Evaluating Unemployment Benefit Reforms in Health and Social Care

This report examines the impact of unemployment benefit reforms on the health and social care sector, focusing on the effects of welfare changes on social workers, service users, and overall service delivery. It evaluates the impact of government policies, considering both positive and negative outcomes, such as the introduction of criminal record checks and the challenges faced by workers. The report delves into appropriate service responses, emphasizing the role of unemployment benefits in providing financial support and various services. Key principles of change management, including creating a climate for change, engaging stakeholders, and empowering action, are discussed. The planning for change is analyzed using the ADKAR model, and the report concludes with a review of monitoring tools and techniques, such as observation, feedback, recording, and surveys, to ensure the effective implementation and evaluation of changes within health and social care services. The report highlights the need for effective management, planning, and monitoring to mitigate challenges and maximize benefits.

FACILITATING CHANGE

Table of Contents
INTRODUCTION...........................................................................................................................1
2.1 (Covered in PPT) .............................................................................................................1
2.3 The evaluation of overall impact of recent changes in health and social care ................1
2.4 Appropriate service responses to recent changes in health and social care ....................1
3.1 The key principles of change management......................................................................2
3.2 The planning for change in health and social care..........................................................3
3.3 Monitoring changes in health and social care services....................................................4
Conclusion.......................................................................................................................................4
REFERENCES................................................................................................................................5

INTRODUCTION
The unemployment benefits are considered as social welfare payments made by
authorized and state bodies for unemployed individual. The health and social care sector is one
of the main concern for government to implement unemployed benefits policies. Furthermore,
the present study is evaluating the impact of welfare reforms associated with benefit system in
health and social care. The change cannot be assess without proper management and planning.
Monitoring tools and techniques for change and key principal of change management also
discussed.
2.1 (Covered in PPT)
2.3 The evaluation of overall impact of recent changes in health and social care
The recent changes in health and social care sector are largely formed on the basis of
unemployment related concerns. Social workers and users are influence from the changes in this
particular sector on a great extent (De la Rica and Rebollo-Sanz, 2017).
Impact of welfare reform on social workers and users
The poorest authorities have been influence the most by welfare reforms. On the basis of
identification of most affected group, unemployed and low income, disabled people, vulnerable
women and homeless people will be added in the list. People with disability and carers are
benefited with the unemployment benefit services (Farber and Valletta, 2015).
In the benefit system social welfare payments are made by the state and other authorised
people to unemployed individual. The people with fragile mental health are taken care by health
and social care workers, this reforms have had a very personal impact on both the service users
and the workers. There are majority of workers who dissatisfied because of their own financial
worries, wages and hours cut, job security and impermanent contracts. The benefit system is
useful in covering their basic needs and compensating them for the lost time proportionally to the
previous earned salary (Ferrarini, Nelson and Sjöberg, 2014).
Impact of new government policies
Along with negative impacts there are many positive impacts of change that are done in
health and social care. National Health Care has introduced new rule under which use of criminal
record bureau is done to check the history of people working in health and social care services.
After recognising them any form of crime or abuse can be averted to the particular areas and
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safeguard the vulnerable adults. With these policies the old people and other vulnerable people
are safeguard in the health care centres. Many criminal are working health and social service
centres to create crime they can be now arrested and replaced through this policy ( Harper, S.,
2014).
2.4 Appropriate service responses to recent changes in health and social care
The unemployment benefits rendering various positive changes within the health and
social care sector. Unemployment benefits programs are paying money to those workers who
become unemployed without their own fault and those who are under the medication of severe
disease which makes them unable to earn their own livelihood. The overall impact of changes
associated with the unemployed benefits within the health and social care organization are
surrounded by cost benefits for needed individual (Giulietti and et.al, 2013). As the welfare
unemployment protection is includes a financial benefits and provide payment of social security
contributions for health care and family protection. The amount of cost benefit within the health
and social care sector is very less, unemployment benefits taken care of basic needs of social
workers as well. Unemployment benefits provide financial support to people with disabilities and
carers (Harper, 2014). The financial support including various services, such as:
 Tax credits, payments, grants and concessions
 Disability living allowance for children and adults
 Incapacity benefits and income support
 Provide cost of equipment for independent living
 Housing benefits
It has been identified that much health and social care have rendered great response by
updating policies and procedures, user interaction and employee participation. Organisations
have developed the feedback mechanism to get advanced information regarding the perception of
users for the particular services. Also in support of this, organisations have their working hours
in accordance with the need of employees along with use of effective feedback system. Health
and social care firms have also organised many programmes and session to encourage the
employees to properly share their issues with management (De la Rica and Rebollo-Sanz, 2017).
The training programme by National Health services in UK aimed to raise the awareness
regarding safe guarding the vulnerable people. Heath and social care staff after completing the
training will implement the organisation policy in better ways. Some organisation are not able to
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afford this training so government place care quality commission that make sure the care
provided by health and social care meets the quality and safety standard. They provide support to
the organisation in providing training to their health and social staff.
3.1 The key principles of change management
The implementation of change is not an easy process. Mangers and authorities must deal
with various factors, such as: anger, resistance, exhaustion, and anxiety among staff and service
users. Following principles are helpful in the health and social care sector for the purpose of
managing the change :
Creating a climate for change, Government authorities required to develop a sense of
urgency to workers and other people. Awareness can be spread by organizing meetings and
sharing related information (Karanikolos and et.al, 2013). For instance, The change in
unemployment benefit system required primary discussion with all the users of respective
services.
Engage and enable everyone, The change cause anxiety, panic and anger among the
organization people. To reduce the level of resistance among people government need to engage
each and every one in the change process (Lewis and West, 2014). For example, the preparation
of unemployment benefit program should be done on the basis of users insights.
Empower action, For the progress and achieving desired result it is important for the
government to remove obstacles, include constructive feedback, and provide support to other
leaders.
Create short term wins, Government need to be careful before initiating change in
employment benefit program. It is important to distribute the change process so that burden can
be reduced (Makai and et.al, 2014).
3.2 The planning for change in health and social care
Change creates a huge amount of uncertainty into the environment. For implementing
change in the unemployed benefit program, government need to develop different type of
strategies as per the suitability of situation. The ADKAR model will be effective in planning
change in health and social care :
Awareness, Awareness for the change in unemployed benefits program is one of the
critical task for government. Here, awareness may include explaining to the health and social
workers and users about the change (Moorhead and et.al, 2013).
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Desire, Government cannot implement the change when social workers and users have
no desire for it. The changed unemployed benefit program need to be meaningful for the
individual. It will help government to remove all associated barriers before implementation of
change.
Knowledge, Users of benefit system plan should have knowledge about the change
related areas. All the legislation policy and rules need to clear and understand. Knowledge can be
increase by the use of communications channels.
Ability, The workers and users should be able to understand how to act in the future
changed state. The government need to make arrangement for disabled people as they personally
not able to take advantage of changed unemployed benefits plan (Nekoei and Weber, 2017).
Reinforcement, The government require reinforcement plan for measuring the impact of
change and as per that corrective action will be taken for successful establishment of change.
3.3 Monitoring changes in health and social care services
Monitoring provide adequate evaluation of the results which changes brings to the
system. The changes in unemployed benefit policies need to be timely monitored by government
for ensuring the final outcome of that. In order to this, government can use various monitoring
tools and techniques, which are as follows:
Observation, Observation on regular interval provide accurate and reliable information
to government. It provides them with help in reference to the issue for updating or coming up
with some advancement in particular changes brought in system. It helps in acknowledging
government about all the development needs (Makai and et.al, 2014).
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Illustration 1: ADKAR model
(SOURCE: ADKAR MODEL. 2016 )

Feedback: Feedback about the new changed unemployment benefit policy will provide
adequate information about its effectiveness. Social workers and users can give their feedback
through survey and questionnaire. Feedback department should be setup to collect the available
data in the form of user experience which will assist in required modification. It will also make
realize regarding the importance of user and the prompt staff to work in appropriate manner.
(Giulietti and et.al, 2013).
Recording: Recording of financial statements, policy usage and errors is also an effective
technique for monitoring the changes. It further helps governemt in clinical decision making.
Moreover, it is also an important part while finding out discrepancies in the changes made
(Harper, S., 2014).
Surveys: Maternity department should focus more on surveys to improve the changes
done. The organisations can have inquiry session with users regarding the operations and the
requirement that can help in improving the activities related to health and social care services
(Moorhead and et.al, 2013).
CONCLUSION
From the above report it can be concluded that, the changes in the government
regulations has impact on health and social care sector on a great extent. The benefit system
regulated by the government and provide financial and cost related benefits to social workers and
users. Unemployed benefit program provide ample of service to users. The change in benefit
system require adequate control and management over the whole process.
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REFERENCES
Books and Journal
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Farber, H. S. and Valletta, R. G., 2015. Do extended unemployment benefits lengthen
unemployment spells? Evidence from recent cycles in the US labor market. Journal of
Human Resources. 50(4). pp.873-909.
Ferrarini, T., Nelson, K. and Sjöberg, O., 2014. Unemployment insurance and deteriorating self-
rated health in 23 European countries. Journal of epidemiology and community health.
68(7). pp.657-662.
Giulietti and et.al, 2013. Unemployment benefits and immigration: evidence from the EU.
International Journal of Manpower. 34(1). pp.24-38.
Harper, S., 2014. Economic and social implications of aging societies. Science. 346(6209).
pp.587-591.
Karanikolos and et.al, 2013. Financial crisis, austerity, and health in Europe. The Lancet.
381(9874). pp.1323-1331.
Lewis, J. and West, A., 2014. Re-shaping social care services for older people in England: policy
development and the problem of achieving ‘good care’.Journal of Social Policy. 43(01).
pp.1-18.Giulietti and et.al, 2013
Makai and et.al, 2014. Quality of life instruments for economic evaluations in health and social
care for older people: a systematic review. Social Science & Medicine. 102. pp.83-93.
Moorhead and et.al, 2013. A Moorhead and et.al, 2013new dimension of health care: systematic
review of the uses, benefits, and limitations of social media for health communication.
Journal of medical Internet research. 15(4). p.e85.
Nekoei, A. and Weber, A., 2017. Does Extending Unemployment Benefits Improve Job
Quality?. The American Economic Review. 107(2). pp.527-561.
Online
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ADKAR MODEL. 2016. [Online]. Available through: <https://www.prosci.com/adkar/adkar-
model>. [Accessed on 14th June 2017].
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