Inclusive Recruitment Support
Lunch & Learn: A chance for employers to showcase their inclusive recruitment practices
The NWD Integration Hub organises online Lunch & Learn sessions bringing together representatives from employers, practitioners and other local organisations to share best practices and discuss leading issues related to a topic selected for the session. Often the topics of these sessions are related to inclusive employment/recruitment, so we always welcome local employers to come and present. Each session includes opportunities for attendees to go into breakout rooms for discussion.
If you or someone you know have a programme or set of insights and experiences that would be suitable for an upcoming Lunch & Learn, please don’t hesitate to get in touch via admin@southlondonpartnership.co.uk with the ‘lunch & learn offer’ in the subject line. Please also contact this email if you would like to attend future Lunch & Learns.
Mind in Kingston: Mental Health in the Workplace (Employer Framework) – Lunch and Learn
Mind in Kingston (Champions for Change) hosted one of our Being an Inclusive Employer Lunch and Learns. Champions for Change Kingston is a local campaign reducing mental health stigma, presents the groundbreaking ‘Employers Framework’, a free toolkit for businesses. They gave a deep-dive of the toolkit, we heard...
South London Supported Internships Employer Workshop
In April we collaborated with Sutton Council, Mencap and DFN Porject Search to help you gain insights into Supported Internships in South-West London. It was an opportunity to learn about diversifying your workforce and give opportunities to talented, ambitious young people. What was covered? Explore the impact...
Building Happier Futures: Lunch and Learn with John Lewis Partnership
The South London Integration Hub hosts bitesize online ‘lunch and learn’ sessions to assist busy professionals to learn more about inclusive employment. In July 2025, we welcomed John Lewis Partnership – they delivered an online 60-minute employer training and best practice session on the Building...
Previous Lunch & Learns
Active Inclusion & South London No Wrong Door
SLP and Active Inclusion
The South London Integration Hub and South London Partnership are delighted to have been involved in the Active Inclusion pilot and production of video resources for employers.
Hear/view the stories written, recorded and edited by the Active Inclusion Team on what makes a happy workplace and why it’s important to show yourself at work.
Find out more about the Active Inclusion journey in the video below.
- Narrated by Sally Lewis, a co-producer with Active Inclusion. She is a freelance curator specializing in dance in museums, working with co-creation and collections in this area to promote equity, diversity and inclusion
This co-production project was funded by the South London Integration Hub as part of the Mayor’s No Wrong Door Programme.
What is Active Inclusion?
Active Inclusion is a user-led volunteer group made up of people with lived experience of barriers to employment. They partner with local organisations in South London and outer boroughs to create opportunities around work, housing, health, and wellbeing.
Lived experience is shared on our terms. Active Inclusion ensures members have full control over how their stories are shared – safely, respectfully, and in ways that create meaningful change.
They’ve moved from ideas to action. Through their Community of Practice, they’ve built tools, shared ways of working, and are developing a living archive to help employers learn directly from lived experience.
It works because it puts people first. By focusing on what individuals need to thrive, Active Inclusion helps employers build workplaces where people stay, grow, and succeed – leading to lower turnover and more motivated teams.
Want to get involved? Follow Active Inclusion on LinkedIn, visit their website (launching soon), or get in touch to be part of co-producing better, fairer work through lived experience.
Why it’s important to show myself at work. Raisa
- Raisa Hassan is the Poet in Residence and Psychological Safety Officer of Active Inclusion: Equity in Employment. She is a writer and poet who focuses her work on disability and Intersectionality whilst investigating the impact of language used around disabled people and about disabled people – enabling us all to create simultaneous physically and psychologically safe spaces.
What’s a happy workplace? Kealy
- Kealy is a supported employment coordinator, working with young neurodivergent adults on employability skills and supporting them with work experience, with the aim to get the young people paid employment. Kealy has been in the campaigning and activism space for over 10 years.
Why it’s important to show myself at work. Amanda
- Amanda Cummins is deputy head of coproduction and involvement at South West London St George’s Mental Health NHS Trust. As a mental health nurse and mental health carer, she uses her lived and learned experience to support collaboration between staff and people who’ve accessed service. Their aim is to improve and develop services, support the development of carers initiatives and oversee both the volunteer and peer support workforces within the Trust.
What’s a happy workplace? Sylvia
- Sylvia Ugboaja has over 20 years experience in healthcare, social and people’s services – is a campaigner for equality in human and disability rights.
Social Model of disability. Tim
- Tim Dixon is an IT professional, accessibility advocate, and assistive technology enthusiast, driving inclusive change through expertise, advocacy, and community engagement.
What’s a happy workplace? Rakesh
- Rakesh Patel is a co-producer, and volunteer, with specialisms in IT knowledge and creative software packages, and involvement with Active Inclusion and the NHS.
Why it’s important to show myself at work? Kealy
Why it’s important to show myself at work? Sylvia
Why it’s important to show myself at work. Rakesh
Resources
Free Recruitment Support
Employ Merton supports employers to recruit and develop a skilled, local workforce in Merton with:
- Free recruitment service, promoting your vacancy regionally
- Long-listing and short-listing
- Offer to pay the London Living Wage while prospective candidates complete work trials, so you can ‘try before you buy’
- Sector-relevant training
- PPE (personal protective equipment)
- Support accessing apprenticeship levy to help fund the training of apprentices
- Support converting new roles to apprenticeships
Fill out an enquiry form for employers
or email the team at
employmerton@merton.gov.uk
Richmond Work Match offers businesses of Richmond upon Thames a free, bespoke recruitment service.
Work Match supports businesses of all sizes, sectors and specialisms and have supported hundreds of local companies to find their next high quality member of staff. Our dedicated Business Engagement team’s will work with you to source the best possible local people to your company. We are experienced in working across a wide range of sectors and can help businesses of any size to grow.
All of our recruitment services are totally free and will be tailored to your exact requirements.
Contact Work Match today on 020 8871 5191 or email the team
Step Ahead Service is here to help acting as a one stop shop for all employment options, careers / skills advice and information.
They work closely with Reed in Partnership will also be based at the centre to offer expert employability support for job seekers through their Work Routes Work and Health programme.
If you’re looking to recruit local talent in Sutton, you can email the team at
stepahead@suttoncollege.ac.uk
Croydon Works work in partnership with Job Centre Plus, Croydon College and Croydon Council. It is a free recruitment service for residents and employers.
The service works with businesses in and around the Croydon area who are looking to find local, skilled and experienced talent. You can connect to knowledgeable and sector specific Brokerage Officers to assist you with recruitment processes.
Contact the team directly here or use the email
croydon-works@croydon.gov.uk
Inclusivity Toolkits
To support our South London businesses to create fully inclusive workplaces the South London Integration Hub has compiled resources to help employers on their journeys towards organisational culture change.
Mayor of London Inclusive Employer Toolkit
The Mayor’s Workforce Integration Network (WIN) toolkits contain practical guidance and links to resources that are tailored to various organisation sizes.
Actions span across five themes, including commitment, recruitment practices, retention, inclusive culture and supplier diversity.
Employers Inclusion Toolkit
Interested in welcoming a more diverse workforce to your business?
This toolkit explores supporting those with disability and long term health conditions at work.
Employment Gap
An easy read guide for employers and people with a learning disability. Co-produced with Sutton Mencap.
Organisations that can help you recruit
| Organisation | Summary |
| Care Trade | Helping organisations support diversity, and become more confident with autism and neurodiversity |
| JobCentre Plus | Recruitment advice for employers, work trials and advice on recruiting people with a disability |
| Noo Thinking | Noo Thinking is a consultancy, focused on effective communication, based in South London. |
| People Plus | Helping create social value with free recruitment services |
| Super highways | Advice, training and IT support for small charities and community organisations |
| Richmond Work Match | Free tailored recruitment service to find local candidates |
| WorkFit | Provides info, support and training to employers hiring someone with Downs Syndrome |
| Successful Mums | Providing funded training to help mums get career ready or start their own business. |
| New Futures Network |
Supporting employers to help prison leavers secure employment |
| National Autistic Society | At work |
Provides resources and support to employers hiring people with autism |
Additional Resources
Mind in Kingston – Employers Framework
Next Steps in London
A Neurodiversity Toolkit
Career & Enterprise Company – Employer Standards
The Career & Enterprise Company provides a clear Employer Standards framework to businesses of all shapes and sizes to maximise the impact of employer engagement with young people, ensuring mutual value and long-term business success.
Recruiting with Essential Skills Toolkit
