Remploy Ltd is a government-owned company in the United Kingdom which provides employment and employment placement services for disabled people. It was established in 1945 under the terms of the 1944 Disabled Persons (Employment) Act, and opened its first factory in Bridgend, Wales, in 1946.[1] Over the following decades it established a network of factories across the UK making a wide variety of products, and in the late 20th century it moved into service businesses.
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 programme, Remploy aims to place at least 38,000 people a year into mainstream jobs by 2012.
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Remploy Ltd provides various products and services through 'Enterprise Businesses'. If a United Kingdom public body procures these products or services from a Remploy business, they are permitted to take advantage of the 2006 Public Contracts Regulations (Regulation 7)[2]. These Regulations restrict the tendering process for goods or services to supported businesses, which are defined as those where over 50% of employees are disabled[3].
UK Government guidance is that every public body should reserve at least one contract[4] for supported businesses. In this way, public bodies can fulfil their corporate social responsibility objectives by helping more disabled people into work.
Remploy has a number of sub-busnesses, such as Remploy e-cycle, which deals with the safe disposal and re-cycling of electrical appliances. In 2006, Remploy Employment Services opened its first high street branch in Newhall Street, Birmingham, since that date a further 40 branches and 30 offices have opened from Glasgow to Plymouth. The 5 year project to develop Remploy as a high street brand has allowed the business to support its vision of assisting over 10,000 disabled customers into mainstream employment, a target achieved in the financial year of 2009-10. In March 2010, Remploy went mobile, two 30 foot mobile 'jobs mobiles' were rolled out in the High Peaks and South Yorkshire to support the FND programme, the mobile units have provided support to disabled customers in the most hard to reach geographical areas where access to public transport is limited.