Guidance

Chapter 2: Target group and eligibility

Updated 5 June 2023

This guidance was withdrawn on 18 August 2023

This publication was withdrawn on 18 August 2023.

This publication is no longer in use. Read the Access to Work holistic assessments provider guidance for contracts effective on or after 5 June 2023.

Holistic Assessment contracts

2.01. You are responsible for ensuring you read, understand and comply with your contract and this guidance, in conjunction with the Generic Guidance for DWP Providers.

How to refer a customer to Access to Work

2.02. Access to Work is delivered through DWP Access to Work Advisers (Referred to as Access to Work Advisers throughout this guide), who can offer advice to customers and employers.

2.03. Customers can apply for Access to Work support in any of the following ways:

• online at the Access to Work section of GOV.UK
• by telephoning the Access to Work Service Centre between 8am to 7.30pm Monday to Friday on 0800 121 7479 (Textphone 0800 121 7579)
• emailing your request for support to atwosu.london@dwp.gov.uk

2.04. Customers should contact the Service Centre themselves where possible. Therefore, if a customer appears eligible for Access to Work, providers should explain to them that they should contact the Access to Work Service Centre and provide them with the relevant contact details. The Service Centre will:

• check their eligibility
• take their application and pass it to an Access to Work Adviser

2.05. The Access to Work Adviser will work closely with the customer and can draw on the expertise of independent specialist assessors to identify appropriate solutions to their needs, working with the customer and their employer to propose a package of help. The Access to Work Adviser will also inform the customer that they have a choice of how the assessment is undertaken – face to face or virtually, and discuss with the customer which assessment type may be most appropriate for their needs.

Referrals from DWP Access to Work Adviser

2.06. As part of the referral, the Access to Work Adviser will send over information on the customer to support the initial engagement.

2.07. Information sent as part of the referral is sensitive personal data within the meaning of the General Data Protection Regulation (GDPR), therefore handling, processing and transmission rules apply. The information will include (but may not be limited to) the following:

• full name including title
• Unique Reference Number
• National Insurance number (NINo)
• Place of Assessment (full postal address)
• Additional ID
• Preferred Contact Details (email/phone/mobile)
• Employment contacts
• Customer availability
• Disability description
• Job Title/Description
• Access to Work Adviser contact details
• Date of referral

2.08. You will need to work with the Access to Work Advisers to ensure an effective referral and engagement process with the customer.

2.09. Information will be transmitted to you via the Provider Referral and Payment (PRaP) system interface and the Access to Work Adviser will send the Needs Assessment Referral form via e-mail.

Multi Agency Public Protection Arrangements (MAPPA) referrals

2.10. MAPPA are statutory arrangements for managing sexual, violent and certain other offenders in the community in Scotland, England and Wales.

2.11. MAPPA is not a statutory body but a mechanism through which agencies can better discharge their statutory responsibilities and protect the public in a co-ordinated manner.

2.12. MAPPA cases who have not been given Special Customer Record (SCR) status will be referred through PRaP. You will receive the referral, minus the address, postcode and contact telephone number.

Actions

• the nominated officer from Access to Work will contact your nominated officer to give contact details and any restrictions that should be in place for each MAPPA referral. They may decide to forward to you a copy of the MAPPA J form which will detail the restrictions. Risks or restrictions will be different for every MAPPA case
• the MAPPA J form and any other clerical documents for each claim must be held securely, with restricted access, following the same process as you would for SL2s
• take the same action on PRaP as for non MAPPA cases to acknowledge and start the customer

2.13. You can set up normal electronic records on your IT systems for MAPPA customers. However, the record must only contain minimal information and should be marked that it is a MAPPA case and that further information can be obtained from your nominated officer. Therefore, access to this record does not need to be restricted.

Special Customer Record (SCR) Referrals (including MAPPA cases given SCR status)

2.14. Certain customers are allocated SCR status, for cases where unrestricted access to customer data poses a demonstrable risk to the customer’s safety. These customers must not have their details held on any electronic systems. Customers who have been granted SCR status will be referred to you clerically via the SL2 process. There is no clerical equivalent of acknowledging an electronic referral for SCR cases, so this step does not apply in these instances.

2.15. In rare cases, some MAPPA customers may be given SCR status. You must ensure that you treat these cases as you would any other SCR customers. Access to a SCR must be restricted to a set period of time and on an event-by-event basis.

Actions

• DWP will complete page one (of three) of the SL2 form, forwarding the entire form to your nominated officer
• undertake initial engagement activity following receipt of SL2 form from DWP (retaining pages two and three of the SL2 form) and complete and return page one to the DWP nominated officer
• send a photocopy of page two of the SL2 form to the Provider Payment Validation Team (PPVT)

2.16. You must ensure you have a full understanding of who these customers are and how you should deal with them. You must ensure full compliance with the SCR clerical record process.

2.17. The clerical completion and return of SL2 Forms for SCR customers should always be undertaken by your nominated officer, who must ensure that “SCR Customer” is clearly marked at the top of each form.

2.18. All information on SCR Customers, whether received from Access to Work or generated by yourselves, must be stored securely at all times.

2.19. DWP expects you to have effective processes in place to meet all the above requirement and be able to demonstrate that you have conducted the necessary actions.

Acknowledging the referral

2.20. You are required to ‘acknowledge’ the referral in PRaP within 1 (one) working day of the referral being received by you.

Actions

• Access PRaP
• Acknowledge Referral.

Consequence – Failure to acknowledge a referral will mean that you will:

• be unable to record a start date and subsequently be unable to meet KPI1
• be unable to receive an Assessment Outcome payment

Initial engagement and customer contact

2.21. Initial engagement refers to the first telephone call you make to the customer to arrange the Holistic Assessment. The assessment with the customer refers to the meeting (either face to face or virtual) to determine their support needs as detailed on the Needs Assessment Referral form.

2.22. Following your receipt of the PRaP referral from DWP and the Needs Assessment Referral form from the Access to Work Adviser, you must discuss the assessment with the customer and confirm whether the customer’s choice of a face to face or virtual assessment is most appropriate. The assessment must be arranged within 2 working days of your receipt of the referral (not including weekends or public holidays), to meet your Key Performance Indicators (KPIs) and the start date must be recorded in PRaP (see Chapter 5 of this guidance – The Provider Referrals and Payments System).

2.23. The Access to Work Adviser will have obtained the customer and/or employer and any other parties contact details to help you make initial contact within the timeframe indicated in your contract.

2.24. Key to scheduling the assessment with the customer is to ensure that it takes place as quickly as possible but takes into account the availability of all parties to be involved. We expect you to:

• provide a customer help-desk facility from 08.30 to 18.00 Monday to Friday
• record all Needs Assessment Referrals and assess, prioritise and action them in an efficient, customer focussed and cost effective manner
• engage with the customer and book an Holistic Assessment with them, which may be face to face, via telephone call, videolink or any other method permitted by your contract
• engage with an approved assessor who is named in your contract to requisition an appropriate face to face or virtual Holistic Assessment
• using the form at Annex A Taking the customer’s preference as specified in Annex A and other relevant health-related factors into consideration, agree the most effective mode of assessment

2.25. It is paramount to support customer choice, therefore a request for a face to face/virtual assessment should always be upheld wherever possible.

2.26. There may, however, be occasions when the customer would prefer a virtual assessment and their needs indicate that a face to face assessment would be more effective (for example, they may need to be measured for a chair which cannot be effectively done virtually). In these circumstances it is important to fully explain to the customer why a face to face assessment is necessary.

2.27. If you receive a request which you consider to be potentially outside your remit or you have received an inappropriate referral, you should contact your DWP Single Point of Contact (SPOC) – the Access to Work Contract Liaison Point. In the absence of the SPOC you may contact the Access to Work Business Manager to determine the appropriate action to take.

Changing the mode of assessment from Face to Face or Virtual (or Virtual to Face to Face) prior to the assessment taking place

2.28. There are 3 occasions when the mode of assessment may need to be changed. These are:

• when the Access to Work Adviser needs to change the original assessment type after making the referral to you. In this situation, the Access to Work Adviser will contact you to advise of this change
• when the customer has changed their mind about the type of assessment originally selected (for example, if they originally opted for a face to face assessment and have changed their mind and would now prefer a virtual assessment)
• when the assessment type originally chosen by the customer is deemed inappropriate for their particular health concerns (for example, if the customer originally opted for a virtual assessment but they require measuring for a chair, which can only be effectively achieved via a face to face assessment)

2.29. In these situations, you should contact the Access to Work Adviser to request a new referral to the correct opportunity type. The Access to Work Adviser will then make a new referral within 24 hours of you notifying them – either face to face – ‘Face to Face ATW Holistic Assessment’ or virtual – ‘Virtual ATW Holistic Assessment’ as appropriate. You should then cancel the referral immediately on PRaP (see Chapter 5 of this guidance – The Provider Referrals and Payments System).

Undertaking an Holistic Assessment

2.30. The holistic assessment must present the barriers and give subsequent solutions for each one. It must include details of why current equipment/solutions are not meeting the needs of the customer.

2.31. When completing the Needs Assessment Report (Annex B), Employer Section – the assessment must detail the capacity and knowledge of the organisation to highlight any areas of awareness or training to be addressed. It must address the compatibility of solutions with employers IT.

2.32. The customers’ expectations should be managed throughout the Holistic Assessment process to minimise the possibility that they may reject their final report. The content of the report should not come as a surprise to the customer, nor should they be expecting support over and above what is recommended.

2.33. A suitably qualified assessor will:

• meet with the customer face-to-face or virtually (telephone/videolink)
• undertake the specified Holistic Assessment exploring all relevant factors of the individual’s disability. The assessor must make the customer aware that the resulting Needs Assessment Report comprises recommendations for consideration, not guaranteed outcomes
• make recommendations to address work related barriers specifically related to the customer’s disability. Support Worker support can be recommended but all other potential options must be explored first and the report should clearly indicate the other options that were considered and why they were deemed unsuitable. The report should clearly indicate tasks that potentially require Support Worker assistance and the average amount of time the customer spends on this task per month
• produce a written Needs Assessment Report in the specified format and to the specified standard using form Annex B and return it, electronically encrypted, within the timeframe specified in your contract, to the e-mail address as specified within the initial referral ensuring the report is:
  • legible and in plain language using inclusive terms (eg: avoiding references to “hearing impaired” for deaf people)
  • checked for grammar, spelling and punctuation
  • well-presented and of good quality
  • in 12 point, Arial font (unless you need to make alternative requirements due to the customer’s accessibility requirements)
  • logically sequenced, clear, informative and complete
  • fully detailed and consistent (please note it will be seen by the customer and/or their employer)
  • not prescriptive but provides recommendations based on evidence (terminology used should demonstrate an emphasis on independence and choice)
  • made up of recommendations detailed in order of value for money
  • not provide work related support for customers with regard to mental health provision. You should notify the Access to Work Adviser of any mental health support requirements. The Access to Work Adviser will then take the appropriate action
  • not comment on or offer advice to customers or their employers about any aspect of the potential decision on their application for an Access to Work grant

2.34. Once the Holistic Assessment has taken place, either face to face or virtually, you should complete and send the Needs Assessment Report to the Access to Work Assessor via secure email within 8 working days of referral by DWP.

Hybrid Working

2.35. There may be instances when the customer has more than one regular place of work. This could include split-site offices and/or working from home.

2.36. It is important to capture requirements for the job role for all places of work in one Holistic Assessment to enable the customer to work in all of their regular working locations.

2.37. If there are particular needs relating to one site which will require further investigation, (post initial face to face/virtual assessment) you should consider whether this can be undertaken virtually wherever possible, with subsequent/additional visits to premises to be kept to a minimum to make best use of your time and resources.

2.38. In exceptional circumstances only, if a subsequent/additional visit to premises is necessary to enable full completion of the Holistic Assessment across all sites, please contact the Access to Work Adviser to discuss individual circumstances and explain the rationale as to why an additional visit is required. The Access to Work Adviser will provide instruction on what action to take.

Assessment type is recognised as incorrect during the assessment

2.39. There are 2 occasions when the mode of assessment may need to be changed. These are:

• when the customer has changed their mind about the type of assessment originally selected (for example, if they originally opted for a face to face assessment and have changed their mind and would now prefer a virtual assessment)
• when the assessment type originally chosen by the customer is deemed inappropriate for their particular health concerns (for example, if the customer originally opted for a virtual assessment but they require measuring for a chair, which can only be effectively achieved via a face to face assessment)

2.40. In these situations, you should contact the Access to Work Adviser to request a new referral to the correct opportunity type. The Access to Work Adviser will then make a new referral within 24 hours of you notifying them – either face to face – ‘Face to Face ATW Holistic Assessment’ or virtual – ‘Virtual ATW Holistic Assessment’ as appropriate. You should then cancel the referral on PRaP immediately (see Chapter 5 of this guidance – The Provider Referrals and Payments System).

Supported Internships

2.41. Access to Work offers support to Supported Interns working in a workplace environment which also accommodates hybrid working arrangements. All referrals marked as Supported Internship should have a face to face assessment.

2.42. The holistic assessment should capture the workplace adjustments already in place and make recommendations to overcome those barriers within the workplace or hybrid working environment.

2.43. For any adjustments or adaptations the Access to Work customer requires in relation to the educational part of the Supported Internship, the supplier should signpost the individual to their learning provider for assistance.

Transitional Employer Support Grant

2.44. Since 1 April 2019, the AtW Transitional Employer Support Grant (TESG) has been available to each employee who was in a Work Choice Protected Place on 31st March 2019 and continued in employment within a Supported Business. There is no difference to the assessment approach which should be conducted as detailed above. As with all holistic assessments, if you believe that the AtW Mental Health Support Service may be appropriate, you should highlight this within your Needs Assessment Report so the Access to Work adviser can take appropriate action.

2.45. You should mark the Needs Assessment Report (Annex B) as TESG by selecting ‘yes’ in the box at the top of the form. In addition to the information outlined at paragraphs 2.30 and 2.31, the following will need to be completed:

• Assessment of needs – where individual support needs are in excess of 20% of their role including:
  • job aide,
  • job coach,
  • extra supervision needed to enable them to deliver the job
  • support that is not directly related to workplace activities (e.g., personal finances or handling difficult personal matters) but necessary to sustain employment
• Employer Section – this should include:
  • details of employer,
  • Health and Safety requirements and
  • steps the employer is taking to accommodate the individual by tailoring the job to accommodate the employee’s disability, for example, adapting processes, machinery, the pace of work expected or the extent of the job role (job carving)

Where the employer has made adjustments to the workplace to enable the disabled employee, beyond what is considered a reasonable adjustment, for example, implementing accessible signage, adapting office organisation/layout or equipment, this should be recorded in the Needs Assessment Report (Annex B) and:

• Progression Planning - you should detail steps being taken to support progression into mainstream employment if appropriate

Access to Work Plus Proof of Concept

Background

2.46. To support the Government’s goal of seeing a million more disabled people enter work by 2027, Access to Work is testing a new offer that:

• opens up employment opportunities for disabled people who have the greatest barriers to employment and higher in work support needs; and
• provides support for employers who go further and make adjustments in the workplace and adapt job roles to accommodate disabilities

2.47. AtW Plus Proof of Concept is due to go live on 16 May 2022 and the grant will be awarded for a period of 12 months totalling 100 referrals during this period.

2.48. The numbers of referrals will be monitored at monthly intervals. You will be notified of progress during your CPR.

Referral

2.49. All AtW Plus customers will be referred to you on the Needs Assessment Referral form (Annex A). The form will be marked as AtW Plus by selecting ‘yes’ in the box at the top of the form.

2.50. Where the Access to Work adviser has indicated that it is an AtW Plus referral you must conduct a Face-to-Face assessment with the customer.

Assessment

2.51. You will also need to collect additional information for AtW Plus customers on the Needs Assessment Report (Annex B) and clearly mark as AtW Plus on the form.

• Assessment of needs –where individual support needs are in excess of 20% of their role including:
  • job aide
  • job coach
  • extra supervision needed to enable them to deliver the job
  • support that is not directly related to workplace activities (e.g., personal finances or handling difficult personal matters) but necessary to sustain employment
• Employer Section – this should include:
  • details of employer
  • Health and Safety requirements and
  • steps the employer is taking to accommodate the individual by tailoring the job to accommodate the employee’s disability, for example, adapting processes, machinery, the pace of work expected or the extent of the job role (job carving)

Where the employer has made adjustments to the workplace to enable the disabled employee, beyond what is considered a reasonable adjustment, for example, implementing accessible signage, adapting office organisation/layout or equipment, this should be recorded in the Needs Assessment Report (Annex B) and:

• Progression Planning – you should detail steps being taken to support progression into mainstream employment if appropriate

Customer referred as AtW but identified an AtW Plus during assessment

2.52. There may be occasions where you receive a Needs Assessment Referral (Annex A) to conduct a face-to-face assessment for an AtW customer. During your assessment you may identify that this customer would benefit from an AtW Plus assessment. On these rare occasions you should conduct an AtW Plus assessment and note it on the Needs Assessment Report (Annex B).

2.53. There may be occasions where you receive a Needs Assessment Referral (Annex A) to conduct a virtual assessment for an AtW customer. During your assessment you may identify that this customer would benefit from AtW Plus face to face assessment. In these circumstances, the customer will not be assessed as AtW Plus.

2.54. You should continue with the virtual assessment and assess the customers in work support needs including supervision, ongoing job coaching or job replacement in excess of standard AtW and make your recommendation within the assessment report as per business as usual.

Exceptional circumstances

2.55. If you are experiencing difficulty obtaining commitment from specialist suppliers to undertake an assessment and provide a quotation, and this is clearly delaying Access to Work support from being provided, you should inform your Access to Work Adviser.

2.56. You may be asked to provide evidence on how the sole supplier equipment/services could better overcome the customer’s disability and difficulties they are facing at work. If so, please send all details of the situation to the DWP Access to Work Contract Liaison Point, at ATWPROVIDER.CONTRACTCORRESPONDENCE@DWP.GOV.UK

2.57. You should include details of the problem you are experiencing that cannot be resolved via the existing Access to Work supplier processes and fully explain:

• why the specialist will not attend to undertake the assessment
• what negative effects this will have on the customer
• your suggested alternative approach

Cancellation of a Holistic Assessment

Cancellation by the customer

2.58. If a customer cancels an appointment it is important that you act quickly, as delays could impact the achievement of the target specified in your contract.

2.59. This applies if a customer cancels a scheduled appointment or does not wish the Holistic Assessment to take place at all. You will need to notify the Access to Work Adviser if the customer does not wish the Holistic Assessment to take place at all. You should then claim and end line in PRaP (see Chapter 5 of this guidance – The Provider Referrals and Payments System).

2.60. In the event of a cancellation by the customer, you should reschedule a new appointment. However, you should notify the Access to Work Adviser if:

• the customer is not available in the timeframe specified in your contract from the original referral. The Access to Work Adviser must be informed of the reasons for the customer cancellation and any rescheduling attempts you have made, duly recorded on the Cancellations Log (Annex D) using the Cancellations Log tab of the spread sheet
• the customer does not want the Holistic Assessment to take place at all
• the customer is not sure when they will be available
• you are unable to contact the customer within 2 days of the original referral and the customer has not contacted you. The Access to Work Adviser must be informed of all the dates and times you have attempted to contact the customer and the method of contact used
• the report is going to be sent outside the 8-day period with reasons

Cancellation by the Provider

2.61. If you need to postpone a scheduled appointment or if, rarely, are unable to carry out the Holistic Assessment, you should contact the Access to Work Adviser for advice, giving the reasons for cancelling the appointment, duly recorded on the Cancellations Log (Annex D) using the Cancellations Log tab of the spread sheet.

2.62. It is not acceptable to reject referrals due to lack of assessor availability.

Validity Period of Needs Assessment Report

2.63. Recommendations from the Needs Assessment Report are expected to be implemented by employers at the earliest opportunity to enable the employee to integrate into their working environment as quickly as possible.

2.64. If longer than 12 weeks elapse and the recommendations haven’t been implemented, a new referral will need to be made and a new Needs Assessment will need to be completed to ensure the recommendations are as up to date as possible.

2.65. A second referral for an Holistic Assessment may be made in exceptional circumstances within 12 weeks of the initial assessment, if a customer’s situation has changed considerably and the change(s) would impact the outcome of the recommendations on the initial Needs Assessment Report.

2.66. If new information about the customer’s situation was not captured during the initial Holistic Assessment, or it would not have been reasonable to expect you to have captured this at the time, a new referral can be made.

2.67. Decisions relating to secondary referrals will be made by the Access to Work Adviser and you should liaise with the Adviser in every instance where a secondary referral is under consideration or has been made, to ensure the correct procedure is followed for each customer.

2.68. You will receive the secondary referral via PRaP and you should complete any PRaP action in the usual way. This will ensure that you receive the appropriate payment for the assessments undertaken and that achievement of your KPI’s is not adversely impacted.

Additional Needs

2.69. You should, wherever possible, comply with (and provide at your own cost) any reasonable requests to accommodate customers who have additional needs.

2.70. Additional needs include, but are not limited to, the requirements of the customer for the Holistic Assessment to be undertaken by an assigned holistic assessor of the same gender or the customer’s need for an interpreter or British Sign Language (BSL) signer during the assessment process.