Croydon Employment Support Service (CESS)
CESS is a service that supports people with disabilities to find appropriate paid employment which makes the most of their talents and potential.
The service ensures that people with disabilities are actively helped to access employment related advice and guidance through mainstream and specialist advisory services.
Employment is a key aspect to social inclusion, enabling people with disabilities to play an active role in the local community, develop and grow and take their place in society. CESS actively targets those individuals who may be further from the job market in terms of their ‘job readiness’ and who may need more time and support than can be provided by mainstream employment schemes.
CESS can offer you
Individualised support packages
CESS has a dedicated team of staff, all of whom have extensive experience and knowledge of supporting people with disabilities in finding paid employment. Your employment consultant will work with you to ensure that you receive the specialist support needed to secure paid work.
Access to Work
This scheme is funded and managed by Jobcentre Plus and can help you if your health or disability affects the way you do your job. It gives you and your employer advice and support with extra costs which may arise. It can pay for workplace support and training, travel costs, aids and adaptations etc. If you are likely to be eligible for Access to Work, CESS can provide specialist advice, complete an assessment and recommend appropriate support.
Job retention service
We are able to help employers to retain disabled staff and provide advice to help them keep existing staff in work who become disabled (eg through illness, an accident or a medical condition) during their period of service.
Welfare rights advice
CESS has a welfare and benefits advice service that can help to ensure that you receive your full entitlement to benefits and can advise you on your employment or other rights. We can also help you to complete a ‘better off’ calculation before you start paid work.
Care management advice
We have a qualified and registered social worker on the CESS team, whose role is to support participants, parents, carers or significant others with any social care needs. Where appropriate, referrals will be made to relevant teams within the department of adult services and housing.
Literacy and numeracy support
Participants can take part in a literacy and numeracy assessment, following which they may be offered the opportunity to further their skills in this area by attending a local college.
WORKSTEP
CESS is a WORKSTEP provider. WORKSTEP is a government funded employment programme which provides support to disabled people facing barriers in getting and keeping a job.
WORKSTEP offers support and practical assistance to:
- Disabled people seeking employment
- Employers offering disabled people employment
- Disabled people already in employment
- Employers wishing to retain employees who become disabled.
Support offered may include…
- Training and development
- Job coaching
- Work experience
- Mentoring from colleagues
- Advice to help the employer and other employees
- Access to Work (fares to work, aids and adaptations
How do I find out if WORKSTEP is for me?
First of all, you will need to contact your disability employment adviser. Once the adviser is satisfied that all other options have been considered and that WORKSTEP is the most appropriate option, you will then be referred to CESS.
The CESS WORKSTEP programme has many benefits to offer you as a disabled person, not least that we will provide you with individual support that is tailored to your needs and circumstances, to help you find, maintain and progress in work.
Contact Details
- Contact name
- Croydon Employment and Support Service (CESS)
- Telephone
- 020 8255 5473
- hannah.navarro@croydon.gov.uk
- Address
- Chatsworth Hall
14 Chatsworth Road
Croydon
CR0 1HE
