responsibilities (it is based on documents initially co-authored by the consultancies ‘Women Returners’ and ‘Timewise’) but is also useful to help those who have taken time out for retirement, health, relocation, or other reasons.

The guidance focuses on returner programmes involving paid work (on a temporary or permanent basis) that give a supported route back to permanent employment. The programmes can be for individuals or groups of returners and it applies to organisations of any size or sector.