Jobcentre Plus, the insolvency trade body R3 and the Insolvency Service have joined forces to develop a system to share information about possible job losses in struggling companies.
The intention is to help people threatened with redundancy by offering support and information more effectively.
The organisations have signed a Memorandum of Understanding outlining how insolvency practitioners dealing with struggling businesses will work with Jobcentre Plus offices to develop a tailor-made plan for each situation.
Jobcentre Plus’s Rapid Response Service is already offering specialised advice and has helped more than 2,500 organisations since it was re-launched last year.
However, working more closely with R3 and the Insolvency Service will enable Jobcentre Plus to help more companies, more quickly so that people who have lost their jobs find new positions or training courses as quickly as possible.
Welcoming the agreement, employment minister Jim Knight, said: “It is important that we don’t just wait for someone to lose their job before we start to help them.
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“The pre-redundancy service Jobcentre Plus offers has helped thousands of people get new jobs quickly – stopping a short-term difficulty becoming a long-term problem.
“It is essential that we work with R3 and the Insolvency Service to make sure even more people get help before they are out of work.”
