Featuring insights from Sonia Murton, Founder and Managing Director, Westbury FM
At Westbury FM, we believe that creating meaningful social value means looking beyond the services we deliver and considering how our business can make a lasting difference to people’s lives. One area where we believe employers can play an important role is helping people leaving prison rebuild their lives through meaningful employment.
For our Founder and Managing Director, Sonia Murton, this is more than a discussion about corporate social responsibility. It is about recognising potential, challenging assumptions and giving people who genuinely want to change their lives an opportunity to do so.
As Sonia recently highlighted in her article, If We Want Prisoners to Rebuild Their Lives, We Must Help Them Back into Work, employment can be one of the most important foundations for successful rehabilitation. But businesses need a clearer, more accessible route to getting involved.
Why Employment Matters for Prison Rehabilitation
Returning to the community after serving a prison sentence presents significant challenges. Finding employment, securing accommodation, rebuilding family relationships and adjusting to everyday responsibilities can all be difficult.
Without the right support and opportunities, establishing a stable future becomes considerably harder.
At Westbury FM, we believe employers have an opportunity to help bridge this gap.
Meaningful employment provides far more than financial security. It creates routine, responsibility, purpose and the opportunity to develop new skills. It also allows individuals to rebuild their confidence and establish positive relationships within a working environment.
Sonia believes that if employment is to play a meaningful role in rehabilitation, the process should begin before an individual leaves prison.
Rather than expecting people to secure work independently following their release, we should be exploring how suitable individuals can access structured employment opportunities while still serving their sentences.
Putting Our Commitment into Practice at Westbury FM
Westbury FM is currently working towards offering an employment opportunity to an individual who is still in prison through the Release on Temporary Licence (ROTL) scheme.
This existing framework allows eligible prisoners to undertake approved activities, including paid employment, outside prison before returning to custody.
Our intention is to provide a supervised working opportunity within an experienced Westbury FM team, with appropriate checks, safeguards and support in place.
As an employer operating across facilities management, maintenance and property services, we recognise the importance of ensuring that every placement is suitable for the individual, the role and the working environment.
Public safety, employee welfare and appropriate risk assessments must always remain priorities.
However, despite our willingness to participate and cooperate with the organisations involved, progressing the opportunity has proved challenging.
As Sonia explains, Westbury FM has supplied information, completed declarations and cooperated with the relevant organisations, yet the process has been frustratingly slow.
This experience has reinforced the need for stronger collaboration between employers, prisons, probation services and government, ensuring that suitable opportunities can progress without unnecessary delays.
Supporting Fairer Recruitment Through Ban the Box
Our approach to providing second chances also extends to our wider recruitment practices.
In 2025, Westbury FM committed to becoming a Ban the Box employer, supporting an initiative led by Business in the Community that encourages employers to remove questions about criminal convictions from the initial recruitment process.
The principle is straightforward: candidates should have the opportunity to demonstrate their skills, experience and suitability before being judged on their criminal history.
This does not remove the need for background checks, disclosures or appropriate safeguarding where required. It simply encourages a fairer approach to recruitment, giving individuals an opportunity to be considered on their merits.
For Sonia and the wider Westbury FM team, it reflects a belief that somebody’s past should not automatically determine their future.
Building Better Employment Pathways for Prison Leavers
One of the key proposals Sonia has raised is the development of a more structured employment programme for suitable Category D prisoners approaching release.
Category D prisoners are those assessed as suitable for open prison conditions, making appropriately managed employment opportunities within the community a potential part of their preparation for release.
A more coordinated programme could bring together government, prison and probation services, and employers willing to provide supervised work placements, training and mentoring.
For businesses, this would mean clearer guidance, established points of contact, proportionate risk assessments and realistic timescales.
For individuals, it could provide an opportunity to develop practical workplace experience, demonstrate their commitment and potentially move into permanent employment following release.
As an employer, Westbury FM believes there is considerable value in providing a real working environment where individuals can learn from experienced colleagues, understand workplace expectations and develop confidence in their abilities.
Crucially, any programme must be appropriately managed and carefully assessed to protect employees, customers and the wider public.
Social Value Should Be About Changing Lives
Social value is becoming increasingly important across the facilities management, construction and property sectors.
It is frequently discussed in tenders, procurement frameworks and corporate responsibility commitments, but at Westbury FM, we believe its real value lies in the outcomes it creates for people and communities.
Our approach to social value is about finding practical ways to make a difference, whether through community improvement projects, charitable partnerships, supporting local initiatives or creating opportunities for people who may face barriers to employment.
This commitment is already reflected in initiatives such as our partnership with Charlton Athletic Community Trust, our involvement in the Honor Oak Adventure Playground project and our support for the Lighthouse Construction Industry Charity.
Helping someone move successfully from prison into sustainable employment is another powerful example of what meaningful social value could achieve.
The impact goes beyond one individual. Secure employment can help people support their families, build financial independence, develop qualifications and contribute positively to their communities.
For Sonia, social value should never simply be another exercise in meeting corporate targets or reporting obligations. It should be measured by the genuine difference made to people’s lives.
The success of an employment initiative should not be judged solely by the number of placements offered. Its real impact depends on whether individuals can remain in employment, progress professionally and establish more stable lives.
Why Government and Employers Must Work Together
Westbury FM recognises that the responsibility for rehabilitation cannot rest with employers alone.
Successful reintegration requires cooperation between prisons, probation services, government departments, support organisations and businesses.
Employment is an important part of that process, but it must sit alongside access to appropriate accommodation, training, personal support and other essential services.
Sonia believes there is a genuine opportunity for government and industry to work together to establish a more effective employment pathway for suitable prisoners.
A clearer and more coordinated approach could encourage more employers to participate, helping individuals develop the experience and confidence needed to transition successfully into the workplace.
Westbury FM would welcome the opportunity to engage with the Ministry of Justice, HM Prison and Probation Service and other employers to explore how such a programme could operate in practice.
Creating Opportunities That Make a Lasting Difference
At Westbury FM, we understand that offering employment opportunities to people with criminal convictions requires careful consideration, responsible decision-making and appropriate safeguards.
Not every individual will be suitable for every role, and employment alone cannot resolve every challenge associated with rehabilitation.
But that should not prevent businesses from exploring where they can make a positive contribution.
As Sonia explains in her original article:
“Businesses will not solve every problem within the criminal justice system, but we might help some people avoid returning to it.”
For Westbury FM, providing second chances is part of a wider commitment to responsible business, inclusive employment and delivering meaningful social value.
Because creating opportunities is not simply about filling vacancies. It is about recognising potential, investing in people and helping to build stronger communities.
We welcome conversations with organisations, employers and industry partners who share our commitment to creating meaningful employment opportunities and lasting social impact.
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