Remploy

Remploy is an organisation owned by the Department for Work and Pensions in the United Kingdom which provides employment and employment placement services for disabled people. It is classified as a non-departmental public body and is structured as a company limited by guarantee. It was established in 1945 under the terms of the Disabled Persons (Employment) Act 1944, and opened its first factory in Bridgend, Wales, in 1946. Over the following decades it established a network of 83 factories across the UK making a wide variety of products, and in the late 20th century it moved into service businesses.

In 2007 Remploy management announced proposals to close 42 Remploy factories, later reduced to 28 after heated debates at TUC and Labour conferences, with then Work and Pensions minister, Peter Hain, requiring proposed factory closures to have ministerial approval. 29 factories were eventually closed in 2008.

Remploy has undergone a major modernisation, and is now also a provider of employment services for disabled people and others with barriers to employment. In 2009/10 Remploy placed over 10,500 people into jobs across a range of sectors. In 2009 Remploy was selected as a prime- and sub-contractor delivering the Government's Flexible New Deal Contract, which aims to help the long term unemployed back into work.

In its quest to be a major welfare to work provider, delivering a range of contracts and employment programmes it is now a sub contractor in the Government's flagship Work Programme. Over the last 5 years it has found over 50,000 jobs for disabled people. After a report was submitted in early 2012, the Coalition government has proposed to close 36 of its 54 factories, potentially making 1,700 workers redundant. In 2012, ministers announced that a number of Remploy factories would close, arguing that the budget for disabled employment services could be spent more effectively. Thirty-four factories were closed in 2012, with the loss of 1,752 jobs. The future of a further 18 sites remained unclear, but in December 2012 ministers said some will close, while others might become independent businesses without Government-funded support.