An article from the US today highlights relocation and outplacement issues which bear consideration in the UK, too.

"What About My Spouse?" addresses the issue of the 'trailing spouse' - the partner of an individual who relocates for a new job.  While the individual taking a new role may be set to enjoy better pay, perks and conditions, there is a risk that their accompanying partner faces joblessness in an unfamiliar town - particularly in the current job market.

Last summer we looked at Ian Duncan Smith's proposal that UK job seekers relocate to areas of higher employment to find work.  With this suggestion, Duncan Smith failed to consider the risk that ghettos of unemployment would develop in the towns left behind.  What he did do, though, was seek to reconcile the UK's high level of unemployment against the fact that around half a million jobs are currently available and awaiting the right candidate.

Sanjay Sathe, the author of "What About My Spouse?", points out that concerns about a partner's employment prospects are among the chief concerns of a job applicant facing relocation.  Tackling this concern could remove a major barrier to relocation, therefore widening a job seeker's net and greatly increasing employers' pools of potential candidates.

According to research, a fifth of businesses in the US already offer outplacement services to the spouses of relocating employees, and this figure grows to a third in the case of large organisations (employing over 5000 people).  Nevertheless, many firms still miss out on their perfect candidates by failing to provide a solution to this problem.

The uptake of similar schemes in the UK could make a huge difference to the current situation in the job market and ensure that job seekers find their perfect career among the 500,000 jobs currently available.  Whether employers will consider the service to be a worthwhile investment is another question, but the case certainly seems compelling.