Advice and Support

We understand that it’s not that easy to get a job, particularly if you’ve been unemployed for a while, don’t have the right skills, experience or are returning to work after a long illness or time spent looking after your children.

It’s entirely up to you whether or not you use our services and we won’t force you to take a job that you don’t want.

You may even feel that you’re not quite ready to move into any type of work right now, in which case we can help to get you closer towards making that choice.

What we offer is expert professional and sympathetic help to deal with whatever may be holding you back and you can be sure that we’ll respect confidentiality.

As well as job and training opportunities that may be open to you, even if you have few skills or experience, we can help with:

• confidence and motivation
• debt and finances
• benefits, including tax credits
• calculating how much better off you could be by taking-up a job offer
• childcare options
• housing problems
• health and disability
• improving your skills
• maths and English
• drink and drugs
• mental health issues

Our support continues if you decide to start a job or training course and you may be able to get help with the cost of your travel, childcare or even to buy the clothes that you need for your new job.

Islington Working for Parents: we also have a dedicated team to help local parents on a low income who may be thinking about moving into work.

The team is available to talk to you about this important move and to discuss any concerns that you may have.

We can also help you find practical solutions to the types of issues that hold back many parents such as childcare, lack of skills or concerns about pay and benefits.

Further Help

We’ve brought together information on a range of resources and support for all residents who are out of work, worried about losing their jobs or want help to improve their current prospects:

• Careers Advice
• Childcare
• Council Tax and Housing Benefits
• Disability and Employment
• Legal Advice
• Local Jobcentres
• Money Advice and Redundancy
  

Welfare Benefits

The council’s benefits advice team also offers friendly and confidential one to one help and advice on a range of benefits whether you’re in or out of work. This includes help to complete benefit forms and providing benefits checks.

Call 020 7527 3697 or email benefitcheck@islington.gov.uk for more information.

To work out online the benefits that you may be able to claim in or out of work use our benefits calculator.

Contact Islington Working

To find out about the support that we offer to help you get and keep a job call us on 020 7527 4486 or email islingtonworking@islington.gov.uk.