Client Success Story: Keith

Mental Health Employment Service

Enable Employment Officer, Matthew, worked with Keith for four months prior to him starting work. During this period Matthew worked with Keith on his CV, employer engagement skills and interview techniques – including a mock interview.

When Keith entered employment with a large retail outlet, Matthew worked with Keith to establish the level of support he would need whilst working. This was carried out through a face to face meeting in which the two of them discussed any triggers that may occur for Keith and how this could be managed.

They also discussed how they might be able to intervene if needed, this was a concern for Keith as he wasn’t sure how to tell his manager if he became too unwell to work, or if he felt he wasn’t able to perform certain aspects of the job due to his mental illness. Whilst speaking with Keith it became clear that he was excited to be starting work again and was hoping that over a four month period he would be able to increase his hours if they were available. All of these concerns and positives were noted down with the intentions to highlighting them to Keith’s manager. Steve – Keith’s manager -was very forthcoming with these concerns and after a short discussion they felt it would be best to invite Keith in for a meeting so we could all plan a point of action. The main concern was how Keith would let Steve know if he was becoming unwell. It was decided this could be done through Matthew until Keith felt comfortable with ringing Steve to let him know himself. They also briefly spoke about Keith’s social interaction with other work colleagues and whether this was causing any concerns to Keith, he didn’t feel this was concern. Permitted work rules were also discussed, as Keith needed to stay under 16 hours in order not to lose benefits. Steve was extremely helpful with this and decided that until he could offer Keith regular hours, he would stay within the permitted work riles. Finally the three of them established the best form of contact to use between each other – deciding that it would be frequent phone calls and meetings for the first two months as well as text and email beyond this is a problem arose.

Keith has now been working within this outlet store for over a year and feels he has come on leaps and bounds with his confidence and social interaction skills within the work place.

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