Connect to Work Essex - Free Employment Support

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Connect to Work offers personalised support to help you get into work, and stay in work. It’s available in Essex, Southend-on-Sea and Thurrock, and open to people with health conditions and disabilities. Sign up today, and get practical, one-to-one support that meets your needs.

How it works

Connect to Work Essex covers personalised job searching, support during long-term sick leave, and advice on workplace adjustments. If health or personal circumstances are affecting your job, we can help with:

Job searching

  • Understand which roles are right for you.
  • Build confidence for job searching and applications.
  • Prepare for interviews.

Support in work

  • Explore adjustments for staying in work safely.
  • Plan for your return to work, if you’re on long-term leave.

Workplace adjustments

  • Find ways to make your work more manageable.
  • Understand reasonable adjustments that could support you.
  • Help you talk to your employer.

Our Employment Specialists link with employers and businesses in Essex, Southend-on-Sea and Thurrock to find jobs that suit you. You could:

  • Discover your skills and strengths, and explore what work might meet your experience, interests and needs.
  • Identify any extra support you might need – whether it’s support to stay in work in Essex, or how to get back into work after illness.
  • Access services for skills training, confidence-building and workplace adjustments.
  • Create a job plan to understand your goals and how to reach them.
  • Search for jobs, prepare for interviews, and get help with writing your CV and job applications.
  • Have personal, work and health coaching that manages your wellbeing alongside job searches and returning to work.
  • Get ongoing support to stay in work in Essex, with help keeping your job and talking to your employer.

Who can join Connect to Work Essex

If you live in Essex and need help finding or staying in work with a health condition, we can support you. This includes physical or sensory disabilities, long-term health problems, learning disabilities or autism.

Connect to Work is free, voluntary and tailored to you – so you’ll feel more confident about finding and keeping a job.

  • Live in Essex, Southend-on-Sea, and Thurrock
  • Be aged 18 or over
  • Have the right to live and work in the UK

Be in one of these employment situations:

  • You’re not currently doing any paid work, haven’t worked for around 6 months, and would be available to start a new job, or
  • You’ve been in work for at least 3 months, but are at risk of losing your job.

You’ll also be eligible to join the programme if you’re part of a group listed below. These are recognised as having greater challenges with finding work:

  • Offenders or ex-offenders
  • Carers or ex-carers
  • Homeless people
  • Veterans
  • People with current or previous drug or alcohol dependency
  • Care-experienced
  • young people or care leavers
  • Refugees, or resettled Afghans
  • People on a Homes for Ukraine scheme
  • Survivors of domestic abuse
  • Young people identified as being involved in, or at risk of being involved in, serious violence
  • Victims of modern slavery

How to sign up

You can either refer yourself to Connect to Work Essex, or someone else can refer you (with your consent). This could be your employer, GP, local council or housing association. We’ll then contact you to talk through your situation and what you need.

Sign up now for Connect to Work

Frequently asked questions

  • First, complete our online form to refer yourself (or someone else, with consent)
  • A member of our teams will call you within two working days
  • They’ll explain the service, understand what support you need (either IPS or SEQF) and match you to an employment specialist
  • If Connect to Work is right for you, you’ll have an initial appointment within ten working days of the first call
  • At this appointment, you’ll need to verify your identity with your ID and National Insurance Number
  • Next, you’ll have a follow-up to create an action plan, covering everything from preparing for work to managing your needs

Your employment specialist will support you every step of the way, whether you find a job or are already in work.

Please note: In busy periods, there might be a delay with contacting you. For an update on your application:

Email: connecttowork@essex.gov.uk

  • It’s designed for anyone over 18 (although some 16-17 year-olds might be eligible, depending on their circumstances)
  • You’ll need to have the right to live and work in the UK, and be interested in finding work, or staying in your job
  • You don’t need a medical diagnosis to join
  • You’ll get personalised, one-to-one support from your employment specialist
  • Everything is aligned to your work goals (CVs, applications, interviews and more)
  • We also work with employers to help find local opportunities that match your needs
  • Where needed, we can connect you to health, wellbeing and other services

If you’re already working, we can help you stay in your job – including helping with adjustments and managing challenges (we’ll need your permission to do this).

  • Most appointments are held on a weekly basis, lasting 30 minutes to an hour
  • Meeting length, frequency and location are flexible around your needs
  • You’ll usually meet face-to-face locally, at a library, café or community hub
  • We aim to make appointments comfortable, convenient and accessible
  • Sometimes, we’ll give you a quick update by phone or Microsoft Teams (using the app or online link)
  • You can bring someone with you, if needed
  • We can also arrange a translator

Connect to Work is optional, but to get the most out of our support, you should:

  • attend all your appointments
  • keep in touch with your employment specialist
  • take part in agreed activities, like job searches

If your needs change, just talk to us. We’ll help make reaching your goals manageable.

Around an hour for meetings, and some extra time for job applications or other agreed activities. Your coach will work with you to figure out what’s best for your needs and goals.

  • 12 months: For people looking for work
  • 4 months: For those who find work, or already have a job

No – as long as you’re interested in working.

If you’re not currently working, you’ll be expected to look for jobs as part of your support. If you’re already in a role, we can help you keep it.

We’re the good work charity. We want to help people find roles that fit their needs and preferences. This could be around hours (part-time, flexible, hybrid), self-employment, or a specific industry (such as customer service or retail).

We’ll support you with any challenges you’re facing and help you build confidence. We can also talk to your employer about reasonable adjustments, if you need them.

If you can’t make an appointment, just let us know beforehand. If you miss one, we’ll try to contact you to check in and rearrange. We understand that things happen, but it’s important to let us know if you can’t attend.

If we can’t reach you after a few attempts or you miss several appointments without contacting us, we might need to close your place on the programme. We’ll always let you know if this happens.

We’ll make sure you’re confident about what comes next.

  • If you’re in work: We’ll continue supporting you for up to four months, so you can settle in with confidence
  • If you’re still looking for work: We’ll explore local services and opportunities with you, so you can keep progressing

Yes, including text, email and phone. Just let us know what works best for you – including for your appointments. These are usually in person, but we can offer a different format if you need one as a reasonable adjustment.

That’s not a problem. During appointments, we mainly work with you face-to-face, with printed resources and help with online tasks.

No. Shaw Trust is an independent charity delivering Connect to Work.

We do get referrals from the Jobcentre, but we don’t make decisions about your benefits. We’re here to provide personalised support, so you can move into or stay in work.

Yes. We know that health can affect work, and vice versa. That’s why we build this into your action plan. If you need any other support, we can link you with local health and wellbeing services, too.

  • We only take the information we need to give you the right support (relating to finding or keeping work)
  • We’ll use this to understand your needs and track your progress
  • We store and handle your data securely in line with data protection laws, including GDPR
  • Find more about data protection in your welcome booklet when you join

You can withdraw consent and leave the programme at any time. Just talk to your employment specialist or email connecttowork@essex.gov.uk.

We want to hear from you! Let us know what we’re doing well and what could be better by:

Calling: 0300 30 33 117

Emailing: customercare@shaw-trust.org.uk

We’ll pass your comments to the right person and handle things quickly and respectfully.

Connect to Work

Delivered in partnership with

Southend on Sea City Council, Thurrock.gov.uk, Essex County Council