Fair Start Scotland, Work First Scotland and Work Able Scotland: statistical summary November 2018

Work First Scotland Statistics

Work First Scotland (WFS) is a devolved disability employment support service. It is one of two transitional services put in place before Fair Start Scotland, which launched on 3 April 2018. Referrals to WFS were made between 3 April 2017 and 9 March 2018.

Work First Scotland is a voluntary service, tailored to meet individual need. It focuses on helping participants achieve their full potential and move towards becoming independent. It also seeks to help support employers who employ disabled people participating in the service.

The measured outputs from the service are called job outcomes, which are either short or sustained. A ‘short’ job outcome is achieved when a participant stays in work, or is self-employed, working 16 hours per week or more, for at least 13 consecutive weeks; that is, a job which lasts at least 13 weeks. A ‘sustained’ job outcome is achieved when a participant stays in a job, or is self-employed, working 16 hours per week or more, for at least 26 weeks out of 30; that is, continuous employment, but not necessarily in the same job, lasting 26 out of 30 weeks (breaks in employment must total no more than 4 weeks).

Participant journeys on Work First Scotland^[9]

Work First Scotland Referrals and Starts

A total of 4,432 people joined Work First Scotland during the period 3 April 2017 to 30 March 2018 as a result of 6,939 referrals made to the service. This means 64% of those referred subsequently chose to participate.^[10]

Figure 6: Work First Scotland referrals and starts during the period 3 April 2017 to 30 March 2018, by quarter

Table 7: Work First Scotland referrals and starts during the period 3 April 2017 to 30 March 2018, by quarter

Table 7: WFS referrals and starts during the period 3 April 2017 to 30 March 2018, by quarter
Quarter	Referrals	Starts
1 (3 Apr – 29 Jun 2017)	2,349	1,399
2 (3 Jul – 29 Sept 2017)	2,086	1,365
3 (2 Oct – 29 Dec 2017)	1,315	781
4 (3 Jan – 30 March 2018)	1,189	887
Total Q1–Q4	6,939	4,432

WFS Early leavers

Work First Scotland participants can receive up to a maximum of 6 months each for pre-employment support, and in-work support. An early leaver is a participant who disengages from the service between joining and the end of the pre-employment support entitlement period (and has not been recorded as entering employment).

As at 28 September 2018, 1,788 early leavers from WFS had been recorded by service providers. Service providers record the reasons why participants have left the service early, if known. Where participants disengage and cease contact with the provider, attempts are made to re-engage with these individuals; however specific reasons for leaving early are not established in the majority of cases. This means that an overall distribution showing the reasons participants leave early is not available. Data supplied by service providers, however, show that around 18% of all participants who left the service early did so because of health related issues. Other reasons include change of circumstances, relocation and personal issues prohibiting participation.

WFS Participants entering employment

As at 28 September 2018:

• 1,692 participants had entered employment (achieved a ‘job start’)^[2]
• 1,133 participants had entered employment which lasted at least 13 weeks (achieved a ‘short job outcome’)^[3]
• 795 participants had entered employment which lasted at least 26 weeks (achieved a ‘sustained job outcome’)^[3]

WFS Participants sustaining employment - Start to Job Outcome rates

This publication reports on data from the first eighteen months of Work First Scotland, to 28 September 2018. Participants who have not yet had 9 or 12 months to achieve a short or sustained job outcome, respectively, must be excluded from the calculation of the start to outcome rates.

As at 28 September 2018, that means only reporting on:

• The proportion of participants who achieved short job outcomes after joining WFS during the first nine months of the service (3 April and 29 December 2017) for the start to short job outcome rate;
• The proportion of participants who achieved sustained job outcomes after joining WFS during the first six months of the service (3 April and 29 September 2017) for the start to sustained job outcome rate; and
• The proportion of participants achieving sustained job outcomes, of those who achieved a short job outcome, during the first six months of the service (3 April to 29 September 2017) for the short to sustained job outcome rate

As at 28 September 2018:

Start to short job outcome rate

A total of 897 participants achieved a short job outcome, out of 3,489 participants who started on the service between 3 April and 29 December 2017. This means that the start to short job outcome rate for this group is 26%.

Start to sustained job outcome rate

A total of 553 participants achieved a sustained job outcome, out of 2,764 participants who started on the service between 3 April and 29 September 2017. This means that the start to sustained job outcome rate for this group is 20%.

Short to sustained job outcome rate

A total of 553 participants achieved a sustained job outcome, out of 687 participants who achieved a short job outcome between 3 April and 29 September 2017. This means that the short to sustained job outcome rate for this group is 80%.

These figures will be revised in future publications as more people reach the stage at which short and sustained outcomes could have been achieved.