Supported Employment
Supported Employment
Supported Employment is a specialist service that helps people with learning disabilities, autism, or other neurodivergent conditions to find and sustain meaningful paid work.
What is Supported Employment?
It's where we match the right candidates with the right employers — creating strong, supportive working relationships that benefit everyone. Our team provides tailored guidance and ongoing support to both employee and employer, ensuring a successful and lasting fit.
Your guide to choosing the right supported employment programme
The ECL Inclusive Employment and Connect to Work programmes offer free personalised support to help disadvantaged people find and keep jobs, using a similar approach. Both programmes meet the SEQF standard, which is nationally recognised.
The main difference lies in the people that it aims to support:
Inclusive Employment
You are eligible if you meet all the following criteria:
- You want paid work or you’re already in a job but need support to stay in work due to your health or disability.
- You have a diagnosed learning disability and/or autism.
- You’re eligible for Adult Social Care (ASC).
- You live within Essex County (excluding Southend and Thurrock).
- You have the right to work* in the UK.
- You are aged 18 or over.
Connect to Work
You are eligible if you meet all the following criteria:
- You want paid work or you’re already in a job but need support to stay in work due to your health or disability.
- You have a disability**, long-term health condition, neurodiversity and/or autism, or face other barriers to employment.
- You live in Essex, Southend or Thurrock.
- You have the right to work* in the UK.
- You are not on another DWP funded programme.
- You are aged 16 or over and not in education, employment, or training.
* Right to work requirements - you'll need your ID, National Insurance number and a bank account for your salary.
** Disability - as defined in the Equality Act 2010 or the Social Model of Disability
*** Examples of discretionary funding include support with digital devices for job applications, suitable work clothing, travel costs, or initial business start up expenses.
We provide full support from job searching to sustaining employment on both the Inclusive Employment and Connect to Work programmes:
Vocational profiling – creating your CV - job applications – interview preparation and support – onboarding – job coaching – ongoing sustainment.
Inclusive Employment job searching
- Unlimited job search support and weekly contact from your dedicated ECL Employment Consultant.
- Signposting to ECL Community Connectors for additional training or volunteering opportunities.
Connect to Work job searching:
- Up to 12 months of job search support from your Employment Consultant.
- Support to secure paid employment, or to develop self employment opportunities.
- Discretionary funding*** to help you access paid or self-employment.
- Weekly contact with your dedicated Employment Consultant.
- Signposting to in-house Community Connectors for training or volunteering.
Inclusive Employment on-the-job support
- In work support: from your Employment Consultant during the first 4–6 weeks of starting employment.
- Extended support: ongoing support from a sustainment officer is available if you need it, including job coaching and regular check-ins.
- Your Employment Consultant will support with the paperwork and health and safety checks for your job start.
Connect to Work on-the-job support:
- Introductory in-work support as needed, to help you succeed.
- Assistance with self-employment set-up and early-stage business planning.
- Employment Consultants can support you with all the new starter paperwork.
Connect to Work in-work retention
- 4 months of targeted job retention support (extendable to 6 months) if your job is at risk due to your health condition, learning disability, or neurodiversity.
- Employment Consultants can negotiate reasonable adjustments, attend probation or disciplinary meetings, and provide job coaching to help you succeed in your role.
ECL - a trusted provider of Supported Employment
Essex County Council has partnered with Essex Cares Ltd (ECL) to provide supported employment through two dedicated programmes: Inclusive Employment and Connect to Work.
ECL’s Inclusive Employment service, launched in 2020, has already helped hundreds of people with learning disabilities and autism get paid jobs in Essex.
Connect to Work is a newer government funded programme introduced in 2025 to support those with disabilities, long-term health conditions, or other barriers to employment.
We have a solid history of offering positive, personalised support to job candidates and employers. This support covers the whole employment life cycle. It's often known as the Place, Train, and Maintain model. The British Association of Supported Employment (BASE) accredited ECL as a ‘good’ provider on their Supported Employment Quality Framework (SEQF) in 2022.
Our programmes
Inclusive Employment
ECL’s highly successful Inclusive Employment programme has transformed the lives of hundreds of people with learning disabilities and/or autism in Essex, by supporting them to secure and sustain paid employment.
Connect to Work
Connect to Work is a UK Government-funded programme. It is a free service that helps job candidates with undiagnosed learning disabilities or neurodiverse conditions to find meaningful work. It also supports businesses and employers in attracting and keeping talent.
What do we mean by learning disability, learning difficulty and neurodivergence?
People with a learning disability often need more time to learn. They may need extra support to learn new skills, understand complex information, or connect with others. With the right support and an inclusive community, people with a learning disability can thrive. (source: Mencap)
A learning difficulty often impacts specific areas. These include reading (dyslexia), writing (dysgraphia), and coordination (dyspraxia). A learning difficulty does not usually affect intellect.
Neurodivergence means a person's brain functions, learns, or behaves in a way that differs from what is considered "typical." Examples of neurodivergent conditions include Autism Spectrum Condition (ASC), Attention Deficit Hyperactivity Disorder (ADHD), dyslexia, dysgraphia, and dyspraxia (source: Royal College of Nursing).
