Two Vocational Rehabilitation Specialists Join Shaw Trust

Return-to-work experts Shaw Trust have recruited highly experienced and respected vocational rehabilitation specialists Carole Fenner and Karen Elsmore to join its insurance-focused operation.

With more than 40 years’ experience between them, Carole and Karen will join Shaw Trust’s vocational rehabilitation service which works to address the needs of all those involved in a personal injury claim.

In their new roles, senior vocational consultant Carole and client relationship manager Karen will focus on delivering Shaw Trust’s unique outcome-based, fixed rate vocational rehabilitation service which enables insurers to know exactly what costs they will incur at the outset of an agreement.

Carole, who has worked in the vocational assessment and vocational rehabilitation of disabled people since 1982, comes to Shaw Trust after five years as a freelance consultant. Prior to that she served as UK operations manager for AIG Medical & Rehabilitation and held numerous public and private sector posts.

With a background in vocational case management, Karen has spent more than 10 years in the private and public sector supporting people with physical and mental health conditions back to work. With expertise in the personal injury market, she joins after having successfully been instrumental in developing the vocational rehabilitation business at Remploy.

Karen says: “Shaw Trust has 27 years’ experience of securing return-to-work outcomes for people with disabilities and health conditions so it’s exciting for me to be combining my skills with its knowledge and understanding. The result will benefit not only insurers but everyone involved in the process - employers, claimants and solicitors.”

Carole adds: “This is a fantastic time to be joining Shaw Trust. The organisation’s track record is second to none so there is no question that all this experience will prove to be a welcome addition to the insurance sector.”

Tony Urwin, director of Shaw Trust’s vocational rehabilitation services, says: “Carole and Karen bring an impressive combination of skills and knowledge to the business which insurers will value and benefit from.

“Vocational rehabilitation is unquestionably a growth area in the insurance market, particularly with the Government’s introduction of the fit note scheme in April which focuses on what people can do rather than what they can’t. This will place a new pressure on employers to find work for previously long-term ill staff to do, and insurers who provide a solution by integrating medical and vocational rehabilitation into their claims handling processes or into their Employers’ Liability policies will almost certainly find themselves ahead of the game.”

Shaw Trust has an unparalleled, ready-made national network of 45 employment offices, more than 180 employment advisers, consultants, and job match advisers working across the whole of the UK and a database of approximately 70,000 vacancies per year. It also partners with recruitment organisations such as Adecco, Reed and 6,500 other employers nationwide.

For more information about the Shaw Trust vocational rehabilitation service, please call 0300 30 33 120, email vrservices@shaw-trust.org.uk or visit www.vrservices.org.uk


Notes to Editors

1. For further details, please contact Simon Williams, Bray Leino Public Relations,  on 0117 906 4525

OR Shaw Trust Press Manager on 01225 716 300, or 0754 055 8258, or email angelo.sommariva@shaw-trust.org.uk

2. Shaw Trust is a national charity, formed in 1982, which helps people with disability or disadvantage to find work and achieve independence. We do this not only by delivering government programmes, but also through our own self-funded initiatives, and by campaigning to change attitudes at all levels. Across the UK around 1,400 staff now oversee a diverse range of more than 200 projects.

3. If you would like to support the work that Shaw Trust does to help disabled and disadvantaged people find work and achieve independence please visit our website

*Job Search and Placement

• Output 4-6 weeks of practical evidence based support to improve chances of a successful return to work. Regular reporting and feedback provided to all parties.
• Who is this service for? For claimants with clearly defined, realistic vocational rehabilitation goals, who are ready to engage in job searching activities.
• How is this service offered? Face to face meeting to agree a job searching action plan and support requirements, followed by email and telephone support as appropriate.
• Outline Individualised assistance with job search techniques, CV and application writing skills, disclosure of disability and interview techniques.
• Fee £900** 4-6 week programme.
  
  ** Shaw Trust also offers a £650 initial payment followed by a £400 payment upon achieving a medically and vocationally suitable return to work outcome, for companies willing to work with Shaw Trust on a contractual and volume basis.

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