£30m to improve performance at job centres

The
Government has announced a £30m package giving job centres more flexibility
over pay.

The
deal includes bonuses for staff at top performing centres and the replacement
of managers at centres that perform poorly.

An
annual £20m fund will give local managers more discretion to decide how to help
local jobseekers, while £8m has been earmarked to help ethnic minorities gain
employment.

Staff
in the country’s top 5 per cent of job centres will receive financial rewards
while managers in the bottom 5 per cent of centres will face the sack.

Local
job centres will work more closely with local employers by supplying details of
the local labour market supply and a special service will be set up for
employers in the areas 10 key sectors.

Secretary
of state for work and pensions Andrew Smith said: "Increasing labour
market flexibility is about getting the right people into the right jobs at the
right time.

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"This
package will give local managers the flexibility and discretion to provide
innovative, tailored solutions to local labour market problems, working with
local employers to help more people move off benefits and into work.”

By Paul Nelson