British Legion in Work Wise move

Mar 20 2007 By Ross Smith, The Journal

An organisation that helps people with disabilities get back into jobs has become the first charity to sign up to the North-East's flexible working campaign.

Royal British Legion Industries has pledged its support to Work Wise North-East, which aims to put a stop to the nine-to-five routine in the region.

RBLI - a sister charity to the Royal British Legion - provides support and advice for people with disabilities and health conditions to get back to work.

The charity believes Work Wise North-East - which is backed by The Journal - will help workplaces become more suitable for the people they help.

Wayne Daley, business development manager for RBLI North-East, said: "We believe that Work Wise North-East is a fantastic campaign as it opens up a world of opportunities for employers and employees outside of the normal nine to five existence.

"From RBLI's perspective, it is an important initiative for this region, as in the past some firms have shied away from employing the people we support because they are not always able to fit in with standard working practices.

"Disability shouldn't be a barrier to work, the barrier is more often inflexibility on the part of some employers to work around a person's individual circumstances.

"The people RBLI work with are extremely capable and employers are often surprised at what a valuable asset they can be to their businesses. We would urge all firms to sign up to Work Wise North-East to make our region a much better place for all employees."

The organisation already adopts many Work Wise initiatives for its own staff, with most working from home and allowed to manage day-to-day workloads themselves. Work Wise chief executive Phil Flaxton said: "We already have widespread support from employers' organisations and being able to marry them in to the work of charities such as RBLI is important in providing a rounded approach to encouraging flexible working."

The campaign is already backed by bodies including One NorthEast, Government Office North-East, the North-East Chamber of Commerce, the TUC, Dickinson Dees and BT.