Parental Employment Programme Guidance

Funding for this programme comes from the Scottish Government No One Left Behind fund.

The funding allows voluntary organisations to create new jobs for eligible parents with dependent children as part of addressing child poverty.

Grants cannot be approved for participants who have started a job prior to an application being submitted and approved by East Dunbartonshire Council unless with prior agreement.

No One Left Behind – Parental Employment Support programme (PEP).

This funding is delivered in partnership with Local Government through No One Left Behind. This support focuses on supporting people who face the greatest inequalities and are further from the labour market.

• The Funding will support those who are parents with dependent children who would, without significant investment, struggle to secure  good quality employment.
• Provide people with the necessary skills to effectively compete and move into jobs across occupational sectors where there are skills shortages including in new and emerging sectors.
• Offering 6 months new job creation paying a living Wage with ongoing key worker support
• The funding has flexibilities to enable term-time, part-time opportunities and organisations must offer all participants accredited training or relevant vocational qualifications.
• All jobs created must be new and additional.

Organisations must complete an employer application to allow EDC to assess suitability of the trainee role offered by your organisation.

• Each eligible trainee will be directly employed by your organisation. All management responsibilities will lie with the employer organisation
• Organisation should include details of trainee role, hours of work, accredited training provision (e.g. first Aid, H&S, vocational qualifications), supervision etc. in the attached application form
• Each submitted application will be assessed and an offer of grant will be awarded if successful
• Organisations must have established payroll systems in place and currently have paid employees with the ability to evidence employee salary e.g. bank statements, payslips etc
• All participants must be an East Dunbartonshire resident Recruitment will be the employing organisations responsibility Participants must be a parent with a dependent child. This must be evidenced along with relevant right to work checks. Only those with the legal right work in Scotland are eligible.

• Parents who have dependent children and  are experiencing additional barriers to securing employment or an improved employment situation
• Organisations should advertise their role and carry out their individual recruitment process
• Recruited trainee must register with EDC employability services with eligibility evidenced
• Organisations will be responsible for clients agreeing to data sharing with EDC as part of the recruitment process and in line with Scottish Government monitoring requirements
• Organisations should provide a copy of their trainees employment contract to EDC. Hours worked cannot exceed 40 hours per week
• The placements can last for 26 weeks maximum. No further funding will be available after the 26 weeks
• All employers must have appropriate health and safety and insurances in place for employees
• East Dunbartonshire Council will also pay participating organisations a grant of £500 to help meet the costs of recruitment, PPE and training
• Support and management should be available to the participant at all times
• All participants should get access to a better off at work calculation before they start work to ensure they are maximising in work benefits and to allow them to make an informed decision as to whether take the placement given its potential impact on benefits.

• Once your recruitment process is complete with an eligible trainee in mind EDC will issue you an Award Letter detailing amount of funding awarded, trainee details, confirming EDC monitoring requirements etc 
• Client monthly timesheet should be complete for each trainee employed
• EDC will cover wages costs including NI and other employer costs
• Claims for wages will be paid after 13 and 26 weeks. If a participant leaves before these milestones the number of week’s the participant worked can be claimed
• Placements should be beneficial to the participant in terms of improving employability skills and gaining good quality work experience and should help them to find sustainable employment.