Mind Sets Out Position On Work Payments

Received this response taday from Sophie Corlett , Policy Director of Mind. I havent had much time to consider it but would like to know what other people think. I’m grateful to Mind for providing a response.

Paul has passed your message on to me as he has been unable to deal with it before his holiday, and he wanted you to get a reply as soon as possible.

While we do not know the details of the particular case you mention, and so cannot comment on this case specifically, we do not believe that people should be forced to work for nothing.

At Mind, we believe that people who do a job of work should be paid the going rate for that job, whatever their mental health status. Some people volunteer, and of course that means they work for no payment, but we ensure that volunteers at Mind are paid appropriate expenses for their travel etc when they work for us. A third category might be trainees or apprentices of some sort, who might receive a middle category of payment - we don't have trainees as such at National Mind, so we don't have a policy on this.

We also have some guidelines which apply when we consult service users, so that people are appropriately paid for their time in coming to focus groups or speaking at events.

I hope this is helpful in your campaign with the Trust.

Kind regards

Sophie Corlett

Policy Director

Mind

15 - 19 Broadway, Stratford, London E15 4BQ

Tel: 020 8215 2263 (direct line)

Fax: 020 8522 1725

http://www.mind.org.uk