Homes for Ukraine Scheme

What is the ‘Homes for Ukraine’ Scheme and how can you help?

The UK Government have launched an initiative to allow Ukrainian refugees who have been displaced by the war in Ukraine to live and work in the UK for three years.

The ‘Homes for Ukraine’ Scheme

The ‘Homes for Ukraine’ Scheme is an initiative that offers Ukrainian refugees accommodation and work in the UK, and on the first day of registering interest, the scheme saw over 100,000 people and organisations registering their interest to host and support a refugee.

Specifically, in terms of support in the workplace, a large number of businesses have pledged to create jobs and provide employment support for refugees under this scheme.

Some notable companies include Marks & Spencer, Iceland, Tesco, AstraZeneca, Aldi, Nestle, Asos, Lush, PwC, and Robert Walters.

As part of providing work opportunities, this may also include offering accommodation and also language training for Ukrainian refugees.

So how can you help and contribute to the scheme?

Offering work

It is recognised that work is an important part of this scheme in order to safeguard and support refugees arriving in the UK.

Employers are encouraged to provide work opportunities for those permitted to live and work on their temporary visas.

The process for onboarding employees

Improving recognition of qualifications, skills and experience achieved outside of the UK is an important step in the onboarding of refugees seeking employment in the UK.

Additionally, as part of the onboarding process, you need to anticipate immigration status time and ensure that follow-up checks are made prior to visa expiry.

You should also ensure that you are still performing the appropriate right-to-work checks during onboarding.

Providing support

Another important aspect is providing a more holistic approach to supporting refugees in the workplace and beyond.

One of the best ways to achieve this is by looking at your employee assistance programme to see what it covers.

For example, how the employer intends to support employees who have faced traumas resulting from the war in Ukraine.

This includes providing access to qualified counsellors who can help and support refugees.

Integrating into the workplace

In terms of wellbeing, this includes helping refugees to integrate into the workplace.

Ways in which to achieve this could be to provide a work buddy for the new employee to get acquainted with the organisation and their workplace.

Another option is to open up opportunities for flexible working.