Recommendation 19

The Department does record some data on the more serious issues it has become aware of, including cases where health and safety concerns had been raised by participants or account managers, and instances where young people were working in Kickstart jobs but were not being paid. The Department told us that these ‘complex cases’ in which it had to address issues with an employer had affected 1,657 Kickstart participants. Of these 1,657 participants, the Department said that 500 were able to finish their Kickstart job while the remaining 1,157 Kickstart jobs were withdrawn and the participants were provided with alternative support.78 The Department also gave examples of Kickstart jobs that were going well, including one example of a young person who had taken up a care assistant role, which had boosted their confidence and prospects for competing in the open labour market after their placement.79